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