Punching power?

Surprised nobody mentioned speed yet!

 

I heard power comes from the legs.

 

Usually the puncher build is tall and super lean like G man, jackson, arguello, hearns.........but then you have short stubby muscular HW's with tree trunk legs like tyson, tua, marciano, frazier that all could punch your head off

 

speed, timing, leverage and accuracy.

you don't need to punch heavy bags to do this. you don't need to be super strong to do this. ray robinson only punched light bags before his fights and he had a **** ton of ko's.

there are certain spots on the anatomy that can trigger a ko if you land cleanly. i believe its something like 5lbs of pressure is all it takes.

 

This. The mechanics of a heavy blow are the same for a 'naturally' heavy hitter and a trained one.

 

I am of the old school that believes one is born with the APTITUDE to become a KO puncher. No one comes out of the womb knocking people out but I do believe you're either born with that gene or not. Once you learn proper boxing form and technique you will find the punchers that will be separated from the average hitters. I don't really agree with those of you who say punchers are tall, skinny, lengthy types. In my experience its the short guys with no necks with the shorter reach who are punchers. It's something to do with the way the torque their compact frame so explosively. Like Tyson, Marciano, Tua and Frazier. Don't get me wrong there are examples of tall punchers as aforementioned such as Hearns and Arguello. Above all it's hitting with full body weight see Jack Dempsey's Championship fighting

 

I've seen those skinny boxers who arent even amateurs yet just hit a a bigger pro and buckle them - and skinny guy cant even fight, yet somehow manages to take a pro out

 

thats usually for faster fighters, like Porter, Pacquiao, the gluteus maximus muscle (lower back/ass) is often the muscle source for fighters with power, but often they are advanced from birth - I knew a guy when i was 15 (so was he) he could pick on a grown big man and put him out cold - the guy had no fighting background (i.e. MMA/Boxing)

Thats a separate entity - sure it increase your ability as an overall puncher but not pure power

Puncher = Speed + Accuracy + Technique + Power...

 

Does anyone think the sturdiness of the fist can resist more energy from the impact?

 

Puncher = Speed + Accuracy + Technique + Power...

I agree entirely. All these things can be trained and anyone can train to deliver a "heavy/hard" punch. Some will have a natural aptitude for KOing opponents in boxing but this is a far more clouded and variable quality.

I look at this from a purely scientific standpoint. There's no such thing as magic. The "hidden" factors are those which can aid "energy transfer" but are not necessarily obvious and may even be counter-intuitive.

Like the snooker analogy stated previously, a 'pure' or refined 'cueing' technique results in the most efficient energy transferring from arm-to-cue-to-ball. Technique can be trained. No-one is incapable of developing a devastating punch. May take longer for some though.

The kinetic energy in your arm transferring to the target in least time and smallest area/volume is the key to 'hard' punching. So many factors involved and aside from those mentioned there are: tendon elasticity/thickness/density, muscular structure and bone density. I have a hunch those people not obviously strong but with hard/effective punches may well excel in these attributes.

 

What would you use to scientifically measure the power?

 

There's been a few 'cod' pieces of equipment I've seen on various documentaries over the years, dummies with springs inside measuring the deflection for a given impact and so on. These things only really measure the total energy transfered i.e. neglecting the transfer time, area over which it's mostly distributed etc.

What would I use personally? Difficult to say, I suppose one could use a 'target' of very small and very accurate/precise load cells. These could give a level of impact by measuring a change in electrical current for deflection/movement.

Thing is, the smaller and more sensitive the equipment, the more likely it is to break into pieces with a GGG sucker punch! Probably the difficulty in measuring a punch impact accurately has contributed to the myth surrounding it for so many years......

It's complicated basically.....let me put it to you like this, I've seen a demonstration by a Kung Fu master who did the standard break-the-held-up-board thing, by punching it. He then got the guy who was holding it either end to just dangle another board between his finger and thumb by the corner. He promptly whipped out a super-quick snapping punch and smashed the board in an entirely different way from the previous.
From the board's point of view both punches were the same really but in reality, the effect of getting hit with either would be drastically different.

 

This^. For me, whilst there are guys who are just stronger than others than others, what brings the KOs is hitting guys in the right place at the right time (idealy when they ain't even seen it) with maximum leverage behind the blow.

This has far more to do with co-ordination (both hand-to eye and command of one's own balance and musculature) and speed than muscle mass or raw strength.

 

Very true...timing, accuracy, punches they don't see coming.

No one would suggest that James Toney was a bigger puncher, P4P, than Felix Trinidad. Tito was a harder puncher on a consistent punch-by-punch basis, but Toney had more one-punch KOs. The only one-punch KOs Tito had from 1993-on were body punches (Barnes, Pineda, Pendleton).

In those one-punch KOs by Toney, they were shots the opponent never saw coming. They were timed and placed so well.

 

This. :deal

I've been trying to tell the newbie boxing fans this ever since I joined, you don't always need huge punching power to knock a man out. That's what is so great about boxing, with big gloves to defend with and knowing what your opponent is going to do (punch) it takes skill and speed (or lack thereof on the opponents side) to knock guys out in this game more than just raw punching power.

When is the last time someone saw a 36 minute street fight? lol