Hardest Heavyweight Puncher?

Quote Leroy Caldwell: "Foreman could punch about the same as Lyle."

Quote George Foreman: "Ron Lyle hit me the hardest I've ever been hit."

Quote Leroy Caldwell about Earnie Shavers: "He was the hardest hitting human being I've ever met. He hit harder than Foreman and Lyle combined."

How can the case possibly be made for Tyson, when Holmes agrees with Ali that it's Shavers?

Except for Jimmy Ellis (who never knew what hit him), everybody who remembers being hit by Shavers rated him tops, on a punch for punch basis.

This distinction has also been afforded by the opponents of Dempsey to him, by the opponents of Max Baer to him (including the recipients of the three hardest punches Joe Louis ever delivered), and by Jim Jeffries to him.

From what I've been led to understand, Tua and Lennox don't remotely approach the power Shavers possessed.

Other huge bombers are supposed to have been Ingo (who blasted out Eddie Machen in one), and Cleveland Williams (who was never able to connect solidly on Ali).


From what I gather, the hardest heavyweight puncher is Shavers, and the hardest punching heavyweight champion is Dempsey.

(Interestingly, Shavers received training in how to cultivate his power from Archie Moore, who Tiger Ted Lowry has identified as the hardest puncher he ever faced, and Lowry went ten rounds with Marciano twice! Moore himself said the hardest punch he ever took was the first knockdown punch from Yvon Durelle.)

 

Ok maybe I was a little harsh there. There are a few guys who can punch harder than Tyson with a single shot but in some cases are nowhere near as devastating a puncher. For single shot power I'd put Lewis, Liston, Foreman, Bruno, both Klits, Jeffries, Shavers, Tua, Morrison, Cooper, Bowe ahead of Tyson. But from those guys I listed few can match Tyson as a dynamic puncher.

 

Fair enough :good

 

foreman.

 

I'll go out on a limb and put Shavers a smidgeon ahead of Foreman, Liston, Tyson and Lewis. Joe Louis must sit close too. Lesser fighters like Rudduck and Morrison and Cooney also had some MAD POW.

 

This is an interesting post...thanks, Duo.

Have you got a source for where Ali says Shavers hit harder than Foreman? I wonder if it was because Ali was older and more vulnerable? Or perhaps Shavers connected more solidly than George?

Or maybe Shavers did just hit harder. Larry Holmes put it simply "If Earnie caught you with his right...bad things happened to you."

I always got the impression from Ali that Frazier was his most dangerous foe (Ali still dreams about fighting Joe, apparantly) but this may be a stylistic rather than a power issue.

 

Shavers
Foreman
Liston
Baere
Dempsey
Louise
Tyson
Tua
Frazier

 

For other fighters id have corry sanders and joe lewis he destroyed people,though i guess not with the one punch,but **** he sure has some beautiful KOs on film.

 

:roll:

 

Foreman easily.

 

A few more quotes;

"Oooh man, that man is always with me. He hit so hard, the HARDEST (the use of capitals for emphasis taken from quote and not my own). I still feel his punches today." - Jimmy Young on Shavers

"Shavers hit me so hard it felt like needles were jabbing the back of my head. Without any hesitation, Shavers was the hardest puncher I met." - Ron Lyle

"Shavers. No question. At least with Foreman I was able to get up. When Shavers hit me I went down and stayed down." - Ken Norton, when asked who hit harder between the two.


P.S. Chaney, that quote from Ali in regards to Shavers is easily found from various sources, and the last time I saw it said by him was when I rewatched that Arsenio Hall show recectly which features those comments by Ali in answering Hall's very question as to who hit him the hardest.

 

Jose Torres , NY Boxing commisioner:

"Mike Tyson is so fast and so powerful that it is almost impossible to resist the guy's punching power. Wherever he hits you, you're going to feel it. He reminds me maybe of George Foreman, but Tyson's much faster than Foreman. He reminds me in style of Rocky Marciano, but he's much faster than Marciano, and he's much bigger, 217 pounds. And he's faster and much more powerful than Joe Frazier, with a better hook. I really have no one to compare him with in terms of punching power."

Sparring partner Corey "T-Rex" Sanders:

"I've never been in the ring with someone who hit that hard. It feels like he has bricks in both hands."

Eddie Richardson, after being knocked out by Tyson, was asked if he’s ever been hit as hard as Mike hit him:

“Yeah, about a year ago. I was hit by a truck.”

 

I believe the Klitschko bros can be mentioned with some of these names.