Mount Rushmore of HW punchers

In terms of raw power alone, Wilder, Shavers, Foreman, Wladmir give or take. They are roughly Tier 1.

I personally think Wilder might be #1, his sizzling right hand is like an unguided cruise missile. The main thing holding him back is his timing, ring IQ, and finishing ability. He could've finished Fury in fights 1&3 if he was decent in those areas. I really do hope we get the Ruiz fight since he's such a strong and durable guy with a solid chin and good skills, if Wilder can take him out it'll be a great indicator of true power. A valid criticism is his fairly weak resume with not many elite opponents.

Shavers can be overrated and has a fairly bad record, but too many quotes from both guys who beat him and lost to him saying very similar things are hard to dismiss. Many trainers such as Dundee have also spoken highly of his power and nobody ever walked through his shots or shrugged them off. Similar to Wilder, his bad ring IQ and finishing ability let him down many times. By his own admission, Shavers said many trainers didn't bother developing all that much outside of power but at some point a boxer needs to wake up and take control of their career to become more well rounded. Shavers has a great resume but often failed to win his biggest fights and it's a completely legitimate complain if we're talking about power (should've produced better results).

Wladmir is severely underrated in this poll, idk how he has less votes than Dempsey and Tua. His hook and right cross were downright lethal when they landed flush and many opponents such as Byrd are in awe of his power. Sparring partners have also spoken highly of him saying he was probably the hardest hitter they faced, and he passes the eye test. The only criticism you can give Wladmir's power is that he often wears guys out with his jab, grab, smother, 1-2, grab strategy before going for the kill, he doesn't have a whole lot of clean/early knockouts against his better opponents.

Foreman is the most heavy handed and produced crazy force with each shot sending guys stumbling even with glancing blows. This is also a weakness because sometimes the opponent would end up out of range for the follow up punch. He realized this as he got older and became less seek and destroy and more of a terminator with better precision shortening his punches. His lack of hand speed was always an issue and more elite fighters could brace themselves since they could see some of his shots coming. In his peak years from 72-74 he was arguably the biggest threat on offense with unique devastating power in either hand, including his jab, and was a frightening body puncher and finisher too. Probably the most well rounded puncher of all time at his best.

 

I’m with you Shay. If he’d been included, Joe Louis would’ve been among my 4 also.

 

There is much of which to be critical of Wilder, but his power is beyond reproach.

Remember when Tyson said Ruddock hits like a mule kicks?

Wilder hits like a high-powered rifle firing a hollow-point slug … it just explodes when he lands (sometimes not even cleanly).

That right hand that hit Fury on the forehead and the slow-motion video that literally shows the shock wave go down his body (presumably to his very toes) is amazing. Never seen anything remotely like it. It’s like those old films of nuclear bomb tests where you see the shock waves emanating and disintegrating everything within its radius.

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I went with Wilder, Shavers, Foreman and Lewis, btw.

 

Hi I appreciate you liking my last post here.
But can you go back to it & systematically answer my questions about what YOU mean by power?
If language permits, you can use a translation service online to help, thank you!

 

This is very discerning G.C.!
The only quibble I have is that your list is among the very most elite punchers-who were ATGs.
Do you not think that in pure blunt force trauma, &/or effect on a fighter if all other factors were controlled for like a scientific experiment-no variables in accuracy, if a shot is seen or braced for, volume, combinations...
The very hardest puncher may be a second tier fighter or below, even though somewhat or way less effective overall or with their power?

Like another Shaver's-type, or even someone not nearly as good as him, that is, never a contender or World Class fighter?

 

SO it is NOT just raw power at all.
And popularity? Why would you have how much a fighter is liked in a poll about power?

 

wish i could like it twice

 

I agree, except you must mean not just popularity, but believe he is considered that great for good reason.
I thought you were improperly considering popularity, it seems you mean to discount overall talent & reputation as indicators of raw power.

Yes Louis & another great puncher Tyson hit very hard even for HWs.
But certainly not among the very hardest of even their era & opponents!

 

Tyson, Louis, Bowe, Marciano

I think Bowe was a better puncher than Lewis, and Marciano barely edges out Foreman for me

I'm considering overall punching skill/technique from both hands, work rate/attrition/punching stamina, KO/finishing ability

I think Bowe was a more active puncher and Lewis more conservative, I think Marciano did more with less than Foreman and had a better work rate

Louis had perfect technique that was always effective, he was the whole package

Frazier was an amazing puncher but not enough KOs and it was unfortunate he never landed his right that well

Shavers and Wilder lack everything except raw one punch power

 

I think Liston is the most underrated in the poll and the posts. Literally every common opponent between him and Foreman said Liston hit harder, yet he's not getting nearly as many votes.

I'm no mathematician but something's not adding up.

 

I agree Wilder is #1.

Any number of straight up bums went the distance with Shavers, Foreman and Wlad ... Shavers and Wlad not only didn't stop all of them but even lost to guys (Bob Stallings/Ross Puritty) with terrible records.

The only person Wilder never stopped was Tyson Fury (who outweighed him by 40 pounds every time they fought). And he had Fury down four times (which is tough when someone is that heavier than you) in two of their three fights.

But I noticed this comment (Wilder should've stopped Fury in fight 3) more than once in the last few weeks. Wilder floored Fury twice in the same round in fight three, and the round ended with the referee issuing the second eight count.

You can't "finish" a guy if the round is over by the time the ref finishes his "incredibly slow" standing eight count.

You can argue Wilder should've finished Fury in the 12th round of their first fight. I totally get that.

But you can't fault a guy for not stopping an opponent when the bell ended the round before he got a chance to finish him in their third fight.

The round was over. He couldn't hit him again in that round to finish him.

Anyone questioning his power and finishing ability because he failed to stop one person (a world champ no less) in his 14-year career needs to then hold every puncher they might place above him to the same standard.