P4P who was the hardest hitting boxer of all-time? I feel this has been done before, if so could someone simply paste that thread as a reply to this?
Bob Fitzsimmons Sam Langford Joe Louis This are probably my top 3. Of course there are more credible candidates, but I don't think about anyone with better combination of power, technique and ability to destroy elite fighters.
My top 3 pfp looks like this Sam Langford Bob Fitzsimmons Max Baer But I actually think Max Baer is the hardest hitter
Shavers is overrated as a hitter. Yes, he had amazing power that could change the outcome of the fight in many occasions but he was very limited and he couldn't deliver against good defensive fighters. What makes him much better hitter than guys like Peter Maher, Cleveland Williams or Tommy Morrison? All of them fought against the best and failed to KO them. All of them had many anecdotes about their power. Even at heavyweight, I wouldn't have him in my top 3.
Consider the Ellis, Norton, Holmes II, and Ali fights. I'm forgetting a few. Or better yet, check out the shot that floored Holmes. Nobody in the heavyweights hit like that imo. I can see where pound for pound he might not make it though. If no one's offered up Hearns I'd like to.
I read something last year that said he had killed one of his sparring partners with a punch, grim topic I know but that would bring his tally up to 2 and possibly 3 given the situation with Schaaf and Primo. That's not natural. He clearly had loads of power on film and never had the technique of Joe Louis or Tyson meaning his power was very raw and was a beast when he bothered to try.
Norton was old, though he showed a lot of power in that fight. Holmes KD is amazing, but he couldn't do anything after that. Ali was so terrible in Shavers fight that I'm shocked that Earnie didn't win that one. Shavers definitely was a monster puncher, but I think he's in that Maher, Tua and Cleveland category. I mean, Maher KD Fitzsimmons, KO bigger Goddard and has over 100 KOs on his resume. He also beat tons of bigger fighters than himself, which is not the case with Shavers.
I actually agree with you. Not sure if he's the hardest hitter at HW, but he had tons of power. Probably top 10 at worst in that aspect. Still, I wouldn't put him in top 10 P4P, though he beat some bigger men than himself.
I'm shocked Earnie didn't win that second Holmes fight as well. However, what a testimony to the greatness of those two champions. Ali's showing in the last round of the Earnie fight is his last show of great championship prowess. He was incredible, out of nowhere he really did punish Shavers. And that Larry started controlling the fight again, shortly after getting knocked down...how many times do you see something like that in the heavyweights?
Why I have Louis so high? Because he fought against basically all elite fighters in his era and KOed almost all of them. He stopped extremely durable men like Max Baer, Paulino Uzducun, Arturo Godoy, Bob Pastor, Jim Braddock and Buddy Baer, most of them in brutal fashion. If you don't understand how impressive it is: Among all 6 mentioned, there are only 13 KO losses in 482 official fights and 7 of them are from Louis. In short, Louis scored more KOs on them than the rest of the competition they faced. It's unbelievable.
Joe Louis might have been the only man capable of beating Prime (60s) Ali and (1978-1983) Holmes. His right was just way too insistent and powerful to ignore. I just can't help thinking Shavers was easily the harder puncher.
