Yeah Liston beat 25 men over 200lb from 54 fights and he was the heavier man in all but 6 of the fights he ever had. With fewer fights Johansson knocked out more men over 200b than he did men under 200lb ...and he was the lighter man in nearly half the fights he had.
Sonny Liston could not stop Machen, not even with mean low blows. Ingo's KO over Machen was special. I tend to think Ingo best is slightly better than Lyle's. Its close.
I think this is the answer. Clearly ingo didn't have more raw power or concussive hitting strength than Lyle who was both bigger and stronger than Ingo and stopped larger, more durable opponents than Ingo did. Ingo flattened Patterson, cooper and machen. They were 3 of the best ranked opponents available so credit to him, but all 3 were under 200 lbs and 2 of the 3 were lacking in durability and were stopped multiple times. Lyle brutally flattened several big men like Larry Middleton, jose luis Garcia, buster Mathis, shavers, jack o holleran etc who were all 6 ft or taller and 200+ lbs. He also had his infamous brawl with foreman, dropping him 2x. It was actually the smaller cagey fighters who used movement that Lyle had trouble hurting. What Ingo did have is the often overlooked ability to TIME his opponents and set up a quick accurate shot they dont see coming. Those will hurt more than a big heavy telegraphed punch. Lyle often telegraphed his shots and his big shoulders and muscular physique gave his intentions away ironically. So to answer the question, no, johanson didnt hit harder but he was a better, more efficient puncher and finisher. He used his speed and accuracy to land a sharp, punishing blow as opposed to bludgeoning and pulverizing like Lyle (which wastes energy and isnt hard to deal with if you have a high ring IQ and good defense).
ingo hit hard plenty with that right hand. Harder than lyle, its hard to say but he made the most of what he had and good luck to him
Ingemar Johansson knocked out Floyd Patterson. Actually had Patterson down eight times in three fights. He brutally KOed Eddie Machen when Machen was in his prime and the top contender. He also destroyed Henry Cooper, and not on cuts. Which was solid. Other than Earnie Shavers and Buster Mathis in Buster's last fight, Lyle didn't really stop anyone of note. Certainly not someone like a prime Floyd Patterson. I'd probably lean toward Ingo.
Look at the guys Lyle faced early on. Hardly what is seen===he fought guys hard to ko. What you see in this sport & even moreso with the heavies is ko victimis that have a history of being stopped.
