Which heavyweights had the fastest hands in history?

the fastest I saw belonged to Floyd Patterson.

 

This ^^^

 

Smoking Sam Peter

 

Tony Tubbs! .blistering hand speed

 

Muhammad Ali.

 

Its obviously patterson. People like henry cooper who fought ali said patterson, thats an insane compliment considering how fast Ali was.

If Patterson had an iron chin he'd be unstoppable.

 

Patterson
Ali
Tyson

 

He probably wasn't as quick as the smaller guys but Corrie Sanders had a rapid left hand power shot

 

Fastest hands, Patterson. Fastest overall (especially footwork) prime Ali, and it's not even ****ing close to close.

 

Patterson's reach was the same as Tyson's (71') and he was an a full inch taller at 6 ft. If tyson could use the exact same style under the same trainer to fight modern sized guys, so could patterson.

Patterson koed 6'4 bill mcmurray in the 1st round and stopped 6'3 Todd Herring in the 3rd round. He went the distance with 6'3 Ali and landed many shots, and we know how fast and elusive Ali was. Patterson would have zero problems landing on slow, plodding guys who lacked head movement and defense.

The difference between Jones and patterson was style and how they threw their shots. Jones wanted to make a guy miss and make him look silly, nailing them with nasty counters and looping hayemakers while swaying to dodge or using his footwork to dart in and out. Patterson was much more technically sound and more patient. Roy would sometimes head hunt while Patterson could break a guy down with body shots or go up top with crisp combinations.

To answer your question, a straight punch will usually be faster than a wind up attack like a hook or upper. Roy might have been faster with his straight shots vs floyds coiled, sharp peak a boo punches. But the main difference is roy fought primarily at mid range and patterson could deliver razor sharp punches at any rangs. Its also worth noting roy would leap into his shots using his legs to add even more speed. Patterson could do this too, notably with his gazelle punch, but usually only when going for a ko while roy would bounce and use his legs like springs all the time. Its a little hard to compare and give an exact answer because the styles and eras were so different.

 

It will probably not be popular or well recieved, but I think David Haye had pretty good speed at HW

 

Byrd hasn't had a shout yet.