Pat Barrett could be considered (although he isn't top by any means). He scored some of the most chilling knockouts I have seen.
How about the guy in my avatar Charley White originally Anchowitz Born in Liverpool in 1891 he moved to chicago and fought and lost four times for the world lightweight title knocking benny Leonard clean out of the ring in his last unsuccesful attempt before being stopped himself "The old timers call the left hook the unseen punch for it comes out of nowhere and knocks you senseless, and the toughest left hooker of them all is life!! Followed closely by Charlie White of Chicago." Ernest Hemingway
You miss the point. We're taking about Britain's biggest ever puncher. Doesn't make a difference what size gloves someone wears. Doesn't alter the power of their punch, just the effect it would have on an opponent. Again 15 rounds or 12 rounds - Makes no difference to someone's single maximum punch output. Can't measure someone's punch based on the opponents they've faced either. And even if you could, what's to say that opponents nowadays aren't better equiped to take punishment than back in the day or vice versa. What we do KNOW is that athletes in the modern day are more powerful and faster than ever before. Would have to be some serious style/technique advantage to over come that and even if one existsed, the majority of those at the top of the list would all be from the modern era.
anyone saying Bruno over Lewis .. get a grip, Bruno never dropped a proper rated heavyweight, Lewis caned several
Frank Bruno hurt a Prime Iron Mike Tyson, with a short left hook. And it only travled afew inches........BOOM!!
Why do you automatically think professional or amateur boxers automatically hit harder, have better stamina and can handle themselves better than these so called guys down the pub 100 years ago? In the 1900s times were hard, people were tough, you couldn't just scrounge from society like you can now. The fights were much longer. Looking good down the gym, running 10 miles a day and fighting 24 hours after you weigh in is great isn't it? Wilde dug coal, fought really long fights. was exceptionally fit and tough. Half these fighters now would be at least a division or two down the weights if they had the weigh in right before the fight. Wilde often fought much bigger men than himself. I won't mention performance enhancing drugs, suppliments, better food etc etc.
I think we have to separate it into pre and post war to be fair. Because no matter what anyone says about the people he was knocking out and how much one critics his record. Everyone must concede that for such a small man, what Jimmy Wilde did in terms of the amount of people he knocked out, is truly mind boggling! which ever way you look at it.