Who is the hardest puncher in boxing history?

[The Old LefHook]

I can dig this.

Heavyweight: Joe Louis

True power is force, speed and accuracy!
Thomas Hearns Vs Duran, that's true hitting power.
Joe Louis was the hardest hitting heavy ever, to this day, he could and did put a lighting bolt to the curve of your jaw!

Pound 4 pound: Robinson

See his knockout of Fullmer with the left hook.
Force, speed and accuracy. ****, fights over in 1/8th second.

Force is exactly equal to mass times acceleration. We have been through this with a fine tooth comb. Accuracy is another matter, doesn't make a punch any harder. It will knock you out better if it is accurate, but it is not any harder because it knocks you out better.

The question of the thread still is: Who is the most powerful puncher of all time, not who could knock you out better because they were also accurate.

I think excellent cases can be made for either Louis or Robinson being the best puncher of all time. This really has to do with their timing and accuracy. The case for them weakens considerably if only F=MA is considered. There were more powerful men with just as much throwing technique who were not slower to unbalance the equation, such as Tyson, to name a handy example.

Robinson did cleanly KO two all time top middleweights in Fullmer and Graziano with a single shot. But he had to pound TKO's out of LaMotta and Turpin. A combination with a lefhook that might have done the job by itself, took care of Bobo Olsen. Bobo only had a fair chin. Ray beat on little Basilio all night twice and could not put him out or even down.

To go over old ground, for my money Robinson is the best P4P puncher of all time, all things considered. But when it comes to sheer force my money would go on Hearns or Julian Jackson as harder P4P punchers, to name only two.

[Scott9945]

What about Carlos Zarate? 66-4, 63 KO wins. Or is the quality of competition not as strong? Julian Jackson definitely, plus Nigel Benn, Tyson, Liston, Foreman. Wlad has the knockout wins, but is plagued with a much weaker heavyweight era. Vitali hit pretty hard, had the chin to boot too.

Zarate fought the highest level of competition at this time at bantamweight. I saw him fight live and you could hear his punches crack. He should legitimately be listed among the best KO punchers of all time.

[Fury4daWIN]

Well that holds true for Foreman as well ,Wlad is also hitting 240 pounders on average .Wlad also doesnt try and k.o you ,Tyson ,Morrison,Foreman all put everything into there punch ,almost in every instance when Manny pleaded with Wlad to end the fight he did ,also k.o someone in the later rounds as much as the early rounds shows power,Foreman has a very small percentage of after mid round k.os ,Wlad ended Brewsters career so not sure who you are referring to.

I'm not going to argue if you want to put Wlad ahead of Foreman, though it should be noted that Foreman's punches didn't have anywhere near the speed, snap, technique or precision of Wlad's and still had a tremendously damaging effect on his opponents. He also didn't really get his body into his shots a lot of the time. He didn't arm punch, that's a myth, though he also tended to use less of his body mechanics than other noted power punchers. That's why I rate him in pure power stakes, and why I guess a lot of others do as well.

As Wlad has slowed and his technique has become sloppier, his punches are having a noticeably decreased effect on his opponents. He rarely rocks or KOs anyone with glancing, poorly thrown shots the way Foreman did. His most damaging shots are still those in which he gets full extension and is able to set his feet and turn his body into the shot. Foreman was still dangerous well into his forties (and might well still be, for all I know) long after any other athletic attributes he might have had were gone.

[juggernaut666]

I'm not going to argue if you want to put Wlad ahead of Foreman, though it should be noted that Foreman's punches didn't have anywhere near the speed, snap, technique or precision of Wlad's and still had a tremendously damaging effect on his opponents. He also didn't really get his body into his shots a lot of the time. He didn't arm punch, that's a myth, though he also tended to use less of his body mechanics than other noted power punchers. That's why I rate him in pure power stakes, and why I guess a lot of others do as well.

As Wlad has slowed and his technique has become sloppier, his punches are having a noticeably decreased effect on his opponents. He rarely rocks or KOs anyone with glancing, poorly thrown shots the way Foreman did. His most damaging shots are still those in which he gets full extension and is able to set his feet and turn his body into the shot. Foreman was still dangerous well into his forties (and might well still be, for all I know) long after any other athletic attributes he might have had were gone.

Speed ,technique and accuracy all constitute a stronger punch when combined....if a runner like Bolt has an unfair avdantage for being to fast does he get penalised and held back a mili second ?No of course not you cannot take someones attributes away and say well he hits harder because hes faster or has better technique it doesnt work like that,he is hitting harder period for throwing the better punch .If i were to test someones power on the heavy bag im not going to stop him and say hold on your using your body ,i just want to see arm punches thats a bit ridiculous .

When was the last time Wlad K.O'd someone ,what gives you that i idea ,Jennings was never k.o or lost prior to Wlad ?

Theres a differance between power a nd hitting harder ,and the thread is who hits harder not who has more power as usually means heavy handed and blunt force.For this reaon and what attributes a hardeer punch i have Wlad ,Tyson and Morrison ,as my top 3 from what i personally have seen ,i dont consider Foreman a one shot k.o puncher i see more better one punch ability from also Lewis and Ruddock ,i would then have Foreman followed by Vitali any one after i would have to think about ,this is just my list .

