Hey everybody.

I know this subject comes up a lot.

But what are your opinions, on who punched the hardest out of everyone, and P4P.

I think the hardest puncher was Tyson, he was just amazing.
My list goes:

1. Mike Tyson
T2. Earnie Shavers
T2. George Foreman

And P4P the hardest puncher I think was Julian Jackson.
My list is:

1. Julian Jackson
2. Mike Tyson
3. Earnie Shavers

(Naseem Hamed, Rocky Marciano are also up here. Tommy Hearns also.)

What do you all think?

Maybe Jack Dempsey?

Back in his era, he was. But he also didn't fight with gloves most of the time. And those gloves weren't padded like they are now or even since the 50s. Louis was the first to punch exceptionally hard.

Carlos Zarate Has To Up There. P4p


Carlos Zarate - WBC Bantamweight champion
Carlos Zarate was a spectacular puncher who relentlessly stalked his opponents with stunning efficiency. His dominance of the 118lbs division was absolute, easily making him one of the greatest Bantamweights of all-time.

Zarate was born in Mexico on 23-5-1951. Carlos quickly turned professional at eighteen and run of a incredible 18 straight kayos before going the distance for the first time. Another 15 kayos later Zarate challenge crafty Rodolfo Martinez for the WBC crown. The champion started strongly but was decked in the fifth and battered until being kayoed in the ninth by a vicious right uppercut. Three easy kayo defences followed before Carlos embarked on the biggest fight of his career against undefeated WBA champion Alfonso Zamora in a non-title bout.

Zamora was a tremendous puncher with an awesome 29-0 (29) record including a crushing two round kayo of future featherweight great Eusebio Pedroza. Politics prevented Zarate-Zamora being a unification match but it turned into Carlos's greatest performance. Zamora took the first as he shook Zarate with a mighty left hook but Carlos took complete control with vicious hooks and uppercuts from both hands to floor Zamora twice in the third and finish him off in the fourth with a venomous combination.

Zarate made five further kayo defences after his clinical dismissal of Zamora including a eight round stoppage of future champ Alberto Davila before moving up to face the superlative Wilfredo Gomez at Super-bantamweight. Gomez with a thunderous puncher who would eventually make 17 defenses of his crown (all by kayo) before winning feather and super-featherweight belts. Zarate fought well over the first three rounds but was caught in the fourth and hit the canvas three times before being stopped in the fifth.

Zarate returned from that loss with a easy three round kayo over Mensah Kpalongo for his ninth successful defence before taking on the teak tough Lupe Pintor. Zarate started strongly sweeping the early rounds even putting the iron-chinned Pintor down before the tough challenger came on to take the latter rounds of a hard fifteen rounder. At the end of the contest Pintor took a controversial decision which angered Zarate so much he retired from the sport in 1979.

He returned as a super-bantamweight in 1986 with twelve wins which got him a shot at the rugged Jeff Fenech. In a foul filled brawl which ended in a four round technical decision in favor of the champion. A final title shot against the resolute Daniel Zaragoza ended in a one-sided tenth round loss which prompted Zarate to retire for good.

Total fights: 65, Wins 61, Losses 4, Draws 0 (58). about 90% ko percentage in 65 fights.

Jack Dempsey was never a bareknuckle boxer and Joe Louis was never the first guy to punch "exceptionally hard". Guys like Sandy Saddler and Stanley Ketchell were murderous power punchers.

P4P the hardest puncher of all time is probably Archie Moore(131 KO's)

Maybe so, but I remember Ketchell being a middleweight.

Maybe so, but I remember Ketchell being a middleweight.


The question was all time p4p

Lol. The question was p4p and straight forward. I do need help though making a poll. :)

Earnie Shavers is supposed to be te biggest puncher of all time according to experts.

Sweet got it. What do you all think?

From a heavyweight standard, I'd go with Shavers, but p4p I would say Julian Jackson.

For old timers, the hardest puncher, in my opinion, was Jack Dempsey, James Jefferies, and Jack Johnson. Sullivan also.

P4P, its Fitzsimmons, and now I know Jose, Ketchell who knocked down Johnson, but then got knocked unconcious by Jack.

Now lets get some votes! :)

Foreman Foreman!!!! KO'ing guys with headgear and KO'd Moore with a slow punch but HARD punch and he was old.

