BCS8 is right, you can’t base it off that, and Wlad had much better technique, vitali would throw a lot of arm punches
Shavers doesn't hold a single win over a world class fighter at their peak. He must be the most mythologised person in sporting history, let alone boxing. He didn't just lose against elite guys, he normally got stopped. Wlad had a glorified 12 round sparring session with David Haye. Can anyone imagine Haye seeing round 4 against peak versions of Liston, Foreman or Tyson? A devastating puncher is someone who has proven their ability to KO guys at top level. Max Baer holds more impressive wins than Shavers or either Klitschko brother.
You only know who really hit the hardest if youve actually been hit by them. I'll agree with two great fighters I admire. The Greatest Muhammad Ali. He said " Earnie hit me so hard my ancestors in Africa fell over" "no man has ever hit me so hard" Randall Tex Cobb The toughest SOG Ive ever met. He said " Earnie hit me harder than anyone else he was the only man that made me want to quit in any fight. Every punch shook me to the bone" I met Earnie in Dallas & told him what Tex had said , he grinned & said " Old Cobb must have had concrete poured into his jaw. I hit him harder than Ive knocked guys cold with & he just laughed at me & said That all you got Earnie I'm gonna beat ya & he did" Mutual respect led to a long friendship
I believe the accounts of Ali, Holmes and Young which said that Earnie Shavers hit extremely hard. But I’ve never given any one person the title of “ hardest hitter “ as I feel it’s virtually impossible to confirm. The heavyweight division is loaded with countless men who could punch - some of which weren’t even necessarily world class fighters.
Who was his power proven against? Young, Ellis, Clark, Smith, Norton, Bugner. Plus he hurt Ali and Holmes. Is that enough to justify the hype his power gets? Probably yeah. In terms of raw power he might be one of the hardest hitters ever, but it doesn't matter if you can't use it effectively. Guys like Tyson, Lewis, Wladimir etc delivered ko blows at a higher level, so for me they should be ranked higher.
Leroy Caldwell fought Shavers, Foreman, and Lyle, and a lot of other great fighters, and he said Shavers hit the hardest. Holmes and Tillis fought both Shavers and Tyson and said Shavers hit much harder.
Who would have thought that Mitch “Blood” Green and Bonecrusher Smith could go the distance with Tyson? But they did. The error in logic you’re making is ‘harder hitter = ability to land said punch and finish opponent.’ A guy can be an extremely hard puncher, an ATG puncher, and still not be able to knock out top fighters because he cannot apply that power as well as others. Foreman fought some pretty good punchers who never moved him. But Jimmy Young, who wasn’t a hard hitter, put him down.
A lot of guys name the guy they beat as the hardest hitter rather than the guy who beat them. Braddock said Baer hit harder than Louis, for example. There is no doubt that Ernie hit hard, but Ali was dropped, and Holmes stopped. So I think we need to take what they have said with a grain of salt. That is all.
Plus everybody stopped Tillis, Tyson didn't. Ruddock went the distance with Tyson, but was stopped by Lewis and Morrison.
Yeah, what does a guy who’s been in the ring with top punchers know about which one hits harder? LOL. The ability to stop someone is not the be-all, end-all of punching power. There are other factors. The hardest puncher doesn’t always knock out his opponent if he can’t hit him right, or land the proper follow up punches.
But people tell untruths, or partial truths, for various reasons. Do you know what "grain of salt" means? Doesn't mean that they should be dismissed, only that you have to take other considerations, such as, you know, real results, into consideration. As for "other factors," Ernie hit the guys who sang his praises flush, WHICH IS WHY THEY PRAISED HIM, and it did not have the same effect as other, better fighters, so dumb argument there.
Max Baer hit harder But seriously, who cares? Top tier punchers had enough power to stop anyone, delivery and set up matter more. In these aspects, Shavers is clearly below other punchers.
THIS^^^^ Sam Peter hit like a fragging truck, but his problem was in effectively landing the power. A guy like Francis Ngannou (MMA) hits tremendously hard, yet I bet he'd have a terrible record in boxing and it would in no way reflect his punching power, due to his lack of focused technique.
Again you are wrong! You are now talking who is better fighter not who is better puncher! I know Wlad was better fighter but Vitali had better chin,was stronger and harder puncher!