Where do you rank Joe Louis punching power in history?

The faster and more accurate the punch, the more force there will be behind it. Louis doesn't just throw bludgeoning one punch blows, he lands blistering combinations on sensitive areas like the jaw, temple, liver, etc.

Louis wasn't a wrecking ball or a shotgun, more like a sub machine gun. 8/10 at best. If you think he was higher than that, then you are saying he is punching with similar force to guys like Bruno/Wladmir/Baer etc at high speed with perfect technique. There are an awful lot of boxers Louis took several rounds to KO (or didn't KO) for me to rate him that high on raw power.

 

Multiple common opponents said that Baer hit harder than him, and the same is true of Curtis Sheppard, so on that alone you could keep him out of the 10 category.

However a list of the injuries that he inflicted in the ring, makes for scary reading.

We also have footage of him lifting Tony Galento off teh ground, spinning Buddy Baer round 360 degrees, and launching Tami Mariello across the ring.

I think there was some blunt force trauma behind his technique.

 

I didn't say there wasn't any blunt force trauma behind his shots. I have also heard anecdotes of him hitting a guy so hard his teeth were in his mouthpiece.

I just said he isn't in the upper echelon of super hard, bludgeoning punchers. Just because don't put him on the same plateau of Baer, Bruno, etc doesn't mean I think he's feather fisted. You do realize 7/10 is well above average and I'm talking about his average punches, not how hard he hits at full power with his best Sunday punch? There's levels to it. Louis usually needed a combination or two to score his spectacular KOs and it was partly due to his superb technique and speed. That doesn't mean I think he didn't have any raw power. He hit just about as hard as any sub 195-200 pound guy could. His punching mechanics were phenomenal, effective, and a thing of beauty. As others in the thread pointed out, he also tended to throw sharp, short combinations not full swings with everything behind it on every shot. Against guys his own size, his average punches would definitely feel like an 8 or 8.5. Against modern sized men, they go down a notch but he makes up for it with other x factors such as his aforementioned speed, accuracy, etc. The thread is asking how I rate his power across all history, not just his era. Which means I'm thinking about how his raw power would rare in the era of super heavies. Does that make sense?

If he was a natural 230+ guy doing modern training, he'd easily be a 10/10 puncher and would probably be banned from boxing for how much damage he does to his opponents.

 

i think he was absolutely harder hitting than Baer …
Who are these muliple common opponents? Couldn’t have been Galento, Schmeling, Carnera or Nova ? Love these fantasy claims.

 

Louis didn't race out to KO his opponent - he was cool and measured and didn't unreasonably try to force the opportunities if they weren't there.

If there was a perfect example of Louis seriously fighting to ends matters asap, we have the Schmeling rematch in which Louis threw punches of devastating force - all over in 2 mins and 4 secs.

If Joe wasn't lifting his opponents off the canvas, he was wrenching them up on to their toe tips, shifting them bodily, this way and that - as he did with Godoy in their rematch, moving him around like a puppet on string, with short, powerful blasts.

One might argue the greater skills of the larger men of today, but can there be any argument for necessarily stronger chins for the oversized crew of today? Sure, reaching them is one logistic, but Louis proved that if he can reach them, he can def. hurt them and put them out.

Old Louis of course beat Savold before Marciano did (back-to-back fights for Savold)- and no mistake, Joe was so much slower than he was in his prime. Still, his punches in general did major damage to Savold's face and he more or less flattened Lee with a single left hook in round 6 - though a single right hand before that did badly hurt Savold.

Marciano hit Savold with all he was worth and while he did batter and badly damage him, he didn't secure a KD let alone a KO - Savold's corner called it between rounds 6 and 7.

 

Greatest puncher in the history of pugilistic pugilism. That's all I can add.

 

Galento, Schmeling, and Sheppard off the top of my head.

 

Absolutely. Watch what happened to Tate, Coetzee, Truth...a world champion and two indisputably world class fighters.

Shoot, watch the Holmes fight. That was a knockdown, not a slip.

 

I think Louis is in the top 5 all time in terms of power. Yeah your not going to ko everyone you fight, and your going to find that one guy that just will not go down, but did you see how he finish guys?? How he turns around Giant Buddy Baer with his ko power. Yeah he may not be the one punch ko guy like say Marciano, but not many can stand up to Louis's hand speed and combos.

 

Doubtful. Louis was the first to ever floor Galento and he destroyed him far worse than Baer ever did ... Baer hit Schmeling dozens of flush rights before finally dropping him ... Sheppard ? I question the sources.

 

I am satisfied that all three men made the claim in interviews, and none of them has any obvious reason to big up Baer at the expense of Louis.

Up to you whether you chose to trust their testimony/recollection.

 

Where are these interviews ? Please post.

 

Galento said it in an interview just before the first Liston Ali fight.

Schmeling said it in one of the last interviews he gave, back in teh 90s I think.

Sheppard is quoted as having said it, in an article by someone who was in prison with him, that has been posted on this site previously.

I will try to find links if I can.

 

Look forward to it ..

 

A person who has been here as long as you, might perhaps recollect at least two of those?