Was Tyson really a great puncher, or just a fast/accurate puncher?

I think Tyson and Foreman possessed polar opposite types of power. An argument can be made for either man as to who punched harder, and it wouldn't be clear cut either way, but it would also be something of a pointless argument since both men were capable or hurting and stopping opponents that the other would struggle to do. I'd give the slight edge to Tyson though. His speed and explosiveness really caught a lot of opponents out, and if he landed flush you were either going down or seriously hurt. Foreman had a couple of fights (comeback ones mainly) where he failed to hurt his opponents despite landing on them throughout the course of the fight. Lou Savarese is probably the most telling common opponent here.

 

Does all that not count towards power? Of course it does. You can't just isolate one variable ("pure power," which is pretty fuzzy as a concept anyway) and ignore the rest.

Tyson was fast, explosive, accurate, technically proficient and physically powerful. He might not have been as strong as Foreman or Lewis or whoever, but that doesn't mean he was any less a hitter.

 

Yeah, I guess I didn't word it as well as I would've wanted to.

My point I was making was basically - some guys get KO's because they're naturally hard and heavy hitters. Tyson did it because of a combination of strength and even more skill.

 

Tyson snapped heads like they were on a swivel and sent fools flying thru the air. I'd say he could crack pretty ****ing good.

 

I get where you're coming from. It just baffles me when people claim Foreman, Shavers, Baer or whoever punched harder than Tyson because they had more "pure power" (whatever that is) whilst at the same time conceding that Tyson was faster, more explosive, more accurate and more technically proficient, which made him more likely to knock guys out with one shot.

It just sounds like a refusal to accept that Tyson may have been a bigger puncher than more limited fighters known mainly for their power, as in Shavers's or Baer's cases (all things taken into account).

 

speed kills

That is what did it, not seeing the punch coming and the speed of the delivery in combinations.

 

Paulie Malignaggi must be a homicidal maniac then.

Speed alone doesn't account for Tyson's phenomenal power.

 

No point arguing with that ******, you should see some of his comments on another thread

Guy is certified ******ed

 

Tyson became shot when he lost his foot and hand speed, the deterioration was clearly visible during the Botha fight. All he could do was attack with one punch when previously he could throw 4-5 punch combos with decent force to the body and then upper cut head.

Once his speed deserted him, his one punch power punches just became lucky punches and against good boxers that's not good enough.

 

Wlad has more power than Tyson

 

Amir Khan has possibly the fastest hands in boxing today..... yet it's clear to see he's lacking power...

So if Tyson was just fast and accurate..... why did he knock so many people out?

the answer.............

POWER

 

If you read Facing Tyson, most opponents point to his speed as being his devastating weapon. It was the speed that got you. Oddly, few talk about his actual punching power.

Bonecrusher Smith (who sounds like an ******* by the way) claimed that Mike Weaver hit harder, and Buster Mathis, while not drawing a direct comparison to Tyson and Bowe's power, said that 'Bowe was a big man with power' whereas 'Tyson was a little guy, like me.'

Holmes said that Shavers power felt like a truck hitting you at 60 mph, whereas Tyson's power felt like a corvette hitting you at 100 mph. He did say that Tyson was a 'very hard puncher.'

Alex Stewart seemed very impressed with Tyson's power, saying nobody in the division (at that time, around 1991) had anywhere near his level of punching power.

Most eyewitnesses who have seen him hit the heavy bag seemed pretty awestruck by the sound of his punches hitting the bag, Joe Rogan and Dana White (for what it's worth) among them.

I just look at the video footage...Frazier, Spinks, Tubbs, Botha, Berbick etc. etc. Not much to say after watching that.

 

wlad got much greater potential power since he outweighs him by a massive margin.

but he doesn't know how to use it like Tyson because of his middling offensive skills.

 

His power was average, it was the way he hit the opponents.

Many of his stoppages are even early stoppages where the bum is still perfectly conscious and on his feets but looking at the ref terrifyed asking "where's my money at"?

 

Dozens of boxers have had more power than Tyson. The guy was 5'10, and 205 lbs when he was "lean".