Tyson hit harder than Foreman and Earnie Shavers

[SBleeder]

I see a lot of back and forth arguing in this thread. If anyone needs some help you know where to find me. Im a world recognized underground street fighter with a near perfect record. Im a hired gun and dont take anything personal. Money talks.

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I'm an astronaut.

[joe strong]

i don't know who hit the hardest...

rahman who has been knocked out & felt some of the hardest punchers shots(of the last 2 decades) said he may have been knocked out by lennox & maskaev but he don't remember the KO shots. he said corrie sanders hit him harder then any other HW throughout his career. botha who has been in the ring with tyson, lennox, wlad, etc said lennox hit him harder then anyone else. ray mercer was asked following his lost to wlad who hit harder lennox or wlad & he said lennox(he also said he was 41 when wlad fought him so)but he finished by saying tommy morrison hit him harder then any other HW...

[Ben Bolt]

Some quotes by and about Earnie Shavers, interviewed in Boxing Monthly’s August 2014 issue (writer Mick Gill starts the article: Earnie Shavers was the hardest hitting man ever to walk the earth. Period.)

Ali and Holmes
Earnie: Larry was the better fighter, but without doubt, Muhammad was “The Greatest”…
Ali had the quickest hands and feet, and probably the best chin, but Larry and I shared 23 rounds and he was definitely the most underrated. Whereas Ali “flicked” his jab, Holmes’s jab was ramrod and he could double and triple it. His fluid, side-to-side movement, creating angles, also gave me real problems. It kept me off balance and frustrated …
Writer Colin Hart: I was ringside at MSG when old Earnie gave Ali ‘life and death’ in a helluva fight. Ali really should’ve retired after …. Later, I was very close to Holmes, who confided that when Earnie felled him with that monster right, it was as if a thousand bulbs lit up in his head. He confessed to being ‘out cold’ and only woke up when his head thumped the canvas! …

Jerry Quarry
Earnie: I underestimated Jerry, but he was tough, and beat me like a bass drum. Later on, Ken Norton beat Jerry badly and I beat up Kenny, so it all worked out.

Ken Norton
Earnie: I beat Kenny six weeks before the fight at a press conference in California. I gave him my glare, told him I’d destroy him and he became petrified of me; couldn’t look me in the eye … Kenny could never fight going backwards, so I just went for him …

Ron Lyle
Earnie: I got screwed. I floored Ron in round two, but they gave him a long count (Lyle was up in time, my opinion) while the referee slowly ushered me to the neutral corner. He recovered and I punched myself out … Still, Ron hit me harder than any other man did …
Earnie adopting a new look: The Lyle defeat set me back and I needed to do something to gain me attention. So I shaved my hair off, grew the Fu Manchu moustache and stopped smiling. Truth is, I'm a naturally friendly guy. It's hard for me to look menacing ...

Frazier and Foreman (who Earnie never faced)
Earnie: Joe told me himself: “No way, Earnie!” and George certainly didn’t want me to fight him. Archie Moore had trained us both and advised George not to go against a puncher like me. George was wild and got tired quick. I didn’t only hit too hard, I was way too fast …

Kenny Rainford, 14-3 as a pro
Kenny: Trust me, Earnie’s power is underestimated, not overestimated. We sparred when I was in my prime and Earnie was making his last comeback, aged 50. He hit me on the hip with huge gloves on and I seriously thought I was paralysed! His feet were permanently glued to the canvas and he generated all his power by twisting from the waist.

[Scott9945]

Some quotes by and about Earnie Shavers, interviewed in Boxing Monthly***8217;s August 2014 issue (writer Mick Gill starts the article: Earnie Shavers was the hardest hitting man ever to walk the earth. Period.)

Ali and Holmes
Earnie: Larry was the better fighter, but without doubt, Muhammad was ***8220;The Greatest***8221;***8230;
Ali had the quickest hands and feet, and probably the best chin, but Larry and I shared 23 rounds and he was definitely the most underrated. Whereas Ali ***8220;flicked***8221; his jab, Holmes***8217;s jab was ramrod and he could double and triple it. His fluid, side-to-side movement, creating angles, also gave me real problems. It kept me off balance and frustrated ***8230;
Writer Colin Hart: I was ringside at MSG when old Earnie gave Ali ***8216;life and death***8217; in a helluva fight. Ali really should***8217;ve retired after ***8230;. Later, I was very close to Holmes, who confided that when Earnie felled him with that monster right, it was as if a thousand bulbs lit up in his head. He confessed to being ***8216;out cold***8217; and only woke up when his head thumped the canvas! ***8230;

Jerry Quarry
Earnie: I underestimated Jerry, but he was tough, and beat me like a bass drum. Later on, Ken Norton beat Jerry badly and I beat up Kenny, so it all worked out.

