Punching power is "all attitude" - your thoughts?

[MrBumboclart]

Little Red made an interesting point - that punching power is "all attitude."

Do you somewhat agree with this? The biggest hitters I can think of (pfp), Ketchel, McClellan, Benn, Tyson, Gomez, Foreman all seemed to be pretty mean spirited and angry. How much do you reckon the emotional aspect and increased aggression plays in the punching power?

[dyna]

It maybe has a part in it...
Wlad is frequently called the hardest hitter by sparring partners.
Including ones who have sparred foreman , Lewis and Tua.

Wlad isn't really a mean guy.

Vitali is much more mean and doesn't punch half as hard.

[MrBumboclart]

Originally Posted by dyna

It maybe has a part in it...
Wlad is frequently called the hardest hitter by sparring partners.
Including ones who have sparred foreman , Lewis and Tua.

Wlad isn't really a mean guy.

Vitali is much more mean and doesn't punch half as hard.

I agree with you. However watch Vitali fight and although he appears 'mean' he doesn't fight 'mean.' And it's only when Wlad gets more aggressive that he starts KO'ing people. Guys like Benn and Tyson fight like their opponent fucked with their family.

[orriray59]

I think what he probably meant was an attitude to actual punching. I find that if you aim to punch through your target, rather than punch at your target, you generate more force.

[Nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by orriray59

I think what he probably meant was an attitude to actual punching.

that would make sense. or almost a committment to punching, which i think is wicked important. fighters like marciano, tyson, hearns, etc. threw punches with the intent of hurting, not scoring.

[Johnstown]

i think some truth to all of this...but it is also a athletic physical exercise...we wouldnt say that being able to run a sub 10 second 100 meters is ALL attitude.

[MURK20]

Some fighters are just very heavy handed. Foreman for example could hurt or move fighters with glancing blows.

[LittleRed]

Originally Posted by Johnstown

i think some truth to all of this...but it is also a athletic physical exercise...we wouldnt say that being able to run a sub 10 second 100 meters is ALL attitude.

Clearly. I meant at the world.class level where, with the exception of someone of Ricardo Mayorga, everyone had elite athleticism and technique.

Originally Posted by orriray59

I think what he probably meant was an attitude to actual punching. I find that if you aim to punch through your target, rather than punch at your target, you generate more force.

Which leads to-

Originally Posted by Nightcrawler

that would make sense. or almost a committment to punching, which i think is wicked important. fighters like marciano, tyson, hearns, etc. threw punches with the intent of hurting, not scoring.

Bingo! A guy like Harold Johnson could, and did, really hurt guys. But he didn't have the 'commitment to punching' of some other guys. To be a powerpuncher, there is a certain attitude in addition to obvious technical issues (which I might say are informed by attitude instead of vice versa).

Of course being a mean son of a bitch helps.

[Wenpire]

It helps. Most hard hitters have had bad experiences in their lives. Tyson was bullied and abused by boys and men, pacquiaos dad ate his dog and abandoned him and he had to beg on the streets, tua was thrown into cages from a very young age to fight, Liston was abused by his father, foreman was always running from the police....... That's where alot of the anger comes from. And anger makes u fight ferociously. Once these guys became famous and started having mony and women though the anger slowly fades away, and so does their boxing ability.

[MrBumboclart]

Originally Posted by Wenpire

It helps. Most hard hitters have had bad experiences in their lives. Tyson was bullied and abused by boys and men, pacquiaos dad ate his dog and abandoned him and he had to beg on the streets, tua was thrown into cages from a very young age to fight, Liston was abused by his father, foreman was always running from the police....... That's where alot of the anger comes from. And anger makes u fight ferociously. Once these guys became famous and started having mony and women though the anger slowly fades away, and so does their boxing ability.

good point, ^ reminds me of what micky said to rocky 'you did the worst thing a fighter could - you got civilized!'

[Bummy Davis]

some people are born punchers and some can learn to punch better with leverage

[Surf-Bat]

It can't hurt, I guess. But I don't think it's much of a factor. If it were then Ace Hudkins, Mysterious Billy Smith, Ad Wolgast and Chuck Wiggins would be the most devastating hitters in boxing history and Max Baer, Mike Weaver and Alexis Arguello couldn't pop a balloon.

[orriray59]

Also, most knockouts come from accurate, fast shots on the button. Not pure power.

[brnxhands]

All attitude. No. Genetics an structure.

[LittleRed]

Originally Posted by Surf-Bat

It can't hurt, I guess. But I don't think it's much of a factor. If it were then Ace Hudkins, Mysterious Billy Smith, Ad Wolgast and Chuck Wiggins would be the most devastating hitters in boxing history and Max Baer, Mike Weaver and Alexis Arguello couldn't pop a balloon.

Its my fault for using an ambiguous word. I didn't mean attitude as in temperament- I meant attitude as in intent. Pure meanness has very little to do with the attitude of a puncher. Its a commitment, like a home run hitter in baseball,

Originally Posted by brnxhands

All attitude. No. Genetics an structure.

That's just not true. Look at my Harold Johnson example earlier- Johnson was made out of steel and concrete and was quick to boot. When he.wanted to Jr could crack, as in the Andrews fight. The guy hurt Doug Jones more than Foster did and Foster landed solid. But stylistically, consciously, Johnson wasn't a puncher. He choose not to be one.