I mean in their prime, who punched the hardest and p4p. Even though it showed how hard Foreman still punched, it wasn't close to as hard as he could punch in his prime.

My trainer sparred Carlos Zarate and he got knocked down by his jab, and zarate was 45 at tha time, he said zarate had INCREDIBLE power!

I mean in their prime, who punched the hardest and p4p. Even though it showed how hard Foreman still punched, it wasn't close to as hard as he could punch in his prime.

Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Foreman hands down.

My vote is for Earnie Shavers. Muhammad Ali stated that Shavers hit harder than anybody he ever fought (Liston, Frazier, Foreman...) and Holmes made it clear that Shavers hit harder than Mike Tyson. So, I guess there really is no doubt.

Pound for pound I am not sure. I guess Marciano could knock down walls had he been a natural 220 lbs, not 185...

The hardest puncher ever = Earnie Shavers

The hardest puncher ever, lb4lb = Julian Jackson

The BEST puncher of all time = Joe Louis

Of course Jabs beat me to it, but I gotta say....Jackson has been overlooked.

Stanley Ketchel is probably another that was overlooked.

I think Shavers all time, however Jackson banged hard as did Tommy Hearns, Tyson all time isn't even in the top ten, you have to look at some of the smaller guys who punched 3-4 times above their weight class.

Hardest puncher ever? It's a tough thing to say. I would say the heaviest puncher was George Foreman, his punches were the heaviest. The most effective puncher I would say was Sonny Liston. Pound for pound the best puncher would be Ray Robinson. Just ask Randy Turpin.

Hardest puncher ever? It's a tough thing to say. I would say the heaviest puncher was George Foreman, his punches were the heaviest. The most effective puncher I would say was Sonny Liston. Pound for pound the best puncher would be Ray Robinson. Just ask Randy Turpin.
I agree, Foreman definitely threw the heaviest punches...when he could land them accurately. Hardest puncher i'm going to say probably Mike Tyson, I don't know though, I honestly don't know the history of Shavers

M26, where did you see that Holmes said Shavers punched harder than Tyson. I remember Holmes saying that when people say he punched the hardest, he wouldn't argue. But where did you see him say suttin about Tyson?

yes!!! mike is wining
th poll

Mike Tyson..

I'm surprised no one voted for Joe Louis, I agree he was the best puncher ever, also Ray Robinson was on-par(not including power).

I went with Forman - the man had a couple of club on the end of each arm - not hands. Shavers was really close though - big George just did more with his power.
I think Sugar Ray did the most accurate punching - pin-point. His ability to throw haymaker combos and land each punch with surgical persion were what made him P4P best puncher - not most powerful though.

All time P4P hardest is tough to say. Sure Julian Jackson, Jones(at 160&168), the Hit Man (boy if he would have had a chin to match his fist he would have been the baddest man ever), Moore, Liston, Joe Lewis, etc... The P4P becomes much tougher compairing raw power at a pound for pound level. I think alot of the hardest punchers never really get to develope because they break their hands so much - especially smaller fighters.

Pound for pound, I think Sandy Saddler was the hardest puncher ever.

Nowadays, probably Rafael Marquez

This is an easy one. It's gotta be Foreman. Without his power, Foreman would have been an average Heavyweight. Instead, he is regarded as one of the greatest to ever lace up. Hell, he still had one-punch KO power into his mid-forties. Beat that!!!

M26, where did you see that Holmes said Shavers punched harder than Tyson. I remember Holmes saying that when people say he punched the hardest, he wouldn't argue. But where did you see him say suttin about Tyson?


I'm a big Larry Holmes fan.....& I've seen him say that Shavers was easily the hardest hitter he's ever faced, on several occasions.

Ali said Shavers is the hardest hitter he's faced, also.

I would say then, that you have to listen to not only one pro but two pros saysing Shavers punched the hardest. Still I think it is really close.

James Tillis....who fought a broken-down Shavers....& a young Mike Tyson...

also says Shavers is the hardest puncher he's faced.

Tex Cobb....Ken Norton...they've said it as well.


The KO record, the KO's themselves, & ALL of the guys who experienced his punch.....lead me to believe that no man who walked this earth punched as hard as Shavers.

I guess then that since so many pros said Shavers was the hardest puncher. I would say he is too. Then Tyson then Foreman. I can't argue against the pros.

Did Julian Jackson hit harder than Thomas Hearns?

