Your top 5 middleweights hardest hitters?

[Raggamuffin]

Even Hagler had trouble with Roldan but i agree that his ko percentage dropped after hitting MW, but still the dark cloud of that right hand loomed over every opponent

[Senya13]

He was a hard hitter at these weights, no doubt, but ranking him in Top 5 is totally unjustified.

[Holmes' Jab]

Julian Jackson
Stanley Ketchel
Eugene Hart
Tommy Hearns
Gerald McClellan
Bob Fitzsimmons

HM: Nigel Benn, John Mugabi

[Raggamuffin]

I see i do not stand alone in choosing the Hitman

[Duodenum]

[quote=Raggamuffin]

Originally Posted by Duodenum

1) Stan Ketchel. The Michigan Assassin's knockdown of Jack Johnson may have been the hardest punch ever recorded on film by a boxer under the middleweight limit. Johnson failed to regain his feet on his first attempt to beat the count, and was so groggy that when he coldcocked Ketchel with his retaliatory right uppercut, he toppled forward over his 159 pound challenger.

Originally Posted by Duodenum

Ketchel should be in but i don't think that after he was floored, Johnson was that groggy. He was so angry cause Ketchel disregarded a deal to take the fight to the limit that he threw everything he had in that punch nad therefore loosing his balance

Raggamuffin, that may be correct. However, having viewed the match in it's entirely many moons ago, it looked to me as though Ketchel had been going all out, while Johnson was indeed carrying Ketchel (as he did many of his challengers). Earlier in that match, Jack dropped Stan, and could have probably finished him off then and there. Instead, Johnson immediately clinched Ketchel into a waltz when Stan regained his footing.

The story that there was a pre-arrangement between the two may be apocryphal. I think Johnson was A) Furious that he'd let himself get nailed like that, and B) Realized that he'd better stop playing games with a very dangerous puncher.

Regardless of the true facts behind Ketchel's knockdown, the fact remains that it was an all-time massive detonation of a blow's impact, one we are fortunate to have recorded on film.

[Senya13]

What if the people who have chosen Hearns in Top 5 were asked to justify his placement ahead of Fitzsimmons, Ketchel, Robinson, Graziano, Fernandez, Valdez, Brisco, Hart, Mugabi, Jackson, McClellan, Jones, Echols? What makes anyone think Hearns hit harder than these fighters, based on what?

[Minotauro]

In any order:
Archie Moore
Stanley Ketchel
Bob Fitzsimmons
Gerald McClellan
Nigel Benn

Julian Jackson and Rodrigo Valdez also deserve a mention.

[Raggamuffin]

Originally Posted by Senya13

What if the people who have chosen Hearns in Top 5 were asked to justify his placement ahead of Fitzsimmons, Ketchel, Robinson, Graziano, Fernandez, Valdez, Brisco, Hart, Mugabi, Jackson, McClellan, Jones, Echols? What makes anyone think Hearns hit harder than these fighters, based on what?

Based on his ko percentage against MW it doesn't seem justified.
Some off the names you mention are not even big punchers.
Fighters like Graziano, Echols and Robinson relied more on massive punchoutput instead off big time hitting.
So why include them and not the Hitman ?

[Senya13]

They have the stats to back it up. Nigel Benn also wasn't truly a KO artist, but he has the stats also. Hearns has neither.

[Raggamuffin]

Originally Posted by Senya13

They have the stats to back it up. Nigel Benn also wasn't truly a KO artist, but he has the stats also. Hearns has neither.

What stats you have that makes these fighters such big punchers against class opponents ?

[Senya13]

Shavers doesn't have KO wins over class opponents either.

[Raggamuffin]

Originally Posted by Senya13

Shavers doesn't have KO wins over class opponents either.

True but his former adversaries all claimed he was a very big puncher, if not the hardest. For the love of God i can't imagine somebody saying that about Echols or Graziano

[JohnThomas1]

Hearns
Jackson
McClellan
Valdez
SRR

[mcvey]

Originally Posted by Bad_Intentions

????????

Champions only,Fitz
Ketchel
Robinson
Jackson
McCllelan

[Doppleganger]

Originally Posted by Senya13

What has Thomas Hearns done at 160 or 168 pounds to deserve high ranking among hardest hitters? Stopped Shuler and Roldan? Huh?

Stopped both with full 10 counts. Hurt the durable Roldan with every single right hand and left hook he landed with. Compare that with Hagler who was hard pressed to hurt Roldan and took over double the length of time to stop him. Was one of the very few men to visibly hurt Hagler in the ring and this alone sneaks him into my top 5. Tommy didn't fight that much at 160lb and so I guess you could say that Tommy is my wildcard pick. Another reason is that he knocked out Lightheavies and Cruiserweights which demonstrated how potent his power really was. Also consider too that for most of the fights that Hearns fought at MW he was past his prime. Finally Tommy was more than just a right hand bomber - his left hook to the chin and downstairs were KO punches too.