Ken Norton
Earnie: I beat Kenny six weeks before the fight at a press conference in California. I gave him my glare, told him I***8217;d destroy him and he became petrified of me; couldn***8217;t look me in the eye ***8230; Kenny could never fight going backwards, so I just went for him ***8230;

Ron Lyle
Earnie: I got screwed. I floored Ron in round two, but they gave him a long count (Lyle was up in time, my opinion) while the referee slowly ushered me to the neutral corner. He recovered and I punched myself out ***8230; Still, Ron hit me harder than any other man did ***8230;
Earnie adopting a new look: The Lyle defeat set me back and I needed to do something to gain me attention. So I shaved my hair off, grew the Fu Manchu moustache and stopped smiling. Truth is, I'm a naturally friendly guy. It's hard for me to look menacing ...

Frazier and Foreman (who Earnie never faced)
Earnie: Joe told me himself: ***8220;No way, Earnie!***8221; and George certainly didn***8217;t want me to fight him. Archie Moore had trained us both and advised George not to go against a puncher like me. George was wild and got tired quick. I didn***8217;t only hit too hard, I was way too fast ***8230;

Kenny Rainford, 14-3 as a pro
Kenny: Trust me, Earnie***8217;s power is underestimated, not overestimated. We sparred when I was in my prime and Earnie was making his last comeback, aged 50. He hit me on the hip with huge gloves on and I seriously thought I was paralysed! His feet were permanently glued to the canvas and he generated all his power by twisting from the waist.

That was a very good read, even if I didn't agree with all of Earnie's comments. Thanks.

[jiopsi]

rahman who has been knocked out & felt some of the hardest punchers shots(of the last 2 decades) said he may have been knocked out by lennox & maskaev but he don't remember the KO shots. he said corrie sanders hit him harder then any other HW throughout his career. botha who has been in the ring with tyson, lennox, wlad, etc said lennox hit him harder then anyone else. ray mercer was asked following his lost to wlad who hit harder lennox or wlad & he said lennox(he also said he was 41 when wlad fought him so)but he finished by saying tommy morrison hit him harder then any other HW...

Umm, no. There's a video on youtube, where Botha clearly states without hesitation that Mike Tyson hit hardest.

"Mike Tyson, even when he misses the wind is gonna bash your face."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzQhcYI0Jjk

[creekrat77]

Hell no. George Foreman would fold guys with one punch. His power translates very well too with his arrange of punches. Lets just say this Foreman could take Tysons over hand right but idk with Mike could withstand those brutal right upper cuts

[billeau2]

Guys like foreman and earnie shavers get the credit for being the hardest punchers ever, but I have a theory.

Foreman and earnie shavers hit with STRENGTH foreman pushes too much, Tyson hits with true power or SNAP he has much better technique.

All the fighters said earnie hit the hardest but maybe earnies punches just FELT the hardest.

Tysons punches are clean and fast as hell, and I suspect they may be more powerful, I bet they dont FEEL as punishing especially to the body, but I bet they are more likely to put your lights out!

Remember a prime Tyson forman and shavers weighed around the same mark and Tyson was much faster than both of them put together and power in a punch is largely from speed, bodyweight being secondary to that.

I bet Tyson would turn out smokin joe fraiziers lights much faster than foreman did, forman was LIFTING HIM UP OFF HIS FEET etc that requires a PUSHY STRONG punch, a snappy punch would instantly turn their lights out and not look so dramatic.

