Punching power is a discussion largely had among neophytes. Sorry to be harsh but that's really the way it is. If that is teh level one follows the sport (and I really don't think it is with you), perhaps one should take some time off from such discussions and learn more.
Bigger gloves would actually lessen his power. No fighter increases their power by wearing larger gloves, else no one would spar in 16 ouncers. I'm not sure how you can say Baer was one of the best punchers in the division when he often had trouble landing against lesser opposition and showed shocking form at times (wide, telegraphed haymakers, punches throwing him off balance etc). It's difficult to even consider him one of the strongest punchers considering his lack of size compared to modern heavyweights.
Well logically, if they all gained their strength from old school methods, what would modern techniques do to improve their power? The only thing that would significantly improve their power would be the addition of PEDs, and who knows if these were even a new addition to the 70s era fighters?
After his death...Doctors said that Campbell's brain had been knocked completely loose from the connecting tissues in his head...and that his brain had been knocked completely loose from his skull....Yeah,...Baer could hit!!!
I'm sure the same could have occurred if any other reasonably big punching heavyweight was allowed free rein to rabbit punch him against the ropes. Similar injuries have occurred in less regulated MMA matches.
Bear in mind that kicks to the head are allowed in MMA matches. I am not saying that another injury of this type had not occurred in a boxing match, but I have never personally heard of one. It is a terrifying injury.
It is a terrible injury, but it says more about the lax officiating and regulating of matches than it does about Baer's otherworldly punching power. Had there been proper medical checks leading up to the fight, and had the referee stepped in as soon as Campbell got stuck between the ropes and was no longer able to defend himself then Baer would have never been able to inflict such a horrific amount of damage to his opponent. In most cases, when injuries and deaths like this happen it's down to other factors than the fighter's striking power. From all I've read of the Campbell bout this is one of those cases.
Dehydration is the usual cause of ring deaths, so they most often take place in lower weight classes. Would a modern referee have saved Campbell? Possibly, but it is hard to be sure. We don't know exactly when the injury happened. Personally I have never based my glowing assessment of Baer's power on this incident.
Baer was a clown in the ring, allied with the fatality of of an opponent maybe he a lot of times never truly unloaded, wheras in the 70s Foreman threw every punch with bad intent, a big scary monster.