Antuofermo's chin?

[Russell]

Did he have an all time great chin? Did his fights against Hart and Hagler show this?

I know he was a bit cut prone... But raw durability wise, how well could Vito take a punch? Examples?

[Bummy Davis]

Vito took Haglers best punches but in the 2nd fight was blinded by a cut and dropped but he got up OK just blinded, took Minters shots, Vito did not always get hit flush because he crowded his opponents but He had a solid Jaw, not a Lamotta jaw but up there just below

[Russell]

After hearing about the shots he took against Hart I don't think calling his chin Lamotta like would be far off.

He was suposedly lifted OFF the canvas by some of Eugene's punches.

In Vito's own words... "If I could take those shots, I could take any". Or something really close to that.

[My dinner with Conteh]

His chin was definitely an A i'd say. I think he was only floored two or three times. All knockdowns of the flash/off balance variety. Although he was dead on his feet against Hope (ala La Motta-Robinson).

[mcvey]

His chin was definitely an A i'd say. I think he was only floored two or three times. All knockdowns of the flash/off balance variety. Although he was dead on his feet against Hope (ala La Motta-Robinson).
I saw himagainst Minter in London his chin looked pretty solid to me.

[ron u.k.]

the 2nd fight with minter he took a hell of a pumelling,but was still on his feet when it was stopped on cuts.

[Duodenum]

Vito's chin was close to LaMotta's caliber. Mauricio Aldana caught him cold, coming off a long layoff to drop him twice in the first round, but those were purely ring rust induced flash knockdowns. Once Antuofermo got in gear for that one, he had Aldana panting like a dog.

Vito's next bout was the rematch with Hagler. Marv dropped him in the third, with what may have been the best left cross of Hagler's career, but again, it was only a flash knockdown. (Noteworthy though, because Duran later said all of Marv's power was concentrated in his right, that "his left is dead.")

The only time I've heard of Antuofermo being seriously stunned was at the close of his 15 rounder with Hope, when he was supposedly weakened by making the 154 pound limit.

Like LaMotta, Antuofermo was a vastly underrated defensive fighter, who knew how to move his head a fraction of an inch to take away the full impact of a punch. Jake was masterful enough at this trick to evade any signs of dementia well into his mid 80s. (At his age now, Jake gets a free pass if he develops diminished mental capacity. Once a person turns 86 as Lamotta just has, then such an onset couldn't be reliably laid at the doorstep of taking too many punches anyway.)

[Russell]

Great stuff Duodenum, thanks.

[Luigi1985]

IMO Antuofermo had definitely an A- chin, like one wrote yet, Hagler hit him with some of his best shots and Vito wasn´t really hurt for example...

[JohnThomas1]

Absolutely top shelf chin.

[la-califa]

One of the best chin's in Middleweight history. But "A bit cut Prone"?! Ha,Ha! That's the underestimate of the year! Fake a jab & he would bleed!

[Mendoza]

Did he have an all time great chin? Did his fights against Hart and Hagler show this?

I know he was a bit cut prone... But raw durability wise, how well could Vito take a punch? Examples?

Vito had a top chin. It was among the best in middle weight history. On a 1 to 100 scale with 100 being the best and 1 being the worst, I say Vito’s chin was in the mid 90’s.

[JohnThomas1]

One of the best chin's in Middleweight history. But "A bit cut Prone"?! Ha,Ha! That's the underestimate of the year! Fake a jab & he would bleed!

:lol:

[birddog]

One of the best chin's in Middleweight history. But "A bit cut Prone"?! Ha,Ha! That's the underestimate of the year! Fake a jab & he would bleed!
LOL

Yeah Vito Bleed, and I'm in agreement his chin was top of the line. I had the pleasure of meeting him briefly back in the day, seemed to be a good guy. But the scartissue he had at the time is something that didn't come across on TV.

