Faster hand speed : Tyson or Ali ?

[Pullcounter]

I'm having a debate with a friend of mine...

Who do you think had better hand speed ? Ali or Tyson ?

I got Ali...

tyson had the better handspeed, but ali's was fleet of foot

[King Tua]

I'm having a debate with a friend of mine...

Who do you think had better hand speed ? Ali or Tyson ?

I got Ali...

ali.

tyson had fast hands but only in bursts.


patterson beats both.

[Dave Rado]

I don't think Ali fought the best version either time though, especially the rematch. The significant height and reach advantages certainly helped as well.

In their first fight Patterson was close enough to his prime that his handspeed would not have declined. Footspeed starts to decline long before handspeed does.

Jim Jacobs, who owned the world’s largest collection of fight films, said that on film tests with a synchronizer, Ali’s jab was faster than that of Sugar Ray Robinson. Jacobs contended that Ali was not only the fastest heavyweight, but also the fastest fighter he ever saw on film. And he said this after the first Ali-Patterson fight had happened.

Monte D Cox, one of the world's most respected boxing historians also claims that Ali was the fastest heavyweight ever.

I repeat that if the OP wants to claim that the experts think Patterson's hands were faster than Ali's, he needs to specify which particular experts, and provide a link.

[King Tua]

In their first fight Patterson was close enough to his prime that his handspeed would not have declined. Footspeed starts to decline long before handspeed does.

Jim Jacobs, who owned the world’s largest collection of fight films, said that on film tests with a synchronizer, Ali’s jab was faster than that of Sugar Ray Robinson. Jacobs contended that Ali was not only the fastest heavyweight, but also the fastest fighter he ever saw on film. And he said this after the first Ali-Patterson fight had happened.

I repeat that if the OP wants to claim that the experts think Floyd's hands were faster than Ali's, he needs to specify which particular experts.

i've read many historians have said floyd patterson's was faster.

can't remember who but i have seen them.

looking at video , i could agree with their assessment.

plus you have to consider that floyd put more mustard on his punches than ali does when he usually flurries.

that makes a difference.

[CarlosG815]

Tyson has arguably the best hand speed of any HW ever.

Ali looked quicker because he would dance in and out, but when it came to throwing down, Tyson was faster.

All it takes is watching a few simple videos.

Not saying Ali isn't fast, or Tyson is much faster, but he's faster nonetheless.

[CarlosG815]

I should clarify, I'm talking natural heavyweights.

Dempsey had great speed but he weighed under 190.

Not many 200+ lb guys had hand speed like that.

Also to whoever said Byrd, that's a good choice, he was extremely fast.