Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Who are your top ten biggest heavyweight punchers? Champions and challengers included?
In no order, mine would be something like this.
Foreman
Shavers
Liston
Louis
Marciano
Dempsey
Langford
Fitzsimmons
Baer
Williams

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Louis
Wlad
Lewis
Tyson
Foreman
Liston
Shavers
Baer
Dempsey
Marciano

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Good solid list but I think Maher and Sheppard should be in there for Fitz and Williams. All big hitters though.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Tua
Tyson
Lennox
Foreman
Wlad
Cooney
Morrison
Sanders
Ruddock
Shavers

Hard to pin it down to ten really, but the top five are lock ins I think. Marciano was a hellacious puncher P4P, but he's a little too small to go on the list, compared to some of the superheavyweights on there. Louis was an extremely sharp puncher but I'm not sure I'd call him a heavy puncher, if that makes sense. He knocked people out through pinpoint accuracy and speed. Liston was very heavy handed, but his best wins are Patterson and Williams, and I'm not sure how much can be gleaned from that regarding his power; he failed to stop Eddie Machen whom Ingo destroyed shortly after. I wouldn't grudge anyone putting him on their list though as far as the criterion goes.

Sanders I put on the list because, although he was something of a waste of talent, I can't think of a more dangerous puncher in the early stages of a fight. He dropped or rocked nearly everyone he hit clean, including Vitali and the teak tough Bert Cooper, and was the only man to drop Wlad with more or less every punch he hit him with which, believe it or not, no other fighters have been able to do, at least not consistently.

Shavers I put on for more or less the same reasons. Although he lost most of his big fights, he was capable of rocking or dropping almost anyone he hit clean, including Holmes and Ali. I don't buy into the myth that he was the hardest puncher ever, but it would be ludicrous not to include him on the list.

Cooney's power speaks for itself I think. He turned Norton into a drooling mess, dropped the ultra tough Ron Lyle with a body shot and was said by Foreman to be one of the hardest punchers he ever faced. Holmes said something similar too.

Morrison and Ruddock could be exchanged for other fighters depending on what you like, though I don't think I've ever seen a more perfectly executed left hook than the one that Morrison threw.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

No order
Foreman
Tyson
Louis
Lewis
Sanders
Cooney
Bowe
Liston
Wlad
Morrison

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Given the new empahsis on power lifting, is it credible to consider that the 10 biggest punchers might just come from post 1990? I think they might.

Just some random comments, but regarding Marciano, i think that his power (while still top shelf) is more an accumulative power that comes from the fact that every punch is thrown with proper technich and body behind it, and the fact that it is as good in round 12 after 100 punches around have been thrown asi ti si in round one. AS opposed to say Wlad, who must suffer as he tires, but whose round one hits are absolutely lethal when he does let them go.

If it just pure heavy hands, i am going to have to go with the likes of
Lennox, Wlad, Tyson, Foreman, Ike, even guys like McCall, Bowe, Rahman, Brewster, Sanders. I think that size might matter on this one.

Delivery is a different story.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Shavers wasn't the heaviest puncher ever, nor a top 10.
Nor a top 10 hardest hitter.

His KO ratio on guys who were 215lbs or heavier is just 45%.
He didn't fight that many good guys and if he did most of the time he lost.

A good puncher means you can translate your power well into a KO which means you need accuracy, workrate, some power, speed etc.
(Difference between a puncher and hitter in my eyes, heaviest hitter only means you need to hit hard in my book)

Wlad, Lewis, Vitali are the first 3 who come in my mind.
Especially Vitali does an extreme amount without being a good one hitter.
We shouldn't forget Tyson either.
Foreman

Too lazy to compose a top 10 but I would put Wlad at nr1, Lewis at nr2.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

good list minus Williams IMO who never really KO'd a quality opponent...off the top of my head I would add Vlad who showed power, dropping Mercer with the left,KOing Brock with right hand, KOing Chambers with one left hook,Austin with the hooks,Thompson with the right hand 1st fight and making Ibragomov and Haye fight a strictly defensive fights to avoid being KO'd

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Power lifting doesn't necessarily translate into being able to hit hard, nor does sheer size, though there are strong correlations. I'd wager that a huge strong guy like a young Shannon Briggs hit harder than Baer given that he was also relatively explosive, and his huge number of first round knockouts bears this out. Rahman could punch like an absolute beast with that right of his, as his near decaptiation of Lennox showed, but was so slow that I'm not sure if I'd be willing to put him above more explosive guys in terms of one punch power. Frank Bruno was a similarly heavy but ponderous hitter who amy well have punched with more brute force than a lot of more renowned hitters, but was too slow and stiff to really make that power count.

One older fighter whose power tends to get a bit overlooked is Ron Lyle. Very hard puncher who put everything into his power shots. Brutal right hand.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Wlads power.]
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

A very difficult question if you are solely talking about one-shot power, because an awful lot of heavyweights might have had punch power equal to a more renown puncher, be it a shavers or cleve williams, - but they didnt have the technique, timing, balance, management to nuture them, discipline or dedication to breakthrough into legitimate contendership - someone like bob satterfield
might exemplify this (?)

Perhaps a

Blue Lewis
Jose Urtain
Jimmy Thunder

Could do the Job just as well....if they could land square on the chin ?

Renown fighters may also Bring that intimidatory factor that lesser
"Hit & Hope" Merchants may lack ?

I think it was Al Lewis who was taken to a Detroit car factory in the late 60's
for a ring feature on "Punch Power" and allowed to haul off on a wired-up crash test Dummy - it registered Severe but survivable ! - unlucky for Al his ring opponents usually were not that static and compliant !

The Racking up of a high KO percentage has more involved that just "punch Power" and is not a great indicator really, quality of opporsition is a big factor of course...if not we might all be putting Lamar Clark on that Pedestal !

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Power lifters, atleast olympic weight lifters have incredibly strong legs.
With the right punching technique they can blow you brain out.
Most power from punching comes from the legs.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

360 pounds, if he hits you flush like the way Tua hit you.
It would drop Tex Cobb in a single hit.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRfWmkYjhdA[/ame]

He can dunk a basketball at 5'9'' 350lbs with no steps. He can do a standing back flip standing still. He has also jumped onto a 48'' plyobox with one step.

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Since its the new year, I will say you could argue for nine of the ten names you listed. The one I disagree the most with is Cleveland Williams.

His KO percentage is inflated by many journeyman. How many top ten ring magazine contenders did the Big cat scratch?

Tyson for sure should make the cut

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

Have to agree with most of this. williams had power but its who you prove it against at tge top level.

For mine:

Foreman
Tyson
Louis
Shavers
Satterfield (reluctantly)
Wlad
Baer
Lewis
Liston
Marciano (reluctantly)

Notes: fitz and langford are ranked high tham many here p4p but i dont feel their power would translate across eras. I omitted Dempsey because I don't feel his power was solely responsible for his success; his tenacity and aggression combined with power was critical

Re: Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers
 

:patsch