Who hit the hardest: Ali, Holmes, or Usyk?

I'm pretty sure Norton said Ali. @swagdelfadeel

 

For whatever it's worth, this is my favourite Holmes stoppage (time-stamped):

This content is protected

 

Holmes
Ali
Usyk

 

able to do? None of them fought men that big.

Your measure is not objective. Usyk's inability to stop durable cruiserweights shows that by any objective measure, he does not hit as hard as the other 2.

Bigger does not equal more durable.

 

I am talking cruiserweights. Which durable cruisers did Usyk stop? Anyone?

Fury struggled vs McDermott and Cinningham. Spent much of his career avoiding tough fights. He wouldn't eat anyone for breakfast. Rather he would spend his time avoiding challenges.

 

Typically it does

 

Muhammad Ali.

 

Usyk rocks 240+ guys with his shots, probably goes… Usyk, Holmes, Ali but that’s on average, I think the chances of being stopped by Holmes are higher then fighting Usyk if that makes sense, LH was a bit meaner, bit more “pop” to his shots - Ali had hand troubles so it’s hard to say where he was, 60s opponents all basically sucked and by the 70s his hands were requiring medical shots etc its also worth considering that Ali’s opponents were teeny… Ellis, Bonavena, Patterson, Frazier etc.

 

It's close. Too me, Ali's hardest punch was his right hand. When he sat down on it, it could get you out of there. Holmes had a mean right uppercut that he would throw when someone got inside his jab. As for Usyk, it's all about that counter left. I think it's more about his timing than his raw power. He just lands with such precision

 

Correct as did Shavers and Berbick although the latter almost certainly said so out of spite, knowing his disdain for Holmes. There’s no way THAT version of Ali hit harder than Holmes.

 

Precisely this is the context that matters - what condition was the victim in at the stoppage? It’s like Frazier and Foreman stopping Chuvalo… it wasn’t a KO, it’s not a symptom of power his face just gave up, Ali also sucker punched Bonavena into submission with a 3KD rule.

 

Agreed, I can’t see an emaciated 160lbs Toney taking the shots the 200+ version of JT did, maybe he could, Billy Conn took some from JOE LOUIS but eh - also “the other guys didn’t get to face men as big as Usyk” isn’t really anything… Usyk is more proven end of, we go by reality it’s like when we hear “What’s Holyfield without roids” well that’s impossible to know just like Holmes hurting say DDD the way Usyk did, he doesn’t get that credit because he didn’t do it, Marciano didn’t fight a good, good sized HW so he’s stuck with that too.

 

Some of the examples that people have used are pretty ridiculous. Like how does someone quitting in between rounds due to a cut have anything to do with the other guy’s power? Does Vitali Klitschko’s quitting because of a torn rotator cuff mean that Chris Byrd was a big puncher ? Absolutely laughable.

 

Precisely, you’re on the money MM, I’ve heard it thrown as an insult all the time with that sort of framing, particularly at Vitali as you mentioned “he was stopped by Chris Byrd” lol technically true but not in the spirit of the question or the insinuation.

 

It’s lazy and overly generalized comments. “ fighter A STOPPED fighter B so he hits harder than fighter C. “. No context whatsoever..