PART of one of a three-part series, pro fighter Dan Morley looks at some of boxing’s most famed tough fighters. “The ability to take a punch cannot be taught. Warriors can be given an iron chin or cursed with a glass chin,” he wrote. In part two, Dan looks at another group of boxing bosses gifted with the ability to take punishment and keep throwing.

13) Vitali Klitschko – Klitschko’s brother who inherited the iron chin

An athletic, agile beast of a champion who liked to dissect his opponents with the clinical power of his punches, standing at 180 cm lofty made Vitali Klitschko sufficiently terrifying. Factor in the warrior spirit and titanium beard that ensured Vitali never fell throughout his professional boxing career, and you get the complete package.

Klitschko largely dominated an era that lacked decent competition; nevertheless, during testing, it passed the chin test with flying colors. Corrie Sanders and Samuel Peter gave Vladimir hell, but were sent by Vitali’s older brother.

The most outstanding fight, however, is the brutal fight with Lennox Lewis, in which Klitschko, replacing him at the last minute, established himself as a true top heavyweight fighter. Lewis landed an uppercut with such a grotesque crack that it echoed painfully throughout the arena.

But Klitschko held on, recovered and seemed to be in a forceful position in the fight when it was stopped due to a terrible cut. It was one of two stoppages for the Ukrainian, the other due to a debilitating shoulder injury against Chris Byrd.

12) Oliver McCall – Some say he had the biggest heavyweight chin of all time

After facing legendary heavyweight boxing names such as Lennox Lewis (whom he knocked out to win the title), Larry Holmes, Frank Bruno, Buster Douglas, Bruce Seldon and Tony Tucker, it is remarkable how McCall was never denied.

The only time he was stopped, in the Lewis rematch, was due to a failure in the fight that resulted in his corner taking him out, not Lewis’ show-ending punches.

As if his freakish resilience during his boxing career wasn’t enough, McCall was one of the few sparring partners who consistently gave prime Mike Tyson trouble in sparring. While others were either overly impressed or too scared to support Mike prepare for his fights, McCall was an omnipresent figure in the ring against Tyson.

Action Images/Nick Potts

11) Carlos Monzon – the king of Argentina had one of the hardest jaws of all

Monzon is considered by many to be the greatest middleweight champion of all time. He has never been stopped in 100 fights and is undefeated in his last 80 fights. As middleweight king for seven years, Monzon mercilessly took his opponents down with a hazardous jab.

On the sporadic occasions when opponents landed, the punches simply bounced off without effect before the Argentine darted for the finish line. Bennie Briscoe was one of the few to hurt Monzon on camera with a disastrous right hand that sent the champion into the corner post. Additionally, Monzon has recovered from just two knockdowns in his entire career.

10) Carl Froch – Carl Froch’s granite chin came up for inspection

“Cobra” made up for its lack of finesse with brute strength, endless stamina and a concrete chin. Watching Froch take punishment for keeping his lead hand low, shake off shots and immediately lunge forward with terrifying barrages will never get venerable. He famously stated that he couldn’t be knocked out until George Groves tested this theory with a punishing attack that would keep weaker men at bay.

In typical fashion, Froch absorbed everything and came back forceful to secure the stoppage, in a similar fashion to the Jermaine Taylor fight, with both occasions being the only time Froch was dropped.

A murderous row of super middleweight champions descended on the Briton, including fearsome boxers such as Mikkel Kessler, Artur Abraham, Jean Pascal, Jermaine Taylor, George Groves and Glen Johnson, with only Kessler and Andre Ward defeating him at points in 36 fights.

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 31: George Groves in action with Carl Froch in their IBF and WBA World Super Middleweight fight at Wembley Stadium on May 31, 2014 in London, England. (Photo: Scott Heavey/Getty Images)

9) Randall “Tex” Cobb – Supposedly he has the undisputed best chin of all time

Despite being the victim of a one-sided, 15-round beating against the great Larry Holmes, Cobb demanded a rematch, claiming that Holmes’s hands would not be able to take the beating his face was giving them. Tex also went the distance with Ken Norton, Leon Spinks and Michael Dokes, eating Earnie Shavers’ fists for breakfast before knocking out the heaviest boxer in boxing history.

