Comparing the KO% of the great heavyweights

I couldn`t be bothered writing it and I realsed I hadn`t read the OP said great fighters when I said his post was accurate so I pasted this.

 

I think that the KO percentages of many of them hold up against better competition. Marciano for example KO'd 14 of 16 ever rated fighters which is right at his percentage against the unrated guys. No evidence for him that quality of opposition inflated his KO percentage.

Joe Louis, Sonny Liston, and Lennox Lewis are others for which this is true.

 

Liston and Foreman hit harder than Ali but were stopped by him, what is your point?

 

This. Knockout percentages can be very deceiving. I’ve seen guys with less than a 20% KO rating that were very good punchers, but consistently fought tough style matchups, so the knockouts rarely came.

 

The point being since I need to spell it out to you is Ali has the greatest ko percentage when compared to other fighters on that list of fighters that are usually considered very good or great. Yes others fighters may have a higher KO percentage, but who did those ko's come against? And that's revealing.

 

I agree with Mendoza to an extent. I think % can be a decent indicator, but it's not the end-all-be-all, and context matters greatly, such as how many were legitimate knockouts and against who they were

 

Do you mean Ali was better at finishing because of his hand speed, because it wasn`t his power, he could punch, but not as hard as any of the guys on the list.

 

Ali's percentage is simply due to his greatness. He badly outclassed even good to very good fighters and one can even say great. Holmes was similar albeit against a lower level of opposition. He outclassed many of them to the point of stopping them despite not being a top tier puncher. They were simply great fighters.

 

Ali’s power for some reason is never mentioned and never given credit...he didn’t have raw power but he’d hit u with shots u didn’t see coming. Knocked out so many legends with solid chins as well.

 

KO percentage is def a wishy washy stat in boxing...but you could say that about any stat in boxing I suppose? Quality of opposition would change all your stats. In saying that guys like Walcott are prob underrated but he def had one punch power. Some guys have the power but also aren’t the best finishers or would choose not to put themselves in danger for the KO.

 

Yes, because it was a good post.

 

Considering the "unconscious" point, what about Max Baer, at least on film? For a guy with his reputation as a puncher, very few of his filmed fights I have seen show him putting a man down for the count.

Levinsky in the exhibition goes down for the count. The commentator on the Ben Foord fight says Foord was counted out, although the film I have seen doesn't actually show the knockout. Heeney was counted out but referee Dempsey short counted him and Heeney apparently would have beaten a fair count.

Carnera, Schmeling, Galento, and Comiskey were on their feet at the end or quit on their stool. Uzcudun, Levinsky in 1932, Braddock, Louis, Farr twice, and Nova twice were not stopped.

Baer's most impressive "unconscious" KO is probably over Schaaf but that one is not on film or at least I have never seen the film.

I also think an "unconscious" criteria might be unfair to the modern guys. For example, Dempsey rendered Firpo unconscious, but today that fight would be a first round TKO for Dempsey as no modern ref would allow so many knockdowns. Would Ellis or Quarry have lasted the full distance with Frazier or would they have either been knocked unconscious or simply collapsed from punishment and taken a ten count before the end of the fight?