Who did he beat to become champion? Or are you saying the era was so unorganized boxers could simply name someone as the champion?
Wlad's power is crazy. Manny Steward said he was the hardest puncher he ever trained. The scary thing is that Wlad is also in contention for best and hardest punches, ever. Jab? Top 3. Right Cross? Top 2. Left Hook? He's Top 5 (it's atomic, trust me).
Shavers was a huge one punch hitter and he punched clean and correctly. Hilarious though it is to say, Wilder is very similar to Earnie. Skills not great. Feet, not great, even as a finisher, if he doesn't spark his opponents out he looks clumsy and laboured. I'd have to say for pure power in a single shot, it's between Wilder and Shavers.
Chris Byrd fought both the Ks and he said Wlad punched at least 3 times harder than Vitali. KO% rates can be very misleading. Wlad is a much bigger puncher than his brother who only really uses his arms on a lot of occasions. Wlad punches with full body leverage and his power is on another level. I think he's the hardest puncher since Shavers, possibly of all time.
He beat Choynski and O'Donnell and (then) retired Corbett called him the champion. He lost his credentials as the champion when Corbett came back to fight Fitzsimmons, but he was recognised as the champion.
Hardest puncher since Shavers and Foreman was Tommy Morrison! Chris Byrd and Lennox stated that Morrison hit them harder than any Klitchko! I think that Tua and Cooney also hit harder than both Klitchko!
Wlad was a really excellent puncher and a fine fighter (I have him at #9, just over Tyson on my ATG list). However, i've seen Vitali knock the living yee-haw out of guys. When you mention arm-punching, I think of changing up velocities. Ali did the same thing, if he wasn't completely on balance or moving counter with his feet he would just throw punches to blind and confuse his opponent. You seem pretty knowledgeable, so you're probably fully aware that you can't always throw punches with full leverage in a fight, it's impossible considering all the moving one has to do. Plus, it can be extremely exhausting, especially when you miss (watch Earnie Shavers against Holmes II, Foreman vs Ali, Golota and Bowe in their fights, etc.) I'll take your word for it Vitali arm-punched more than Wlad, but they were both pretty killer punchers imo.
Wilder is more like a lanky Herbie Hide or a faster, more elastic Max Baer. Shavers was a lot more compact and relied more on proper punch mechanics and combination punching (he often set up his OH right with a left body shot first). Wilder also has genuine one punch power, in that he can end a fight at almost any point. I don't see too many similarities baring their willingness to sell out on a shot to get the stoppage.
Wlad's probably the most devastating puncher since Lennox. In terms of raw one punch power I have a couple of random guys ahead of him, but they weren't half the boxer he was and consequently tended not to be able to land as well on opponents past a certain level. For an example of one of those random guys I'd nominate Robert Helenius, who had stupendous power before he tore his shoulder up.
You don't really need to take anyone's word for it to see that Vitali arm punched more than Wlad. It's evident just by watching them fight. Both effective punchers. Wlad could KO you with one shot, which was always perfectly set up, but he'd rely on breaking you down first, and if you fought back enough you could reduce his effectiveness. Vitali was constantly punching from all angles and ranges but his single shots were more of the bludgeoning kind. Still, when he put enough oomph into a shot he had scary power. He literally lifted a 260lbs Danny Williams off his feet with a cuffing hook just after knocking him the opposite direction. You can google the pic.
Um yeah, that's a pretty good reason not to rate someone on any criterion that requires visual confirmation.
Helenius still hits extremely hard. Look how he bowled Kownacki all over the ring... Look how he star fished Peters out for the 10 count. . Helenios definitely hit harder than Vitali
