Hasim Rahman vs Max Schmeling: Who hit harder

Was Rahman the harder puncher??

 

Probably. I'd pick Schmeling to beat him, though.

 

I don't care who hits harder as both were strong enough to hurt most fighters. Schmeling is much better puncher overall though.

 

I think Rahman hit much harder than Schmeling. I don't see how it's even close.

 

It's close all right. Schmeling could deck

 

If you say so.

 

The most important thing is that Schmeling was much better fighter overall. Who cares if Rahman could hit harder? He couldn't use it in the ring to his advantage as well as Max.

 

People start threads comparing the punching power of different fighters all the time... In this one the answer should be pretty obvious to anyone who actually watches boxing and doesn't just read it.

And by the way, on their best nights, I think Schmeling has his hands full with Rahman.

 

Yeah, probably but Rahman wasn't the kind of one punch KO master. He was strong guy but I doubt his punches were much more dangerous than Schmeling's. Given Max better skills and accuracy, I'd say that he's more dangerous puncher even if not as powerful.

I don't know Rahman that well, but what makes you believe so? I know that he's bigger but he's not a giant and outside of lucky punch (Lewis-like) I don't see him giving Max much problems.

 

I'd pick Rahman as the heavier puncher, and it's probably by some margin.

Schmeling is a bit of a strange one to me. At his best, he was devastating, and look no further than the Louis win for that. He came in with a clever plan and boxed a masterclass. But then you get fights where he threw all his savvy out the window and the Baer fight is an example of that. Did he really think he was going to grind Baer down? He really threw his smarts out the window for that one.

 

I think that he wanted to take out Baer's main weapon - long overhand right. That's why he fought inside. He probably was concerned about Baer's reach advantage too. He did fairly well at the beginning of the fight, but Baer had simply too good chin. He ate a lot of good rights from Schmeling, I just think that Baer was a bad matchup for him. Baer was very unpredictable fighter and that's a nightmare for a chess match fighter like Schmeling.

 

Baer was a horrible fighter at range and if Schmeling had any sense at all he'd have shown him angles, a jab and movement. I rip Baer for a lot of things but he was a physical phenomenon, as solid a fighter for his weight as I'd ever seen. Fighting up close with a hercules like Baer was a terrible, terrible notion.

 

You should watch some of his fights some time. Rahman was technically sound and had a very strong jab and a very powerful right hand. He was a very big man (much bigger than Schmeling) and he knew how to fight like one. Not the most fluid fighter but he would have been one of the most dangerous men Schmeling ever faced.

 

It is hard to say really, without being on the business end.

I wouldn't care to be hit by either of them, though Schmeling was the better overall puncher.

I think that a lot of Rahman's credentials as a puncher hang on his weight, and the need by some to to excuse Lewis's loss to him.

 

Yeah, I think Schmeling's reputation as some kind of brilliant, supremely skilled ring genius is completely overblown. Gets way too much mileage from picking up on the simple fact that Louis consistently dropped his jab.