[Fury4daWIN]

Speed ,technique and accuracy all constitute a stronger punch when combined....if a runner like Bolt has an unfair avdantage for being to fast does he get penalised and held back a mili second ?No of course not you cannot take someones attributes away and say well he hits harder because hes faster or has better technique it doesnt work like that,he is hitting harder period for throwing the better punch .If i were to test someones power on the heavy bag im not going to stop him and say hold on your using your body ,i just want to see arm punches thats a bit ridiculous .

Like I said, if you want to put Wlad ahead of Foreman then no complaints from me. They're both bone chilling punchers in their own way. Foreman just impresses me more due to how much damage he could inflict with ****ty technique and zero speed. But line up Wlad and Foreman and measure their hardest shot and I wouldn't be surprised to see Wlad come out on top. Same goes for Tyson, Lennox or even someone like Rahman.

When was the last time Wlad K.O'd someone ,what gives you that i idea ,Jennings was never k.o or lost prior to Wlad ?

He hadn't really fought enough guys to lose before (though many thought he should have at least drawn against Perez). He was also knocked down by Bowie Topou so it's not like he possessed a McCall esque chin.

Theres a differance between power a nd hitting harder ,and the thread is who hits harder not who has more power as usually means heavy handed and blunt force.For this reaon and what attributes a hardeer punch i have Wlad ,Tyson and Morrison ,as my top 3 from what i personally have seen ,i dont consider Foreman a one shot k.o puncher i see more better one punch ability from also Lewis and Ruddock ,i would then have Foreman followed by Vitali any one after i would have to think about ,this is just my list .

What about Tua?

[juggernaut666]

Like I said, if you want to put Wlad ahead of Foreman then no complaints from me. They're both bone chilling punchers in their own way. Foreman just impresses me more due to how much damage he could inflict with ****ty technique and zero speed. But line up Wlad and Foreman and measure their hardest shot and I wouldn't be surprised to see Wlad come out on top. Same goes for Tyson, Lennox or even someone like Rahman.



He hadn't really fought enough guys to lose before (though many thought he should have at least drawn against Perez). He was also knocked down by Bowie Topou so it's not like he possessed a McCall esque chin.



What about Tua?

Someone like Tyson or Wlad ,you are going to train harder for because you will have to ,people dont realise that Tyson had fought the best versions of many guys he fought just because of his level the same with Wlad ,just to take their punches alone you have to,along with the extra motivation of leaving the ring with gold.

Tua is another power /hard hitter hes aggressive and forces a k.o i would have him there to in the middle some where .Frank Bruno hit hard to he had a 90 % k.o percentage i believe when he fought Tyson ,his problem was stamina .

[Fury4daWIN]

Someone like Tyson or Wlad ,you are going to train harder for because you will have to ,people dont realise that Tyson had fought the best versions of many guys he fought just because of his level the same with Wlad ,just to take their punches alone you have to,along with the extra motivation of leaving the ring with gold.

Tua is another power /hard hitter hes aggressive and forces a k.o i would have him there to in the middle some where .Frank Bruno hit hard to he had a 90 % k.o percentage i believe when he fought Tyson ,his problem was stamina .

It's not so much that Tua was aggressive, he wasn't really outside of the Ruiz fight, more so that he could turn around a fight with a single punch at any stage of the fight. And during his prime, no one who was knocked down by him ever recovered. His punches debilitated opponents. He's way more than just a mid-league power hitter. Should be up there with Morrison and Tyson, IMO, if not above them.

[RED REP]

Force is exactly equal to mass times acceleration. We have been through this with a fine tooth comb. Accuracy is another matter, doesn't make a punch any harder. It will knock you out better if it is accurate, but it is not any harder because it knocks you out better.

The question of the thread still is: Who is the most powerful puncher of all time, not who could knock you out better because they were also accurate.

I think excellent cases can be made for either Louis or Robinson being the best puncher of all time. This really has to do with their timing and accuracy. The case for them weakens considerably if only F=MA is considered. There were more powerful men with just as much throwing technique who were not slower to unbalance the equation, such as Tyson, to name a handy example.

Robinson did cleanly KO two all time top middleweights in Fullmer and Graziano with a single shot. But he had to pound TKO's out of LaMotta and Turpin. A combination with a lefhook that might have done the job by itself, took care of Bobo Olsen. Bobo only had a fair chin. Ray beat on little Basilio all night twice and could not put him out or even down.

To go over old ground, for my money Robinson is the best P4P puncher of all time, all things considered. But when it comes to sheer force my money would go on Hearns or Julian Jackson as harder P4P punchers, to name only two.

I completely understand what you're saying.
You're right, I took the question wrongly, I took it as who is the greatest puncher of all time...when actually its who is the hardest, hardest as in most powerful.

Accuracy doesn't have a sway here, you're right its about who delivered the most force with one punch, whether its accurate or not.

With all that said I am with you on Hearn's and Jackson.
heavyweight I'd go with Shavers or Foreman!

Good debate this one, always fun!!!

[Joeyzagz]

Mount Rushmore of Power: in no order

Lennox
Joe Louis
Foreman
Maximilian Adelbert Baer

[juggernaut666]

It's not so much that Tua was aggressive, he wasn't really outside of the Ruiz fight, more so that he could turn around a fight with a single punch at any stage of the fight. And during his prime, no one who was knocked down by him ever recovered. His punches debilitated opponents. He's way more than just a mid-league power hitter. Should be up there with Morrison and Tyson, IMO, if not above them.

Possibly but his best k.o was Moorer who was shown not to take a HW punch that good at times ,his highlight reels are up there with Morrisons but overall technique and deliverance i still see Morrison Tyson Wlad over him