Fair assessment. I could agree with that. Schmeling did put on a surgical clinic and was extremely patient in the Louis bout but it is clear as day that he hurt Louis badly with a single right hand in the 4th round. Louis was young but already clearly established. Young was a light heavy - but also fought at heavy in an era where their was not the difference in size between the divisions at there are today. In fact Schmeling himself was a light heavy for about the first 20 fights of his career. Walker was doing quite well at heavy and Schmeling was first man to absolutely demolish him at heavy. Risko and Hamas were both durable men and from reports on Risko Schmeling bounced him around badly. I do agree with your assessment maybe phenomenal power is wrong to say. Schmeling had excellent technique and leverage on his punches. He threw a great punch, For a man his size. But was not a 1 punch guy like a foreman or Lewis and Wlad etc. He also liked to counter so by not being aggressive it probably took longer for him to get a few guys out of there then it would have had his style been different. Still for the 1930s and weighing under 200 pounds I think he had a deadly right hand.
Let me first say, as i am often forced to in here, that history is absolutely littered with huge punchers that don't have that many KO's over quality fighters. The simple fact is that many of them simply weren't skilled enough, or durable enough to get the most out of their god given power. Guys like Ganigan, Hart and so many others. Who did Cooney ever KO? The corpse of Ron Lyle? Ron was so decrepit he'd been stopped in two roudns by the mediocre Lynn Ball a full year before. The corpse Ken Norton? Cooney didn't have any KO's over any good fighter anywhere near their prime but you and i both know the man could PUNCH. Dokes wasn't "coked out of his mind" but he did supposedly take some coke 3 days before the fight. He had been dabbling in coke well before any Coetzee bout. Who knows what he did before the Weaver rematch just 4 months prior? At the end of the day Coetzee pole axed a guy that had never looked like being pole axed before. It's easy to call Spinks a novice but in his previous two bouts he'd gone 30 rounds with Muhammad Ali who even way past it certainly would have given him a crash course in boxing 101. Spinks had already been the lineal heavyweight champion. It's not just about Spinks it how Coetzee's punches affected him. BIG power is on display as clear as a bell, a bell Spinks never even got to hear. In his very next bout Spinks stopped Evangelista who was a top 10 contender at the time. Three fights later he stopped the huge punching Bernardo Mercado who was top 10 as well i believe. The affect of his power on Spinks can't be fobbed off by simply claiming Spinks to be a novice. As for Tate it is, again, well documented that it rained that night and the canvas (which i believe was covered in resin making it worse) was slippery making it extremely hard to get any leverage. No shame in that as Tate was a pretty good fighter at that time and Weaver only got him with less than a minute to go in a 15 round, one he was miles behind in. Moving to Weaver i'm not sure i agree he didn't have a strong chin in his prime. I don't think the Anthony punch after the bell did him any favors later career. No-one hurt Thomas in his prime including Weaver and Witherspoon as he beat both extremely impressively. Even against a past it Thomas Tyson had to paste him many times in rapid succession to TKO him. The guy had a great chin at his best. Page soaked up some brutal right hands but he too had a very very good chin at his best and took Witherspoons best punches without a grimace.
That is correct. He should know. I followed Davarryl from right at the beginning of his pro career. Always admired him. That ko loss to Mesi is a dirty stain on his record tho...
Gerrie's victory was actually a "KO". Note that Foreman hit him numerous times. 3 years after that Foreman fight he went 10 with Lyle (aged), 10 with Norton (aged) and then 12 with peak Weaver. He was one tough journeyman, or a bit better actually. Here are his words about getting stopped by Foreman - "I mean, there's no "disaster" when you get hit by a guy like George Foreman. Who hasn't he hit that he hasn't taken out, except Ali? I don't know of anybody else."
I disagree. Valdez is frequently accredited for his power on the forum. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the main reasons people think Rocky ducked him for.
He was a strong surgical puncher .. not phenomenal .. Louis crushed Baer with his power, Max didn't. Louis crushed Uzcuden, Max decisioned him ..Louis was a monster puncher ..Max was a very good , extremely smart fighter with very good power for a 190 pound guy ..
Ingemar Johansonn Herbie Hide and maybe... Floyd Cummings? https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/boxing/14733276/meet-jumbo-cummings-hardest-puncher-prison-murder/
