Heavyweights punching power then and now

[stuistylee]

hes not tall but hes big so thats y butterbean kicks

[Butch Coolidge]

Originally Posted by stuistylee

hes not tall but hes big so thats y butterbean kicks

Feel free to laugh at the Bean all you want but I wouldn't want to take a right hand from the guy.

[brown_bomber]

Originally Posted by Brickhaus

That's BS. Maybe there weren't as many guys throwing 90, but I have little doubt that Amos Rusie was hitting triple digits in 1900 and Walter Johnson was hitting triple digits in 1920.

I wouldn't be shocked if one or two of those smaller old timers hit as hard (or harder than) today's heavyweights. Hell, the hardest hitter right now is quite possibly a cruiserweight (Macca).

put macca in the ring with david haye then we'll see how hard he hits, haye will kill him

[ChrisPontius]

Originally Posted by PowerPuncher

More to punch than weight

Tyson at 210lbs was known to have a more lethal KO punch than any 250lb fighter around in his time

210lb Foreman was still perhaps the biggest puncher of the 90s despite been very old

Lewis knocked Ruddock down three times in 2 rounds enroute to a stoppage.
Tyson, a few months earlier couldn't stop him in 12 rounds. He did stop him in 7 before that, but that was a premature stoppage, one of the worst i've seen.

Lewis stopped Botha in 2, Tyson needed 5. I know, bad comparison because Tyson was in shit shape and old, but then again, you also compared an old Holyfield vs Ruiz to a prime RJJ vs Ruiz.

The other fighter that they have in common is Bruno. Tyson stopped him in 5 & 3, Lewis needed 7 rounds. To be fair though, Lewis basically stopped Bruno with the first power punch he landed, Tyson didn't.


And why was 210lb Foreman the biggest puncher of the 90's?
Because he couldn't knock glass jaw Morrison out or even down in 12 rounds? Because he knocked Moorer (another glass jaw) out after 9 rounds? Because he couldnt stop Stewart (stopped by Tyson and Holyfield), Schulz or Briggs?
That's a ridiculous claim. And since when is Foreman 210lb? He was 250+ lb in the 90's and 217 at lowest in the 70's at his peak.

[Malph]

You cannot measure punching power by trying to guess it by who did what to who (though that can give you some clues). There are too many variables to consider. To really judge it, you would have to have some sort of device that could measure the power. I don't think it exists as no one has been able to figure out how to measure it accurately. The old formula power = mass x velocity-squared of some-such is flawed as well.
There are plenty of speedy guys out there (Paulie Malinaggi ) with no power whatsoever. There are also fairly slow guys with a seemingly a lot of power. Clearly mass has something to do with it...but from a scientific perspectvie, I am not sure anyone has figured out to model "punching power" and cannot therefore measure it. The same phenonon exists in trying to measure the stopping power of various firearms projectiles. A lot of smart people have tried to come up with way to measure this but there is no concensus over how to do it and thus no agreement on which gun has the most stopping power. Same with boxing.

[macp]

Originally Posted by kaygb

In 1950 Bob Feller, of the Cleveland Indians, was clocked at 100 MPH. In 1941 Lefty Grove was said to have thrown 99 to 101 MPH consistantly. In the 80's Nolan Ryan waa clocked at 104 MPH.
There was also a relief pitcher for the Yankees, Ryne Duran, who constantly threw 98 to 100MPH and all he had was that fast ball. He was the best relief pitcher in the game then and the reason he was so effective with only a fast ball is he was 90 percent blind. He didn't know who was at bat until the announcer called out his name. He led the league with hit batters and they were petrified of him. His era in 1953 was .080.
There were guys in the past that threw as hard as they do today.

you mentioned 4 pitchers. there are what, 30 teams now? how many teams d'ya think have 4 pitchers on their own team that can throw over 90? and im just talking about set-up men, and minor leaguers.

Face it, athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster now, boxers are no exception. this is just natural evolution. people are how many inches taller on average now compared to 50 years ago? how much has life expectancy increased? boxing does not defy science and fact.

[Butch Coolidge]

Louis Monaco, Jimmy Thunder, David Tua, Earni Shavers, Tony Halme, Ron Lyle show that punching power alone isn't a guarentee of success.

[booradley]

Speed = power. Technique = power. Speed + technique = lots of guys getting knocked the fuck out. Examples: Ali and Quarry both stopped opponents cold while moving backward. There are no heavies (or cruisers) on the scene today who can do that.