Bangers and pillow fists come in all different shapes and builds. Some lanky with matchstick legs. Some broad shouldered and some narrow clavicled. Some with big wrists. Some with small wrists. Some short and some tall. But you hardly ever see a banger without a well developed back. Look at skinny guys like Hearns, Wilder or Arguello. All 3 are basically toothpicks with a back.
You still need technique in order to generate power. Fighters like Robert Helenius and Murat Gassiev for example are big punchers, and yet have less than a 70% KO ratio.
I’m not claiming an average Joe without any training could do it. Of course you still need technique. But I do believe that to be a puncher in boxing you’ve either naturally got it or you don’t.
There is no build for it. You can be built like a lamppost or a fire hydrant, and still be a featherfist or a bomber. You can look like Tim Bradley, and punch like Tim Bradley. Or you can look like Buttterbean, and punch like Buttterbean. Tall guys like Hearns, Wilder and Arguello get massive amounts of torque and leverage. Their kinetic chains are much longer than average, and so there's more of a path for the snap to build. But they needed the talent to build the force to knock you out with anyway. Someone like Tyson gets lots of leverage because of how he put his stout frame into everything he had. Power can be built all over the body; specifically the back, calves, chest and wrists but you aren't gonna go from Sven Ottke to Gerald McClellan by working out your back and legs. Like Chuck says, technique important too. Knowing how to throw a punch is a good way of , but also knowing the distance needed to build power. In different builds, power comes differently. But there's no blanket rule, or hidden trick. Power is innate. And it isn't something that's past on like a normal gene. Some fighters will hit like a truck, and their relatives won't have much power at all. Take the Inoue and Galaxy brothers. But then look at the Baer's of the Charlo's. It's all random. You either have it, or you don't.
Body mechanics. You have to learn it early and commit it to muscle memory. A person can be made into a GOOD and EXCELLENT puncher but not necessarily a HUGE puncher. Genetics obviously help but intelligent application trumps everything - as in life too. Tommy Hearns was NOT a big puncher as an amateur. Emmanuel Steward helped him become one by refining his technique. Look at Beterbiev's technique, he gets rotation on his hips (pivot point 1) and from his shoulders, traps and lats (pivot point 2). The result is that he does not need to load up and he generates huge torque from a very short space. He does not need reflexes or speed to rely on this power. So even if he gets older that low energy requirement for power will never leave him. Compare that to Kovalev now, he needs maximum extension, space and reach to get his power. Completely apples and pears. I always said that if you are good at throwing a ball and can get good momentum and leverage behind it then you have the makings of a good puncher.
Take a look at Nonito Donaire. He's a boxer from the Philippines. He's never been muscular/ripped. He's always looked a little skinny and soft. Yet he generates a massive amount of torque/power in his punches.
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Tall and lanky with fast twitch muscle fibres or short and stocky with fast twitch muscle fibres. Those seem to be the main builds that generate freakish power. At heavy the two ends of the spectrum would be Wilder and Tua. Being solid with thick joints and bones and having a strong core also seems to contribute to a lot of power, or heavy hands as it's often called when delivered by fighters of this build. Even though this type of puncher tends to be a bit on the slower side they often deliver big power when they hit, I believe due to the fact that less of the force they're generating is being lost through their joints or bones upon impact. Looking at someone like Foreman he'd punch extremely slowly but his fist would just power through the target upon impact as if it wasn't hitting anything at all. I don't think there's any mystery with power when you break it down. It essentially boils down to being able to get good leverage and weight transference into a shot and having the structural stability to dissipate as little of that force upon impact as possible. Looking at the names on this thread so far I can posit the following: Wilder: good speed, torque, weight transference Beterbiev: core strength, solid frame, decent speed Golovkin: core strength, solid frame, great technique and punch placement Inoue: great speed, great technique and punch placement David: good explosivity, decent technique, decent speed
Bone and muscle density in my opinion. There are slow fighters that punch hard, so I don't think fast twitch fibres are a bigger factor than genetic anatomy and skeletal structure.