If only he had a punch close to his toughness and heart

[buzzsaw]

Vito was and always will be one of my all time favorite fighters. Anybody know if the talk that circulated about his corner using axel grease on him to close cuts have any truth to them? I thought so much of him I recently named the Boxer I bought after him. If the house breaking doesn't start sinking in I'm going Minter on him.LOL

[Duodenum]

When thinking about it, the only physical attribute Vito was born with that was suitable for boxing was his chin. He wasn't tall, didn't have long arms, probably didn't have a fast twitch muscle fiber in his body, didn't have quick arms and feet, bled easily, didn't throw straight punches, and had little punching power. He was not a handsome or glamourous looking pretty boy, like Ali or DLH. Nor did he project the boyish charm and charisma, or represent the compelling media story of a Matthew Saad Muhammad, Ray Mancini, or Bobby Chacon. Yet, in June 1979, this transplant from Italy to Brooklyn brought the Undisputed World MW Championship back to the United States for the first time since Emile Griffith lost it to Nino Benvenuti in March 1968, a triumph which resounded in both Italy and the United States.

Vito did it with toughness, heart, sheer grit and determination, along with dedicated hard work and discipline. Except for a great chin, Vito's qualities of bravery, tremendous physical strength, muscular endurance and stamina, along with the principle that the harder one works, the harder it is to surrender, are qualities within the abilities of most of us to develop for ourselves.

While the monarchist boxing press may not have cared much for somebody who was a solidly unspectacular family man (rather than a scandalously flamboyant playboy, and ultimately sordid dramatic tragedy like Carlos Monzon), rank and file boxing fans developed a strong attachment to somebody they regarded as having proved that such an achievement was within the reach of any common individual ready willing and able to put the time and effort needed into realizing such an ambitious dream. It's why the audiences at his matches usually chanted Vito's name, whenever he wasn't fighting in his opponent's back yard. (When Antuofermo made his comeback against Aldana in Chicago after his rematch loss to Minter in London, the chants of "Vito!, Vito!, Vito!" were deafening, even through the television speakers.)

Vito Antuofermo really did make the most of what athletic ability he was born with. Like Marciano and Frazier, he will always be appreciated by fight fans for having become a champion in doing so. He did his best, and his best was good enough.

[scartissue]

Duodenum, completely agree with your assessment on Vito except for the part of his speed of hand. I feel Vito's hand speed was vastly underrated. If you can beg borrow or steal a copy of his fight with Danny McAloon it may change your opinion. Even in the Hagler fight, when in close those hands moved well. Although I laughed when you mentioned he never threw a straight punch because you are right there. Vito never threw a straight punch in his life. As for his chin, I recall his fight with Cyclone Hart so well. I think it was in the 4th where Hart let loose a ripping left hook and Vito hardly blinked, but then Hart repeated the shot and Vito quivered a little before ripping into Hart. I never thought I would see someone take two full-blooded left hooks from Cyclone Hart and still stand vertical.

Scartissue

[Duodenum]

Duodenum, completely agree with your assessment on Vito except for the part of his speed of hand. I feel Vito's hand speed was vastly underrated. If you can beg borrow or steal a copy of his fight with Danny McAloon it may change your opinion. Even in the Hagler fight, when in close those hands moved well. Although I laughed when you mentioned he never threw a straight punch because you are right there. Vito never threw a straight punch in his life. As for his chin, I recall his fight with Cyclone Hart so well. I think it was in the 4th where Hart let loose a ripping left hook and Vito hardly blinked, but then Hart repeated the shot and Vito quivered a little before ripping into Hart. I never thought I would see someone take two full-blooded left hooks from Cyclone Hart and still stand vertical.

ScartissueI never really focused on Vito's hand speed, so much as I did his subtle defensive head movements. It's very well known that after his first match with Hagler, veteran boxing writer Bob Waters reviewed that bout on videotape and claimed that Antuofermo won 11 of the 15 rounds. While viewing a match on videotape can be vastly different from watching the live action from ringside, I did take a very close look at a replay of that war, and could see how Vito would swivel his chin from side to side, preventing Marv from hitting him flush on the head.

Judging a match accurately requires a recognition of the subtlties and discernment of the finer intricacies involved in ring generalship. As judges only seem attracted to the most obvious apparencies in this lamentable era, perhaps it's time to restore the no decision mandate for boxing contests, and get rid of points scoring. Then, the triumph of substance over style will once again be truly restored, and boxing will once again be a genuine competition, where the best have mastered the authentic art of self defense, rather than subjective showmanship for a prejudiced panel of three.