Who is the hardest puncher in boxing history?

[Ben Bolt]

I really wish people would stop mentioning Baer's name in threads like these. He's a horribly overrated puncher.

I’m not sure I agree with that. Baer is often described as a boxer with natural (i.e. born with) ability to punch hard and that that was what brought him to the top. And that the playboy Baer matured late in life and didn’t start to take boxing (or life, for that matter) seriously until the later stages of his career, when it had become a bit too late for him to improve his boxing skills.
His punching power was certainly good enough for his era.

Some of his last words in life are worth repeating here. Baer died of a heart attack on Nov. 21, 1959, but he kept his relaxed and humorously attitude to the end.
Staying at a hotel in Hollywood, Calif., Baer in the morning of Nov. 21 started to feel chest pains. He called the front desk and asked for a doctor. The desk clerk said "a house doctor would be right up." "A house doctor?" he replied, "no, dummy, I need a people doctor".

[billeau2]

I’m not sure I agree with that. Baer is often described as a boxer with natural (i.e. born with) ability to punch hard and that that was what brought him to the top. And that the playboy Baer matured late in life and didn’t start to take boxing (or life, for that matter) seriously until the later stages of his career, when it had become a bit too late for him to improve his boxing skills.
His punching power was certainly good enough for his era.

Some of his last words in life are worth repeating here. Baer died of a heart attack on Nov. 21, 1959, but he kept his relaxed and humorously attitude to the end.
Staying at a hotel in Hollywood, Calif., Baer in the morning of Nov. 21 started to feel chest pains. He called the front desk and asked for a doctor. The desk clerk said "a house doctor would be right up." "A house doctor?" he replied, "no, dummy, I need a people doctor".

lol lol

Max Bauer after getting hammered the third round by Joe Louis, his corner trying to inspire says "This guy aint hitting you for nothing maxie" So Max turns to the corner man "well then you guys keep an eye on the ref because the ref is beating the crap outa me."

[billeau2]

I really wish people would stop mentioning Baer's name in threads like these. He's a horribly overrated puncher.

When the movie came out...which was not very nice or fair to Max, people noticed Bauer but for people who follow the heavyweights the Livermore Larauper was always a hard hitter.

You can watch films of Bauer on Utube. he often looks horrendous and is clowning, but catch the times when he throws that punch with bad intentions.... It was not particularly straight, yet not clubbing. It was certainly fast, but the thing about that shot from Bauer is how explosive the punch is.

[rightsideup]

Baer when on his game had some very good performances such as scheming. He was supposedly had an injured right against Louis but went in injured because the money was so good.

[Ben Bolt]

lol lol

Max Bauer after getting hammered the third round by Joe Louis, his corner trying to inspire says "This guy aint hitting you for nothing maxie" So Max turns to the corner man "well then you guys keep an eye on the ref because the ref is beating the crap outa me."

Max: "I define fear as standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early."

[Anthony342]

The distinction you made is important because a lot of guys made up for sheer force with incredible accuracy. I would put Jack Johnson and even Ali in that category. Both guys would set up at an angle where the punch landed the best place. It becomes a choice no one would envy: would one rather take the pure snapping speed induced force of a bob foster shot? or the pinpoint location right on the tipend of the lower jawbone of a J Johnson shot? Would one rather be mauled by Grebb or Homicide Hank? or set up for a head snapping concussive shot from the likes of Hearns? or Gans?

Or, for that matter, the snapping quick shots of Tyson or the heavy handed punches of a George Foreman or any shots from Liston.

[Anthony342]

When the movie came out...which was not very nice or fair to Max, people noticed Bauer but for people who follow the heavyweights the Livermore Larauper was always a hard hitter.

You can watch films of Bauer on Utube. he often looks horrendous and is clowning, but catch the times when he throws that punch with bad intentions.... It was not particularly straight, yet not clubbing. It was certainly fast, but the thing about that shot from Bauer is how explosive the punch is.

It's Baer, not Bauer. Baer's the boxer, Bauer is the the main character of 24.

[Fury4daWIN]

I***8217;m not sure I agree with that. Baer is often described as a boxer with natural (i.e. born with) ability to punch hard and that that was what brought him to the top. And that the playboy Baer matured late in life and didn***8217;t start to take boxing (or life, for that matter) seriously until the later stages of his career, when it had become a bit too late for him to improve his boxing skills.
His punching power was certainly good enough for his era.

Sure, I can get behind that. Baer was a large individual for his time, with long lean arms and wide shoulders that would have given him tremendous leverage when throwing punches. Against the many super middleweights and light heavy weights he fought he would have seemed a monster, and given the smaller glove size in use back then his power would have been magnified considerably.

Judged in a wider context, however, and taking into account the many monstrous punchers that came after him, his punching ability starts to look increasingly less spectacular. On film he looks slow and sloppy, his punches hurtful but not concussive, his knockouts more often the result of accumulation than clean blows. Compared to guys like Tyson, Lennox, Tua or even Shavers he fails the eye test spectacularly, and considering a large number of his opponents were significantly smaller than him it doesn't aid his reputation any.

People bring up the deaths like they're an indication of otherworldly punching power, but the likelihood is they came about more as a result of the shoddily regulated and unforgiving nature of the sport in those days that allowed two fighters with vast weight disparities to compete, and where many fighters were often forced to fight just weeks apart just to make ends meet. No footage of Campbell's death survives (or even exists) but all reports of the fight mention that the much smaller Campbell was caught against the ropes and bludgeoned to the back of the head multiple times before the fight was stopped. No wonder, in that case, what happened. It's repeated concussive injuries that result in the vast majority of permanent injuries and fatalities, not single huge punches.

Baer will always be brought up in threads like these, just as Shavers is. He's become part of the boxing canon of power hitters, and such figures are never dislodged. Part of the reason why discussing things like this can be so frustrating at times.

[billeau2]

Max: "I define fear as standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early."

haha nice. he had some great zingers for sure.

If anyone else knows any post em.

[billeau2]

Baer when on his game had some very good performances such as scheming. He was supposedly had an injured right against Louis but went in injured because the money was so good.

Maybe so.....and I am a big fan of Max....But unless he got very lucky he could have had three healthy right Hands and wasn't beating Louis.