Carlos Zarate Has To Up There. P4p


Carlos Zarate - WBC Bantamweight champion
Carlos Zarate was a spectacular puncher who relentlessly stalked his opponents with stunning efficiency. His dominance of the 118lbs division was absolute, easily making him one of the greatest Bantamweights of all-time.

Zarate was born in Mexico on 23-5-1951. Carlos quickly turned professional at eighteen and run of a incredible 18 straight kayos before going the distance for the first time. Another 15 kayos later Zarate challenge crafty Rodolfo Martinez for the WBC crown. The champion started strongly but was decked in the fifth and battered until being kayoed in the ninth by a vicious right uppercut. Three easy kayo defences followed before Carlos embarked on the biggest fight of his career against undefeated WBA champion Alfonso Zamora in a non-title bout.

Zamora was a tremendous puncher with an awesome 29-0 (29) record including a crushing two round kayo of future featherweight great Eusebio Pedroza. Politics prevented Zarate-Zamora being a unification match but it turned into Carlos's greatest performance. Zamora took the first as he shook Zarate with a mighty left hook but Carlos took complete control with vicious hooks and uppercuts from both hands to floor Zamora twice in the third and finish him off in the fourth with a venomous combination.

Zarate made five further kayo defences after his clinical dismissal of Zamora including a eight round stoppage of future champ Alberto Davila before moving up to face the superlative Wilfredo Gomez at Super-bantamweight. Gomez with a thunderous puncher who would eventually make 17 defenses of his crown (all by kayo) before winning feather and super-featherweight belts. Zarate fought well over the first three rounds but was caught in the fourth and hit the canvas three times before being stopped in the fifth.

Zarate returned from that loss with a easy three round kayo over Mensah Kpalongo for his ninth successful defence before taking on the teak tough Lupe Pintor. Zarate started strongly sweeping the early rounds even putting the iron-chinned Pintor down before the tough challenger came on to take the latter rounds of a hard fifteen rounder. At the end of the contest Pintor took a controversial decision which angered Zarate so much he retired from the sport in 1979.

He returned as a super-bantamweight in 1986 with twelve wins which got him a shot at the rugged Jeff Fenech. In a foul filled brawl which ended in a four round technical decision in favor of the champion. A final title shot against the resolute Daniel Zaragoza ended in a one-sided tenth round loss which prompted Zarate to retire for good.

Total fights: 65, Wins 61, Losses 4, Draws 0 (58). about 90% ko percentage in 65 fights.


The Zamora-Zarate fight sounds exciting, know where I could get a copy of this fight on DVD? Appreciate it.

Yes, I would say Jackson hit harder than Hearns, but it was close. Many people debate over these two, McClellan.

Mike Tyson...
very dynamic and powerful...
that's why all of his fights were so action-packed and exciting

I'm surprised only 6 have chose Shavers. Of course I picked Tyson, but I would change my vote now.

Some people say Tua punched harder, but that is a load of ****. What do you think?

(Excuse my language, if you're offended.)

The thing about Tyson, is that he is 2nd in hardest punching (my opinion now). But for every punch Shavers and Foreman threw, Tyson threw two or three. Causing at least twice as damage as Shavers or Foreman. He was also a more accurate puncher. There is a debate that Joe Louis was the best puncher, and Ray Robinson P4P. But I think Tyson eclipses both of them. Easily.

Shavers wins, but Foreman and Tyson are not far behind. In his prime, Foreman had ridiculous power in either hand. Tyson had explosive power in both hands too, and lighting quickness to boot. But anyone who saw Shavers fight knows he was just plain scary.

One thing though, today's superheavies can't be counted out either. LL had maybe the best right hand of all time. 245 pounds behind an 84" reach makes for an awesome amount of leverage...

By the time they asked ali about the hardest puncher parkinsons may have set in and he forgot about Big George. Big George by far because most of the others had handspeed and punched in combinations. Big George koed people in slow motion. As for Ketchell he was a mw who dropped Jack Johnson I believe right? But Johnson gets my vote for what happened 10 seconds after that.

Shavers was the hardest puncher of all time in my opinion.

The Zamora-Zarate fight sounds exciting, know where I could get a copy of this fight on DVD? Appreciate it.
Thx for actually reading my post but sorry bro those fights r very hard to find.

Mike Tyson...
very dynamic and powerful...
that's why all of his fights were so action-packed and exciting
Now a days he gets fudged packed because he is excited.lol :D