Who was the hardest punching Middleweight Ever?

[New England]

also, even at mw, and especially at jr mw, hearns has got to be in the equation

he had true one punch power with the hook to the body or the head (terrific punch. horribly underrated weapon.)
and maybe the best right hand ever thrown

robinson is in the same boat here
he'd likely be among best ever at 154, if he's consensus best ww at all time, and consensus top 3 (5 at the least) at mw.

he had one punch power with either hand at MW, no reason to think it wouldn't be there at 54, unless they were fighting in the twilight zone


MW in my opinion is where the magic happens most for punching. at or around MW

the guys have the chin and the speed to sustain action
but there are still guys with enough power to cause the drama, for every second of every round, that comes with the possibility of a fight ending or turning on one shot.


and if you line a regular guy up in front of a flyweight and have him take his sunday punch he's probably staying upright, or at least conscious
if you do that with a big MW with punching power you're flooring it to the hospital with a half dead man in your backseat

there's an appeal there, especially with the layperson

there have been some absolute slugfests at MW

[SCtrojansbaby]

Roy Jones and Nigel Benn

[McGoorty]

Troll Alert

roy jones and nigel benn

troll............................................. ...............-------------------------------------------

[jabsRstiff]

Roy Jones was inded a huge puncher at 160. He KO'd many guys others couldn't, or did so in less rounds and with less punches than everyone else.

Do not let your distaste with how he fought or approached the game cloud the fact that Roy Jones had serious power.

[McGoorty]

Roy Jones was inded a huge puncher at 160. He KO'd many guys others couldn't, or did so in less rounds and with less punches than everyone else.

Do not let your distaste with how he fought or approached the game cloud the fact that Roy Jones had serious power.

I know,........ but he is a troll with no imagination,.... a list of less than 25 fighters that he talks about, I have stated that Roy is not one of my favourites, but I have also said on occasion that he is indeed one of the best in the last 20 years,....... When have you ever heard him ever mention a Graziano, Basilio, Moore, Armstrong, Jeffries, Attell,..... you know, the greats ????........ It is trojans that gets my distaste.

[Mugwump]

Short of standing each of them in front of a machine which tests hitting power it's enormously difficult to identify ONE fighter as the hardest puncher in any division. For a start you have no idea about the quality of chin he is testing.

You could say something like "well both fighters fought X, one knocked him out whilst the other could only manage a points victory". But there are all kinds of indeterminate variables which may render any comparative judgement meaningless.

For instance, fighter X may have been in great shape for the first bout and less so for the second. Or the boxer in question could have been injured (say a broken hand) which would impact severely on his punching power.

The problem is further complicated by types of punching. Almost all fighters have preferred shots which when delivered are far, far harder than his less preferred ones. So, for example, no one would deny that Gerald McClellan was a brutal hitter. His overhand shots and crosses were capable of stopping an oncoming Panzer. But when you look at his jabs and uppercuts he was a modest and downright weak puncher respectively. Indeed, the lack of a decent uppercut (not to mention a defence) was the primary reason he couldn't cope with Nigel Benn.

For what it's worth the three biggest hitters at MW I've seen in my lifetime are Jackson, McClellan and Benn. I can't honestly say who hit harder of the three. And there was Hearns too.

Throughout all of boxing history I'd include many of the names listed, but I'd have to qualify any absolute judgement with the fact that I'm relying on third hand information.

[SCtrojansbaby]

I know,........ but he is a troll with no imagination,.... a list of less than 25 fighters that he talks about, I have stated that Roy is not one of my favourites, but I have also said on occasion that he is indeed one of the best in the last 20 years,....... When have you ever heard him ever mention a Graziano, Basilio, Moore, Armstrong, Jeffries, Attell,..... you know, the greats ????........ It is trojans that gets my distaste.

I don't talk about fighters that there aren't a decent amount of footage of. And as for modern fighters there are a few lightning rods that always get brought up so those are naturally the ones talked about by everyone

[McGoorty]

I don't talk about fighters that there aren't a decent amount of footage of. And as for modern fighters there are a few lightning rods that always get brought up so those are naturally the ones talked about by everyone

Yeah but there is plenty of footage of the 50's,........ miles and miles of film with live commentary. I never even hear you talk about anybody from the 50's,...... I just get frustrated by short posts with the same usual suspects. It's fine to have your favourites, but is there anything wrong with looking around for other fighters TO ADD TO THE ONES YOU LIKE ALREADY. I have favourites too, but I want to hear about fighters that I know little about....... I'm always trying to expand. Have you never picked up a book about old fights and just read ?????...... it's fun and educational.

[McGoorty]

Short of standing each of them in front of a machine which tests hitting power it's enormously difficult to identify ONE fighter as the hardest puncher in any division. For a start you have no idea about the quality of chin he is testing.

You could say something like "well both fighters fought X, one knocked him out whilst the other could only manage a points victory". But there are all kinds of indeterminate variables which may render any comparative judgement meaningless.

For instance, fighter X may have been in great shape for the first bout and less so for the second. Or the boxer in question could have been injured (say a broken hand) which would impact severely on his punching power.

The problem is further complicated by types of punching. Almost all fighters have preferred shots which when delivered are far, far harder than his less preferred ones. So, for example, no one would deny that Gerald McClellan was a brutal hitter. His overhand shots and crosses were capable of stopping an oncoming Panzer. But when you look at his jabs and uppercuts he was a modest and downright weak puncher respectively. Indeed, the lack of a decent uppercut (not to mention a defence) was the primary reason he couldn't cope with Nigel Benn.

For what it's worth the three biggest hitters at MW I've seen in my lifetime are Jackson, McClellan and Benn. I can't honestly say who hit harder of the three. And there was Hearns too.

Throughout all of boxing history I'd include many of the names listed, but I'd have to qualify any absolute judgement with the fact that I'm relying on third hand information.

Thanks for that... great post, and very true............. The only way to really test their power would be to bring them all back to life and get them to hit you with their best shot all in a specified amount of time............. get them to punch your shoulder, or you may not get to the second guy............ My favourite method is to read what opponents say and take faith in the general consensus.

[New England]

Thanks for that... great post, and very true............. The only way to really test their power would be to bring them all back to life and get them to hit you with their best shot all in a specified amount of time............. get them to punch your shoulder, or you may not get to the second guy............ My favourite method is to read what opponents say and take faith in the general consensus.

in my opinion the best evidence for discerning levels of punching power is through the testimony of fighters



certain machines // mechanisms for measuring power would benefit certain builds and styles of puncher, but they would take subjectivity out of the equation in the human sense.