Who punched harder at heavyweight, prime Holy or prime Ali?

Holyfield was first who knocked down Qawi, Bowe, Mercer, Bean. The secong man who dropped Tyson.

Ali knocked out Foreman and Bonavena.

Both hit hard enough to drop iron-chinned fighters.

I'd go with Holyfield though.

He put more weight into his punches, he threw them perfectly timed and very crisp (in his prime).

But the gap between them isn't huge surely.

 

Agreed. And holy had a good left hook a punch Ali seldom threw.

 

Horse hockey...George has said all kinds of things...including that he was drugged and the ropes were loose.

 

Both sitting down on their punches, I'd say Holy hit harder. The thing is though, Ali was quicker, so he would hit you with shots you didn't know were coming, and often times that can do more damage to a fighter than a harder shot he sees coming and rolls a little bit with.

 

Considering foreman ate like 100 before going down only after punching himself out, Foreman's chin would have to be 10/10.

 

It is practically irrelevant!

Neither of them got as far as they did, based on power!

Something else was obviously at play!

 

Holyfield and Douglas both hit harder than Ali.

 

Holyfield would have stopped an exhausted Foreman in Zaire. And comeback Foreman was bigger and for whatever reason, more durable. Holyfield had him staggering around the ring at the end of the 3rd, in the 7th it looked like Foreman was about to go down, in the 9th he buckled Foremans knees with a single counter right and remember, Holyfield was 49 pounds the smaller man.

He also dropped SHW Bowe with a well placed left hook, stopped SHW Douglas with a well timed counter right hand and bounced Michael Moorer up and down off the canvas like a basketball in their rematch.

Ali planted his feet against Floyd Patterson who managed to stay on his feet catching flush punches. I certainly think that Holyfield, especially heavyweight Holyfield would have floored Patterson.

 

Oh my god, could you imagine!!!

 

Which only proves my point.

The idea a 45 year old man was more durable than he was in his 20's is nonsense--especially because he had been inactive for 10 years and was getting incredibly fat, out of shape, and had been gobbling burgers and doing no physical fitness in that time frame. What changed was how he paced himself and his overall style/approach.

His younger self had great skill, but would often throw caution to the wind and was a classic brawler; willing to eat a shot or even a combination just to land one. He could box, cut off the ring, had a great jab, body shots, and combinations but if he was angered it wouldnt take long for him to brawl.

Old foreman was the opposite: box first, brawl if necessary. He had his guard up way more often than before, was more patient and didn't overexert himself even if his man was hurt. He tucked his chin and saved his energy well. He learned from his mistakes.

People act like Foreman got the wolverine adamantium treatment and somehow developed stronger bones and durability late in life when they make the idiotic claim that his chin "improved". Other than the stylistic/pacing change, the biggest difference was his wisdom/mental toughness. He had finally gotten past his loss in Africa and started from square 1 humble yet determined with a burning focus and a noble cause beyond just his ego this time. Having a cause you can believe in can give you an extra drive over an opponent even if on paper they're the better fighter. It can keep you on your feet longer than someone who is simply fighting for money, fame, or ego. I think that's part of the reason why foreman is such a polarizing figure with some fans. Some People never stood for anything so they dont want to believe he owes his greatness to his cause and mental toughness.

 

After eight rounds in sweltering heat with headlocks and pressure on his neck done illegally. Not really a valid argument in all honesty to describe his power. Better would have been the multiple shots he drove into Liston that snapped Listons head back and there are tons of stories about how tough Sonny was.

 

Wrong. Ali staggered Foreman several times prior to Round 8 most notably the beginning of round 4. This was prime Foreman mind you not the old version Holy fought.