A lot of people punch ham fisted for some reason, I have small biceps but punch harder than a lot of guys with big muscles I don`t know why, having said that nearly every guy in my former kick box class had bigger muscles than me and punched harder than me, there was a woman there who had bigger biceps than me also and she punched harder than and harder than the 3 other women there, they had skinny arms, they were thiner than me and I punched far harder than than them too, so a lot of times it can depend on muscles but very often doesn`t. Why don`t all muscular boxers punch hard?
some people become a more rigid base at time of contact so the energy is transferred more efficiently. muscles by themselves will only help in so far as adding weight to the base for added stability. weight matters in punching power because your fist has a more stable base from which to push off from, so it can create more torque. i would say balance, coordination and commitment are more important factors in punching power than muscles.
This. It's not purely about muscle and more about technique and commitment to hurt the opponent. Some guys punch thru objects and others just want to make contact.
This. I’ve seen plenty of big muscled up guys that couldn’t crack an egg shell while on the other hand have seen really scrawny guys with incredible punching power.
Does muscle fibre type not contribute greatly for 'muscly' guys? I've got tons of fast twitch. Punch hard, jump high, throw far.
Punching power is related to technique and body mechanics, not weight in the first place. I think a well educated boxer with 80 Kg will punch harder than an average guy who is a bodybuilder with 120 kg. But obviously there is a big difference between punching in a real (boxing) fight and giving a one punch with your maximum power because you know you have to do that in a more relaxed environment (heavy bag, pads or even a freaking boxing machine) and you can focus on the one punch while a fight is more dynamic and your body is reacting to a stress situation.
Gerald Washington is pretty muscular, it counts for little. I look naturally pretty muscular but I haven’t trained in years and would probably be embarrassed in the gym these days, looks can be very deceiving...
Thats a really good point, I mentioned that ages ago about difference in loading up for a punch when there is no stress vs throwing while under stress. Anyways I think there are a million factors involved with punching power. Weight, limb length, muscle fibre type, experience, body co ordination, balance, sttength, hair colour