Despite taking so many tough hits, Cobb remained incredibly witty and piercing, and his humor and tough demeanor landed him several leading roles in Hollywood. In a truly bizarre display of vulnerability, Cobb was stopped for the only time in one inning against the light-hitting Dee Collier.

8) Carmen Basilio – nasty left hook and matching chinlock

When you’re taking on five consecutive Fight of the Year winners, you better have a forceful mustache! The “Upstate Onion Farmer” claimed to have done this from 1955 to 1959 with a 15-round win and loss to Sugar Ray Robinson, a lone loss to Gene Fullmer, and KO victories over Johnny Saxton and Tony De Marco. Facing Robinson, one of the toughest boxers in history, Basilio won the middleweight world title only to lose it in an equally grueling rematch via split decision.

The De Marco fight is probably the most impressive display of resistance to punishment ever seen, rivaled only by the era of Archie Moore’s inhuman performance against Yvon Durrelle.

De Marco couldn’t miss Basilio, who was landing furious, constant punches with powerful punches that hit home. Against all odds, Basilio stayed in the fight and won a comeback via KO in the 12th round. Basilio’s fights in the tardy 1950s make him one of the toughest fighters of all time.

(Original caption) Tony DeMarco (right) throws haymakers at Carmen Basilio in the fifth round of their championship fight at the Boston Garden.

We know all about the devastating ball of the great heavyweight he was as a professional, but David Tua was also a great amateur, having learned his craft in a compact gym in Mangere Bridge in Auckland, Fresh Zealand, before going on to win a bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Now, as Tua prepares to return to Samoa for his homecoming, he will be honored on October 26 at the Auckland Boxing Association Hall of Fame.

Tua, ABA president Paul McSharry, said while speaking to RNZ Sports in Fresh Zealand, “is the best amateur we’ve ever had and the best professional we’ll probably ever have.”

Indeed, Tua Pro was a true force of nature, a block of granite with deadly power in both fists, and “Tuaman” also had a stamina that blazed in his prime. As an amateur, Tua had 75 wins out of 84 listed fights, and Tua won 60 of those fights by stoppage or KO. At the age of 15, Tua became Fresh Zealand national champion, while in the semi-final of the 1992 Olympics he was defeated by David Izonritei; Tua knocks out Izon (as he was later called) as a pro.

But Tua, the explosive star who so many people were convinced would become world champion, started out like all the greats (and when it comes to great, you could argue that Tua is one of the greatest heavyweights to never win a title world champion) title) – as a beginner boxer devouring knowledge. And now Tua will be paid tribute and his amateur career will be honored later this month.

“It’s a huge surprise. Certainly an honor. I am grateful and think of those who have gone before who paved the way for me to be where I am today. I’m just very grateful, cheerful and grateful for this,” Tua said of his upcoming honor. “They (ABA) played a huge role, not only as coaches, trainers, fathers, but they mentored me to become the person I am today. This is an opportunity to thank everyone who has played a role in my life. I can only hope that I left the game knowing it was better than when I started.

Tua has certainly left his mark, not only in Fresh Zealand but around the world. As incensed as he was in the ring, Tua was/is a really nice guy outside of it. Tua remains a true fan favorite today. Winning a national title at the age of 15 is quite an achievement, and winning an Olympic medal obviously means a lot to all the athletes who achieve it.

It’s actually quite difficult to imagine adolescent Tua learning his trade. When he burst onto the world stage in 1996 with a terrifying KO of John Ruiz, Tua looked almost like the finished article, certainly when it came to his punching skills. Tua really looked like a future champion, perhaps a long reigning champion. Instead, quite astonishingly, Tua never managed to even capture the heavyweight crown.

That said, Tua gave us plenty of excitement, great fights and nights we will always remember: check out his knockouts of Ruiz, Darroll Wilson, David Izon, Oleg Maskaev, Hasim Rahman, Obed Sullivan, Michael Moorer and Shane Cameron. Although many fans will always be impressed by the absolute war that Tua engaged in with Ike Ibeabuchi.

Tua truly ranks among the best heavyweights to never rule the world.

FIVE years ago, at the end of a book signing, I was given a plastic bag containing boxing books and magazines. It was a busy time and the bag was buried under other things in a room in my house. It was lost and last week I found it and found a true boxing classic. It was a book I had never heard of.

