Both Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes said Earnie Shavers was the hardest puncher they ever met.
So, here's a couple of Shavers rights: against Ali at 9:45; and against Holmes, that famous blow at 2:24 (quote: "the hardest punch a man ever got up from to win a fight").
Shavers had average punching power at best
Don't be ridiculous. Of course Shavers didn't have average power. Don't let Shavers's undeserved reputation as hardest puncher of all time lead you to make silly comments like this. Shavers punched plenty hard. Just not as hard as the best in the business.
Oh really? Based on what?
Based on Larry Holmes head almost coming off his sholders?
Or just based on his numerous knockout victories?
Show me a pic of Homles's head almost coming off his shoulders. Otherwise your comment is just like all the other comments exaggerating Shavers's power with ridiculous hyperbolic quotes that don't match the reality of what they claim to illustrate.
Shavers has 69 KOs.
How many Heavyweights got 69 KOs? Seriously.
The number of knockouts is irrelevant. The manner and quality of the knockouts however is.
This ain't P4P though.
Shavers is the hardest hitting HW.
Beautiful overhand!
Based on what? Knocking down but not knocking out a bunch of fighters. Watch Lennox smack Rahman about then come back to me.
Shavers is the most overrated puncher outside of Tyson (and I consider Tyson a harder one punch puncher than Shavers, and I'll be plenty happy to back that up with video evidence if necessary.)
The only bizarre thing - Jackson didn't carry his power up in weight at all. He could turn a planet into space junk with one shot, seemingly, but Gerald McLellan said he felt like a welterweight was hitting him when they fought. Bizarre indeed.
Not bizarre at all when you consider that boxers routinely talk a lot of junk that shouldn't be taken at face value.
"The Hawk" Jackson, a jr middleweight version of Shavers, being outboxed. However ...
By the way, before being an established name, Jackson was halted in two rounds by legendary Mike McCallum in 1986. "Bodysnatcher" McCallum, never stopped in a 55-fight career, later said that the hardest punches he ever felt were the ones delivered by Jackson in the opening round.
It's about single-punch power.
For sure, Iron Mike was more devastating, but fighters who faced him said it was his speed that hurt them. They never saw them coming.
For a pound-for-pound choice, Julian Jackson is a good pick.
If it's going to be lb4lb it has to be Jimmy Wilde.
Ali fought them both, I think his opinion counts
george foreman also called lennox lewis the greatest heavyweight of all time, better than ali. Shannon Briggs said Vitali is much better than both Lennox Lewis and George Foreman, having fought all 3.
Sometimes boxers' opinions aren't that accurate
Something about Julian Jackson's shots just seems plain eerie.
Short response: Julian Jackson
Longer response:
I'm all for saying Shavers hit harder than anyone, and I wouldn't argue with that, mainly because I have no idea. Earnie Shavers never hit me.
But, if you look at youtube highlight reels of Shavers, Jackson, Hearns, etc., Julian Jackson stands out in some intangible way. He's like a spring loaded stone statue. You can see his rear foot pivot and transfer the energy through his trunk, torso and out from his low-slung shoulder and disproportionately-long forearm. His head never moves out of sync with the horizon line.
His energy transferral is so efficient that he seems to have plenty of time to reset and do his move where he points downward with his glove after he knocks someone out, sometimes while they're still in midair from the shot.
Shavers being a heavyweight, well - all heavyweights hit hard, even John Ruiz. Shavers just happened to hit harder than the rest that Ali and Holmes fought.
Thomas Hearns is my favorite fighter, so I would be more inclined to choose him as the harder puncher. But I don't choose Thomas Hearns - it's Julian Jackson.
The only bizarre thing - Jackson didn't carry his power up in weight at all. He could turn a planet into space junk with one shot, seemingly, but Gerald McLellan said he felt like a welterweight was hitting him when they fought. Bizarre indeed.
shavers could hurt the best but he couldn't beat them.
Exactly.
Shavers was a decent fighter at best. He was far from a great fighter.
But if he could do anything, he could punch.
Your post is the best way to put it, he could hurt the best, but he couldn't beat the best.
Saying he had average power is baffling.