Who was a harder hitter prime George Foreman or Sonny Liston?

[MartialMind]

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[billeau2]

That is a great pic! Many people do not know that Liston mentored a young George Foreman. I suspect most people will answer this question with some variation of George Foreman hitting harder. I think perhaps that is a logical conclusion. There are some caveats to this conclusion however... Boxers are not machines that hit the same way in every situation. I think Liston was perhaps the best finisher ever regarding heavyweights. I think his artillery, at the finish was accurate and perhaps even as concussive as Big George. Liston was not a heavy handed fighter to the degree that Foreman was... Liston was more accurate, and had better form.

But alas, all things considered, Foreman on average, probably hit harder than Liston

[The Old LefHook]

F=MA.

Foreman, if they both hit you with their best cleanly.

Foreman had superior mass, but Sonny had superior acceleration and technique and was more likely to hit his target cleanly. For those reasons it falls under "undecidable."

[GhostofDempsey]

I would say Liston. Foreman said no other fighter ever pushed him backwards in sparring or real fights. When Liston was all washed up he inflicted damage to Werner that no other fighter ever came close to doing. Two fast KO’s over Patterson and a prime Williams.

[Ben Bolt]

While Joe Frazier/Jimmy Ellis were named “World champions” by NYSAC/WBA in the late 1960s, Liston went 14–0 (13 KOs) after the second Ali fight, before getting caught by lucky punches from Leotis Martin in 1969.

“Maybe Sonny will get a title shot now that we lost today ... because we sure couldn't get one while we were winning." – Dick Sadler, trainer.

[QueensburyRules]

- -Time for you boys to study up! Big George 2x Frazier and 1x Norton and 1x Moorer trumps Sonny no matter how many hands they gonna play.

[them_apples]

Foreman fought in an era with more media coverage so naturally hes gonna be talked about more than Liston, historically.

Record wise though, I suspect most of the guys Foreman stopped Liston could as well.

If we go by non factual evidence, Foreman has longer legs and is better proportioned, so I would guess he has more leverage than Liston, who was Top heavy. If any argument is here, it's Liston might be stronger, Foreman the harder puncher.

[billeau2]

- -Time for you boys to study up! Big George 2x Frazier and 1x Norton and 1x Moorer trumps Sonny no matter how many hands they gonna play.

Time to read the question and heres a hint, it was not about record, it was about punching power.

[Blond Beast]

That is a great pic! Many people do not know that Liston mentored a young George Foreman. I suspect most people will answer this question with some variation of George Foreman hitting harder. I think perhaps that is a logical conclusion. There are some caveats to this conclusion however... Boxers are not machines that hit the same way in every situation. I think Liston was perhaps the best finisher ever regarding heavyweights. I think his artillery, at the finish was accurate and perhaps even as concussive as Big George. Liston was not a heavy handed fighter to the degree that Foreman was... Liston was more accurate, and had better form.

But alas, all things considered, Foreman on average, probably hit harder than Liston

Good post. Always going to be hard to prove who hits “harder” and what we want that to actually mean. Today we could put a force gauge on a bag and have everyone hit it all day long and whoever gets the single hardest punch could be considered the “hardest” puncher. But then there’s also two hands to find out about. Also an average could be taken over a certain amount of punches, or punches over time. But also how it translates into in ring results. I agree with you that Liston had better form, quicker and more variety. If Liston ever got as heavy as Big George did later on, I think his power punching performances would suffer. The extra weight wouldn’t suit his style as well. So yes I’m picking Big George, but if anything these two have to be very close. There’s no reprieve on having to fight one over the other. Take the biggest pay check. Have medical staff on hand.

[HOUDINI563]

I watched Foreman train back in the early/mid 70’s. Can’t imagine anyone hitting harder. Thunderous puncher.