The book is called by Neil Scott and with an introduction by Frank Sinatra. It was published in 1947. I don’t know where to start. The photos are amazing, the words are magical, and Sinatra is brilliant.

The first photo in the book is a close-up of the pair of gloves worn by Louis in this photo, where he is leaning forward; in the book, the main subject of the photographs are gloves, slightly blurred and venerable. Scott writes of two “destructive fists” and advises the reader to “Notice the ease of their position.” And he’s right, all great fighters hold their hands in such relaxed and casual poses – it’s a compact thing that catches the eye when you look closely at it.

The next two photos (don’t worry, I won’t describe every page of the book that doesn’t have numbers) show two women from Joe’s family. Octavia Hays Barrow, his great-grandmother, and Virginia Hays Barrow, the boxer’s grandmother. The women are stunning. Scott again, first about Octavia, then about Virginia: “Like other of the Master’s ancestors, she has dominant Indian features… Note her sensitive, knowledgeable face and striking basic North American Indian build.” The photos are a triumph. There are also bold, early and revealing photos of many of Louis’ relatives on Alabama farms and the warning: “Negro life in Alabama is still the same.” This is not an ordinary picture story.

There was a distraction from a photo showing President Roosevelt meeting Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia. This is the beginning of Louis’ war years: “The civilized world sat idly by while nearly naked Ethiopians defended themselves with spears, sticks and stones against the mustard gas, tanks, machine guns and dive bombers of Mussolini’s mechanized Roman legions.” This all paints a picture of Joe, the hero; then Hitler and Franco appear in front of the first boxing photo.

The photo is venerable, unhappy, and shows Louis on the floor opposite “Hitler’s official sports representative, Max Schmeling.” Then there’s a photo I’ve never seen before, showing Louis on his knees, gloved, holding the middle rope, and his eyes staring at something on the canvas. “Millions of hearts loved Joe that night.”

And then Joe starts ruining everyone, his face is joyful and his dressing room is filled with smiling faces. Joe smiles at the camera and raises his right fist in the photo after knocking out Jim Braddock to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He looks very newborn – no whining, just a lively kid.

Schmeling’s revenge is a continuation of the war against fascism. There are brutal photos. “Schmeling literally screamed with rage and pain.” At the end is a photo of Schmeling being held by the referee: “Der Fuehrer’s player needed a lot of protection that night.”

In the fight with Tony Galento – two contrasting photos of the knockdowns each of them suffered – the words fully capture Louis’ ferocity that night. “Sometimes it seemed like he was going to tear the stocky Italian to pieces.” Galento is shown being beaten, and the last photo of the fight shows Galento, his face glued together with stitches and plasters, holding his wife’s considerable breasts as she sits on his lap. “Tony is comforted by Mrs. Galento, to whom he was still the most wonderful little boy in the world.”

Arturo Godoy’s facial damage is ridiculous. The photo is from the rematch; Louis beat him mercilessly when the first fight was already in the distance. Godoy argues at the end after the break and tries to attack Louis; blood-soaked rage is captured. During the first fight, Godoy kissed and ruffled Joe’s hair. Louis was mean and these photos perfectly show that side of the great man.

There are many photos of men falling to the ground, their limp bodies, and other men on the canvas, their faces covered in blood. In the background, Louis often looks around and goes to the corner.

There are also military photos of Joe on horseback, Joe with the Eskimos, Joe the doctor with hundreds of participants, Joe in Italy, Joe in a muddy ditch at training camp. And then, in the final pages, Joe the activist. The author Neil Scott was black. There is a photo of Louis and Scott with a man named Isaac Woodard, “who was blinded after being beaten by police in South Carolina the day after he was discharged from the army.”

Woodard was on a bus, got off, attacked, blinded, and then found guilty of assault. Louis was co-chair of the Isaac Woodard Benefits Committee. In the photo, Issac is helped up the stairs, with his murky glasses covering his eyes. Joe is not smiling in this photo. The Woodard incident was pivotal in the up-to-date history of civil rights in America. Joe Louis was involved.

The last word belongs to Ancient Blue Eyes. Here is Sinatra talking about his idol and friend: “We too can be proud, because in such a dramatic way he embodies one of the ideals we hold dear – that a man’s character and abilities do not result solely from the color of his skin or the nature of his religious beliefs.” What hidden beauty lies in this little book.