Top Ten Heaviest Heavyweight Punchers

[Mendoza]

The list is mostly in a Chronological order. This means old timers will be listed first. It does not mean I think Sullvian hits harder than Tyson or Shavers! I hope this is clear.

Criterion: This is a pure punching power type of list! The below five categories.

1 ) Fighter should have a high knock out percentage in his wins. We are grading power here, not chins. Punchers should usually stop journeyman type of opponents. If they do not, it is a negative against them.

2 ) KO's in non-heavyweight divisions do not count, but not stopping fighters in lower weight divisions is viewed as a slight negative. Power rarely increases when fighters move up in weight classes.

3 ) Stopping hard to stop contender’s in their primes or near primes matters. So do devastating knockouts that are far more than ten counts.

4 ) Quality of competition is considered. Some fighters fought much harder to hit and stop fighters than others.

5 ) Fighters who proved their power on film by hitting opponents or heavy bags with great force cement their status

6) Guys with numerous testimonials about their punching power are given extra considerations. This is especially true for fighters I have no seen on film.

The most qualified the fighters will rank highly in all six categories!

With that said here is the top 40 all time heavyweight punchers list:

1. Sullivan
2. Fitzsimmons
3. Maher
4. Slavin
5. Jeffries
6. McVey
7. Langford
8. Wills
9. Dempsey
10. Fripo
11 J. Louis
12. M. Baer
13. B Baer
14. Ray
15 Marciano
16. Patterson
17. Johansson
18. Liston
19. Frazier
20 Foreman
21. Shavers
22 Lyle
23 Witherspoon
24. Cooney
25. Page
26. Tyson
27. Bruno
28. Ruddock
29 Bowe
30. Morrison
31 Morrer
32. Briggs
33. Ibebuchi
34. Tua
35 C. Sanders
36. L. Lewis
37 Maskeav
38. V Klitschko
39. W Klitschko
40. Helenius


My top ten from the above list in no particular order is


Shavers, Baer, Foreman, Marciano, W. Klitschko, Tyson, Liston, Morrison, Louis, and Lewis

[Absolutely!]

Originally Posted by Theron

Gerry Cooney at 1 and Louis and Baer at 9 and 10

Curtis Sheppard a very hard puncher who Archie Morre said was the hardest puncher he fought including Marciano said that he stopped sparring with Louis cause he was a deadly hitter but he said Baer could kill you by accident, Cooney had great power but never proved it as much a the other guys on the list, shouldn't be in the top 10 imo

Ya what?

[HOUDINI]

Shavers indeed WAS one of boxings histories all time punchers. I say this because of two reasons......

Ali who fought them all stated Shavers hit him the hardest.

Ive spoken with several of Shavers old sparring partners and they say he had wrecking balls in either fist. Tremendous power.

KO power cant be measured via stats at various opponent weights. The old phrase....statistics lie....holds very true here as well. Who were the larger and smaller opponents...details....are far more critical.

[Synthetic Decay]

Originally Posted by HOUDINI

Shavers indeed WAS one of boxings histories all time punchers. I say this because of two reasons......

Ali who fought them all stated Shavers hit him the hardest.

Ive spoken with several of Shavers old sparring partners and they say he had wrecking balls in either fist. Tremendous power.

KO power cant be measured via stats at various opponent weights. The old phrase....statistics lie....holds very true here as well. Who were the larger and smaller opponents...details....are far more critical.

I have no idea what code language this is in but yes Shavers was a very big puncher.

[Kendom]

Wlad
Lewis
Foreman
Tua
Tyson
Morrison
Ruddock
Shavers
Louis
Liston

[nostir a]

riddick bowe - holyfield said bowe hit him harder than anyone, so that includes tyson lewis foreman tua (sparring)

[Theron]

Originally Posted by Seamus

My real list in no proper order...

1. Shavers - He was not an elite finisher but at some point you can not deny the opinions of those he faced.
2. Louis - Trip hammer timed, beautifully executed punches. The prettiest puncher the division ever saw and one of the most lethal.
3. Baer- Whatever boxing ability he possessed, he largely abandoned when entering the ring. What that left was his right hand and his gross over-commitment to it. Still, it iced folks.
4. Foreman - He punched bigger than his size... and he was ****ing huge. A thudder and bludgeoner who seemed to change the ring's gravity.
5. Lewis - Great right hand, very good hooks also. Elite finisher. A giant strong guy whose size and strength translated into his punches.
6. Tua - Smaller guy who got beastly leverage into his punches.
7. Tyson - Another sub 6-footer with amazing leverage but also great speed to boot. Lethal with the hook, uppercut and right. A very complete offensive package.
8. Wlad K - The reluctant warrior. Strong, athletic, FAST. Again, every opponent and sparring partner can't be wrong. Apparently he hits on another level when his psyche allows him.
9. Marciano - A special case as he really didn't compete in what we would call today a heavyweight division. Still, power well beyond his size. His opponents list of injuries could be frightful.
10. Tommy Morrison - OK, this might be a reach as he is the least of those listed, operating somewhere along the lines of a Shavers. A flawed fighter in many regards. Undedicated, under confident, over abused. But have you ever seen a heavyweight throw a more nature, faster, lethal hook?

I think people underestimate Louis for some reason, he was murderous

[Theron]

Originally Posted by Synthetic Decay

Louis or Marciano do not hit harder than Tyson, Wlad, Tua and others, to suggest so is ridiculous.