Alex

There are indeed different ways of generating power. One of the first thing a kung fu teacher I knew used to do was get people used to the idea of letting the fist hit the target simultaneously as the foot hit the ground. This is the most rudimentary way of transferring weight during a punch. As a beginner learns to walk and extend the arm, they get used to this action of foot fist coordination.

later this motion is shortened to a quicker step, and eventually....As the student comes to realize how slow this connection is, they retain the transferring dynamics and learn to use a weight transferring movement, back let to front, along with a very small step....eventually the step is lost, the student learns to transfer the weight and turn the spine from the hips. BTW a big misconnception is that the hips turn...NO no NO! the hips pivot on the spine, if the hips move the person loses their base of power, the knees must remain over the toes with a wide base and the hips turn off the spine. Karate thrusts the hips....this is a little different and more on that later.

Now....eventually the student learns to qquickly and effortlessly transfer weight and pivot the hips on the spine as they punch...keeping the elbows in and never overextending the lead arm past the toes and the knee never bends past the toes. Once this is effortless the student can now learn explosive power. This is done by exhaling more forcefully, and dropping the weight suddenly (with a sword one can also rise up the spine and hips suddenly) and briefly letting the body lock into a position where the arm is ideally extended (elbow with a slight bend, head turned at about 3 ocklock from the shoulder....If you want a visual imagine shaking some Elroy's hand and as you grasp the hand the foot hits body weight sinks and elbow gently turns slightly inward.

THESE dynamics are the combined ways that generate power in a punch! the body weight caused heaviness because weight is behind the punch. The turning movement creates your whipping explosiveness and....your settling creates a distance, a brace for impact along with the breathing.

Boxers may have a preference for different body dynamics. Explosiveness, heavy handedness, etc. Actually the most important thing is the bad habits that lose power along the connection....keeping the elbows too wide, bending the knee fowards which collapses your base, folds your hip joint in and offbalances you, settling at the wrong distance, etc.

A lot of fighters today, because they start off squared up, lose power because there is no place to transfer weight.

My point is that if you look at any great puncher they have great dynamics that fall into the categories described. Louis always punched from a balanced position, seldom telegraphed (Schmeling taught him that haha) and had excellent spinal pivoting. max Bear dropped his weight and turned his wide shoulders like a whip when he threw his right. Big George and Shavers put their weight into their hits. Tyson, like Dempsey (who he studied), would move in such a way that when he exploded his punches his weight would bob onto the front leg so his body was behind his shots....Evander shut Mike down by keeping his weight back on his heels making his punches lose all their steam.

[kendom]

What's it all really matter between "hits harder" or "heavy handed" or "has better technique and speed"?

The name of the game in boxing is doing damage. I seriously doubt Thomas Hearns was a heavy handed guy. His power came from his right hand traveling from point A to point B with with frightening velocity and with great technique and leverage. Any doubts about where he stands amongst the hardest punchers ever? I will guarantee Pipino Cuevas had much heavier hands than Tommy did, but I think only a handful would consider him a harder/better puncher than Hearns. That's because when Hearns threw punches people fell down at quite a higher rate than most did against most other fighters in history.

That's all that matters.

This.

A lot of the distinctions people make here is dubious. Foreman and Shavers might have been heavier handed than Tyson but they didnt hit with more power. Tyson had concussive power, the kind that put you to sleep, Foreman and Shavers were more clubbing punchers, they beat their opponents down they didnt really KO guys with a single punch although then again neither did Tyson. If I had to choose I'd rather have Tyson's power.

[kendom]

Joe Louis did not have the movement, power or speed that Tyson had, and he also falls short when it comes to who was the better fighter with both hands - in watching Tyson it's hard to tell what is his dominant hand was. Both were equally devastating.

Joe Louis was a precise and accurate puncher but better than Tyson I don't think so.

I dont agree with this, Louis was just as much as a two handed puncher as Tyson was, Louis destroyed many a man with his left hook, ala his knockout of Lee Ramage with a single left hook who then had to be carried back to his corner.

[beez721]

This.

A lot of the distinctions people make here is dubious. Foreman and Shavers might have been heavier handed than Tyson but they didnt hit with more power. Tyson had concussive power, the kind that put you to sleep, Foreman and Shavers were more clubbing punchers, they beat their opponents down they didnt really KO guys with a single punch although then again neither did Tyson. If I had to choose I'd rather have Tyson's power.

tyson was a much sharper puncher. I think most of his knockouts came from his opponents not being able to see the punches coming. foreman and shavers had the the type of power were you could see and brace for the punches but they could still knock you out. just a different type of power