Hardest Heavyweight Puncher?

1. Shavers
2. Foreman
3. Liston
4. Tyson
5. Tua
6. Lewis
7. Marciano
8. Baer
9. Bruno
10. Wlad Klitschko

 

This is entirely feasible. The distinction between punching power and physical strength is one that was made by Archie Moore after his challenge of Marciano, when he stated, "He's the strongest man I've ever fought. I don't know that he's the hardest hitter, but he certainly hits hard enough." (Ultimately, as is well known, Archie credited Yvon Durelle's first KD right as the hardest punch he ever took in his completed career.) The version of Big George who regained the linear HW title is surely the physically strongest boxing champion in history. (Did George ever take a single involuntary backward step inhis entire second career?)

"The Greatest" had some good quotable lines in it, but it was dreadful in terms of making obviously false statements, like identifying Zack Clayton as the referee of Ali's rematch with Liston. (How incompetent can a ghostwriter be, and still make a living?)

 

Johannsen

 

I have dug out my copy of the excellent Hauser biography of Ali, I will give you a couple of direct quotes from the book:

'In round two, Shavers landed a devastating overhand right. Ali was hurt. "Next to Joe Frazier," he said later, "that was the hardest I ever got hit."

"Of all the men I fought in boxing, Sonny Liston was the scariest; George Foreman was the most powerful; Floyd Patterson was the most skilled as a boxer. But the roughest and toughest was Joe Frazier. He brought out the best in me."

Interesting stuff, but contradictary and no definitive answer from Ali on the OP question. Ali seems to talk 'off the cuff', not analytically comparing one opponent to the other across the length of his career. What about Listons punching power in their first fight?

Ali seems to be leaning toward Frazier...but this may be because Joe's constant pressure would leave Ali open to getting hurt by Joe in ways more ponderous bangers like Shavers and Foreman couldn't manage.

 

I rank these 4 at the top.

George Foreman
Rocky Marciano
Earnie Shavers
Bob Satterfield

The rest are so close together it's hard to choose
and i would rank them just a notch below the top 4.

Joe Louis
Mike Tyson
Sonny Liston
Joe Frazier
Wladimir Klitschko
Frank Bruno
Jack Dempsey
Lennox Lewis
there is another whole group of punchers I would rank just below this group.

 

1) Shavers
2) Foreman
3) Tyson
4) Joe Louis
5) Max Baer
6) Frazier
7) Vitaly Klitschko
8) Marciano
9) Liston
10) Wilder
11) Tua
12) Lennox Lewis
13) Wlad Klitschko

More or less.

 

Earnie Shavers. Everybody who says his power is overrated (escpecially in HW) are f*cking stupid. I'm going to be honest. STUPID as hell. 11 quotes of people saying he hit the hardest and he kayoed durable mens such as Jimmy Ellis, Roy Tiger Williams and he's the only man who knocked out Jimmy Young. After all that still overrated? My goodness.

Hey, I respect your opinion if you don't think he's the hardest hitter but the fact he is consistently being called overrated is absurd. We all can assume Foreman and Shavers are in Top 3.

 

Look at what Tyson did to Botha and Golota. This board likes to underrate his single shot power.

 

Wilder isn't getting enough credit in here. His knockout footage is as impressive as Shavers, imo. One solid haymaker right, that's it, and the opponent collapses like their brain just shut off.

I get it. His attitude sucks. He's not likeable. But he's got one of the greatest rights of all time.

 

I'd be shocked if anyone argued this. You know you're right, my friend.

 

Wilder or Wlad.

 

Tyson is clearly not no. 1, but to say he's not even in the top 30 is a bit of a stretch.
And Shavers is nowhere near no. 1. Wlad, Wilder, Lewis, Foreman - all hit harder.

 

No, Shavers did not hit harder than either of them.

 

Those stupid and exaggerated quotes don't mean ****. Shavers is the most overrated puncher ever.

Both hit way harder than Shavers. But Lennox rarely put everything he had behind his punches, and Tua didn't have the skills to connect very often.

Good joke. They are too ****ing small to be the hardest hitters.

 

It was a case of both, but more so the latter. Shavers landed with everything he had, Foreman never did.