Their power went to shit in their thirties, due to timing, accuracy going off course.

Louis most definatley hit harder than Tyson, ummmm yeah so did Tysons buddy in his 30's he was facing cans and got a real shot and couldn't do anything

[banny]

Joe Calzaghe!!!

[Theron]

Originally Posted by banny

Joe Calzaghe!!!

[burt bienstock]

Any list of 10 top heavyweight punchers which omits Jack Dempsey by design is not a complete list. The man had abour 25 first round ko's and was the most destructive hitter til Joe Louis,koing 50 of 80 recorded bouts...The one left-hook Dempsey dropped the previously unfloored Jess Willard in the first round was a destructive punch considering
Dempsey had to aim "up" to even reach Willards chin, was some piece of work...
The three greatest heavyweights that combined speed AND punching power were in no order Dempsey, Louis and the young Mike Tyson...Yes the "bigger" boys have more weight behind ONE shot, but the Dempseys, Louis's, Tyson's faster blows get there FIRST. Dempsey belongs in any thoughtful list of the best heavyweight list, without doubt. Speed KILLS as Ray Robinson so often displayed...

[Nightcrawler]

Originally Posted by burt bienstock

Any list of 10 top heavyweight punchers which omits Jack Dempsey by design is not a complete list. The man had abour 25 first round ko's and was the most destructive hitter til Joe Louis,koing 50 of 80 recorded bouts...The one left-hook Dempsey dropped the previously unfloored Jess Willard in the first round was a destructive punch considering
Dempsey had to aim "up" to even reach Willards chin, was some piece of work...
The three greatest heavyweights that combined speed AND punching power were in no order Dempsey, Louis and the young Mike Tyson...Yes the "bigger" boys have more weight behind ONE shot, but the Dempseys, Louis's, Tyson's faster blows get there FIRST. Dempsey belongs in any thoughtful list of the best heavyweight list, without doubt. Speed KILLS as Ray Robinson so often displayed...

agree with just about every word burt. just one comment: i omitted him because the title said "heaviest" puncher. i think of like a david tua (who i may include) or a earnie shavers as heavy punchers whose single punches are brutal thuds

dempsey was exactly as you described from what i've seen: speed, power and feracity. he was a panther, not a freight train. 10 best punchers? i'm there. but heaviest, i was just reluctant to put him there based on the definition

[burt bienstock]

Originally Posted by Nightcrawler

agree with just about every word burt. just one comment: i omitted him because the title said "heaviest" puncher. i think of like a david tua (who i may include) or a earnie shavers as heavy punchers whose single punches are brutal thuds

dempsey was exactly as you described from what i've seen: speed, power and feracity. he was a panther, not a freight train. 10 best punchers? i'm there. but heaviest, i was just reluctant to put him there based on the definition

Well understood N !Maybe the thread should ask for "the most Thudding
ten punchers...Louis for example had not as much "heft" in a single blow, but the speed of his one punch COMBINED with unparreleld leverage has as much force as a 25 pound heavier Foreman's heavier but slower one shot
I believe...And just watch the two punch combo that Dempsey landed in the second round against the powerful Luis Angel Firpo..The one two punch was so fast and ferocious thrown by Dempsey, that even in slow motion
it is difficult to see those destructive punches.Check it out N...

[Absolutely!]

Originally Posted by burt bienstock

Any list of 10 top heavyweight punchers which omits Jack Dempsey by design is not a complete list. The man had abour 25 first round ko's and was the most destructive hitter til Joe Louis,koing 50 of 80 recorded bouts...The one left-hook Dempsey dropped the previously unfloored Jess Willard in the first round was a destructive punch considering
Dempsey had to aim "up" to even reach Willards chin, was some piece of work...
The three greatest heavyweights that combined speed AND punching power were in no order Dempsey, Louis and the young Mike Tyson...Yes the "bigger" boys have more weight behind ONE shot, but the Dempseys, Louis's, Tyson's faster blows get there FIRST. Dempsey belongs in any thoughtful list of the best heavyweight list, without doubt. Speed KILLS as Ray Robinson so often displayed...

I'm not sure what the stats are supposed to prove. Shannon Briggs has 31 first round KOs and 45 KOs in 52 wins. Has stopped some pretty tough opponents as well. Does he warrant a place in a top ten heaviest punchers list?

If we're talking one punch knockout power, I'd wager every single fighter on my list was a heavier puncher than Dempsey ever was, along with a fair few others. Dempsey's main attributes were speed and brute ferocity, not massive concussive knock out power. He was (and I hate to bring that old bugbear of size up here) simply too small to compete with the bigger boys in that category.

Top ten angry blokes I wouldn't want trying to punch my face in? Sure, he's right up there.

[Absolutely!]

Originally Posted by burt bienstock

Well understood N !Maybe the thread should ask for "the most Thudding
ten punchers...Louis for example had not as much "heft" in a single blow, but the speed of his one punch COMBINED with unparreleld leverage has as much force as a 25 pound heavier Foreman's heavier but slower one shot
I believe...And just watch the two punch combo that Dempsey landed in the second round against the powerful Luis Angel Firpo..The one two punch was so fast and ferocious thrown by Dempsey, that even in slow motion
it is difficult to see those destructive punches.Check it out N...

If we're talking thuddingest punchers of all time then I think fighters like Bruno, Rahman, Witherspoon, Coetzee, Liston, maybe even someone like Bert Cooper might get some airtime. I would still consider someone like Tua or Tyson to be both thudding and explosive though.