If SalSanchez questions Archie Moores one punch knockout power in his right hand, perhaps he should take a look at this [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMPXHqGiB28[/ame]
I guess having words put in your mouth when you say something is the way it goes around here........... I DID NOT SAY HE COULDN'T PUNCH. I DID NOT QUESTION HIS POWER. I only questioned his placement as the #1 puncher in history (namely by The Ring some years ago, as an example). Two very different issues.
Greatest longevity ever.....this, his awesome resume and his great skills....I guess all those things make him one of the best ever....top 15-20 in my opinion p4p....
I feel a similar way. But at the same time, there were times (fights) in Moore's career where he looked nothing short of invincible. There were even periods, say, throughout the early fifties, where he had a career's worth of fights and lost maybe one or two at most. I mean, it seems almost unfair to judge a fighter based on his losses or later, more lacklustre performances from a record of two hundred or more fights when some 'greats' only had forty bouts.
As far as the greatest puncher of all time I'd put him in the top 15. You can't have all those KO's and only be a fair puncher. Moore could punch but he didn't rely on power alone to do the job. Sort of like Jersey Joe Walcott...A cutie who could bang as opposed to someone like Shavers who obviously went in looking for the KO since he didn't have as many options at his disposal.
louis was named #1, moore was #4 http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/The_100_Greatest_Punchers_of_All-Time!
Yes, but the cream of the crop just seemed to have his number consistently (Moore, Burley). I think to his credit you could say he had extreme boxing IQ and power that allowed him to be so effective in higher (And all) weight classes.
Moore is obviously one of the lb4lb superstars and he peaked at 175-190ish he 50 fight win streak leading up to Marciano marred by a DQ and he maintained his greatness as a light heavyweight who was dominant during and after that 50 fight surge because he went 38-4-2 after the brave and gallant beating he took from Marciano Moore is one of the Super-champs and fits in with the Charles,SRR,Charles,Duran,etc as a SUper-Champ
Archie Moore beating Harold Johnson 4 out of 5 times is very underrated. Johnson is an all time great technical boxer and no 175lber(not even the leading heavyweight contenders) could beat Harold Johnson during that period, except for Moore(and perhaps Jersey Joe Walcott). It also showed father beating beating fountain of youth. 38 year old man outlasts his 26 year old younger challenger for a late comeback knockout. Sensational finish in the 14th round by an ATG champion over a younger ATG future champion. Archie has to be one of the best finishers of all time.
Moore certainly deserves to b mentioned alongtime the greats of history. A great great puncher in his own right (if not as good as Wilde), being on the top of his game for a decade was a tribute to him. Having said that, i'm not totally sure we can say he went 4-1 with Bivins. Bivins' 4 year unbeaten record was one of the greatest in history IMO, but after he lost to Jersey Joe, he was a shadow of his former self. His record after this fight was bit-part at best, and it's only after this that Moore and Charles gained their revenge on the cinncinati cobra. Back to Moore tho. He was the second greatest LHW in history in my books (behind Charles for obvious reasons).
Just about every single boxer can punch hard. The question is, do they? Archie is a great puncher because he was great at picking the right spots and threading the needle. Louis is a great puncher because of his wonderful technique that remained when he threw in combination. Foreman was a great puncher because he threw his power shots with all his might, flinging his massive mitts from his legs, flattening opponents with the sheer impact of his best stuff. All great punchers, all different reasons why. We focus way to much on the obscure and misleading precept of "power". It's ignorant of us. Watch any pro fighter hit a heavy bag. They all can punch. Knockouts in pro fights occur for reasons different than merely having heavier hands than somebody else.