Why do some boxers hit really really hard? What makes a puncher?

[ThePunchingBag]

Who here actually has experience punching? Genetics can kiss my ass.

Belief in your strength, bad intentions, dedication and perseverance to your training will eventually bring you to your peak punching power if you haven't found it.

Which is predetermined by your genetics...

[deadlywill]

Look - i'm not a trained fighter by any means. I was smaller than the rest of the guys at school so i used to get picked on by the bigger guys. One day i flattened a guy with a single punch to the ribs in front of his group. He couldn't get up, was crying and not breathing well. I had never thrown a punch in anger before that really and i certainly didn't intend to do it or practice it - my brain just sent the signal and my arm followed. I've not had many fights - a couple times in Sydney and Kings Cross i got jumped at night and same thing one or two punches and they didn't wanna go on with it. I also take other guys punches to the face and just stand there looking at them unhurt really - cut and bleeding but not really fazed by it. Is that all just naturally built in ? I guess so. Now if i hadn't been such a boozer, and instead gone under the tutelage of a boxing trainer could it have improved my power? I think so as i would have learnt the proper technique. Whether your brain just reverts back to Gatti style when you get punched in the face is another story. You could also ask the same questions about chin, heart, speed, endurance, ability to take punishment, ability to give and take punishment over the course of 12 rounds, if you're a thinking fighter that can adapt, hand eye co-ordination, reflexes etc. Get a fighter with all these qualities and they usually have the word 'champ' next to their name...

[Frokid]

Interesting responses, some really clever people here. Look I personally dont think there's that "one magic formula" to become a puncher as some of you guys have touched on. Hypothetically, if every boxer had the same trainer and were all taught to punch the same way (i.e. technique) they will still have their own unique way of punching. You see these 100m dashers and how they review their technique with insane slowmo footages to maximise their speed yet you dont see everyone running exactly the same way. Hence you can maximise your power only to a certain degree, the rest is up to genetics i suppose. You see guys that throw with a lot of speed (Hearns is a prime example here) and you know they'd knock someone out because of the sheer velocity, on the other hand you see someone throw a slow punch and it doesnt seem much but the other guy is KO'd (Foreman vs Moorer). IMO its probably a mixture of speed and brute heavy-handedness influenced by your build and greatly impacted by both your ring mentality and your commitment to the punch.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Who here actually has experience punching? Genetics can kiss my ass.

Belief in your strength, bad intentions, dedication and perseverance to your training will eventually bring you to your peak punching power if you haven't found it.

You don't know what you are talking about. There are 3 things you are born with in combat sports.

1. Speed

2. power

3. Chin

Now you can improve on you're speed and power buy training and using proper technique but if you think anyone can achieve Floyd Mayweather speed, or Mike Tyson power, you're delusional.

It is genetics, there are people born with natural god given or whatever you want to call it talent. It's the reason Usain Bolt is so fast, Pernel Whitaker was so slick and why Alexis Arguello hit like a mule kick even though he was a skinny little guy.

As far as chin, there's arguments as to whether you can or cannot improve it. Some think that strengthening the neck muscles will do it, I'm not so sure. I think chin more than anything else is genetic. What makes Antonio Margarito take incredible shots the way he does and Amir Khan get touched with a slapping hook and go out?

[SplitSecond]

strenght + technique/form is about the gist of it

if you are freakishly strong you can stop guys with terrible technique(some people are just stronger than others, like others are just faster, thus the "you are born with it" thoughts"

train for explosiveness and you will better your chances of peaking your power

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

strenght + technique/form is about the gist of it

if you are freakishly strong you can stop guys with terrible technique(some people are just stronger than others, like others are just faster, thus the "you are born with it" thoughts"

train for explosiveness and you will better your chances of peaking your power

The question was "Why do some boxers hit really hard".

If you don't think it's genetics, then I don't know what to tell you. Do you think that Pernell Whitaker or Paulie Maliniaggi didn't want to hit hard? LOL

Do you think they don't know what proper technique is or don't train hard?

You can improve you're speed and power, but the truly elite speed or power guys have it because of genetics.

[Juof]

Technique imo. Some people say its all in the legs i dissagree there was skinny leg bombers like hearns, jackson and mclellan. Then theres guys with tree trunk legs like tyson and pacquiao. Then some say its speed but malignaggi has speed and we all know how much of a 1 punch ko artist he is.and well big georges punches looked slow as hell but they were devastating

[stefl14]

It's only slightly genetic in terms of the pure mechanics of punching, but I guess one could argue that attitude in the ring is also genetically determined to some extent. The fact is that the power of a punch is determined by its momentum i.e mass x velocity. It's not difficult to understand - it's basic physics. The 'mass' in this equation comes from technique. The velocity comes from speed, which is partly genetically determined of course. However, the speed of a single punch varies by much less than one might imagine amongst different fighters, (combination speed displays a much larger variance) technique is what usually differentiates the best punchers from the feather-fisted.

All that I've mentioned so far is about the mechanics of punching. In other words, punching correctly according to the momentum equation would maximise the value of your power on a power testing machine. However, there are other very important factors to consider. For example, faster punches are more likely to knock somebody out and thus be perceived as powerful because punches that people don't see coming are more likely to knock you out (on a basic level, peoples heads move more so their brain moves more inside their skull if they don't see a punch because they don't involuntarily brace for punches they don't see). Aside from the mechanics of punching, however, mentality is the most important thing. Every defensive fighter at the world class level knows how to punch correctly, but they don't punch hard because it leaves them exposed and more likely to get hit by counter-punches.

[ELPacman]

The question I ask myself is how many average joe's that you see walking the streets, whether it's a business man carrying a briefcase, a teacher in school, or a surgeon. How many people have power within that they have no idea? Or getting more serious term, how many body builders or people that are big but have no interest in getting into a combat sport or testing their strength to know.

I remember watching a vid of some dude knocking out 2 other dudes at the bar. It looked like he killed both of them the way they went down and were out limpless. I was thinking, either A, he knows how to punch, or B, he has power that could be used in a combat sport that he doesn't realize. lol

[TensionKiller]

Some boxers seem to have extra power. For example if Amir Khan punched a machine and then let's say Matthyse, I personally feel the PSI would be similar, but when it comes to punching a person, Matthyse's will be more effective.

Some guys punch through people and their balance is on par. Where your legs are positioned is important for that. Boxers usually move back or fight at a distance thus rarely punch through people. Someone like Tyson would get close and literally punch as if you were twice as wide.