Is it ridiculous that Ring ranks Nigel Benn the 91st greatest puncher ever?

Jack Dempsey?

 

Erm, no. Benn didn't knock McClellan out at all. He ground him down with accumulation. Then internal injuries affected McClellan to the point where he couldn't continue. That isn't a proof of KO power, proof of KO power is Bob Foster/Julian Jackson style putting someones' lights OUT.

 

He deserves to be higher than most (or all) the names you mention.
His power was something terrible.

 

And what about Doug dewitt,a very good chinned fighter?

 

Still showed more devastating power against better opposition than Benn.

It's a bit disgusting to even bring up McClellan, who took Benn's best shots until succumbing to something completely different.

Nothing against Benn but I think even his biggest admirers who followed his career from beginning to end would tell you that his power left him when he moved up to 168 lbs. Until then his best knockouts were over Barkley and DeWitt. He was a fighter who realized that power and aggression alone weren't able to win it for him against his best opposition and became a more cagey boxer in the process.

 

Benn hit DeWitt with everything but the ring stool to stop him and DeWitt always had poor defense. Kalambay and Quinones, neither big punchers by any stretch, had KO'd him for the same reason. He was there to be hit.

 

:happy

 

Besides the lists tend to get shoddy after 50 or so fighters. Does Benn deserve to be rated above Ingemar Johansson for KO power? Not so sure.

 

McClellan should have won that fight

 

Dempsey and Benn are very similar fighters.

I think McClellan would probably be in good health today had Benn not had such devastating power.

Benn became a more refined boxer because his more reckless completely gung-ho early style cost him fights at 160, and certainly put him in unnecessary danger. NOT because his power doesn't work at 168.

I think Benn hits harder than Hearns at 160. Not too shabby at all.

 

Who did Benn put away at 168?

I'm not saying Benn didn't have power, but his power is being overstated here. He hardly stretched world class fighters out cold. A top 100 place in the punchers list is not some great insult to the man.

 

as to this quote, i can't agree or disagree. the first round was a bit ridiculous and i'll have to sit down and watch for all the rabbit punching but most people agree it was the referring was a joke and benn could have easily been disqualified.

as to the question, i agree that 91 is too low but there aren't that many i can say for certain should are correspondingly too high

 

I suggest you look at their fights Malinga, Jones destroyed Malinga in 6, Benn got a gift win and a loss against him. If you look at how Jones destroyed men in 1-2 rounds who went 12 with the likes of Toney, Benn, Eubank, Julian Jackson you can see why he's such an underrated puncher

 

His punching wasn't as effective in scoring KOs as his career progressed, at 168, I agree.
But he was still hitting hard.

It depends on the criteria of the list. I think Benn had immense raw power, and inflicted damage on anyone he landed on. His punches were full-blooded and hurtful. His was fast and strong and dangerous with single punches when he himself was groggy. He was a ridiculously hard puncher.

That doesn't always knocking people out though, esp. at world class.