He landed over 400 punches on Bowe I can't think of many 240+ pound Heavyweights who wouldn't stop a fighter after hitting them over 400 times. Part of that has to do with Bowe's amazing courage the other is as you said Golota maybe isn't a big puncher.
I remember Larry Merchant bringing up the possibility that Golota's power was overrated during the Nicholson fight on HBO when Golota was tagging him repeatedly and Nicholson was still up. I think Merchant was right. Golota had some power, but wasn't a huge KO puncher.
I think Golota's better attributes as a fighter was his quick hands and being able to put combinations together well for a big man.
Jeff Lacy. People were predicting Lacy's power would be to much for Joe Calzaghe. He had 18 KO's in 33 fights
I remember Lacy going life and death with Omar Sheika over 12 rounds with the amount of hype Lacy was getting at that time that's a fighter he should've been beating alot more convincingly. That fight showed me he was nowhere near what he was being portrayed as.
For me, Lyle & Cleveland Williams. Both had big KO numbers, but seldom scored KOs vs. elite/ranked opposition.
Tommy Morrison. Great at finishing washed-up guys but even a Joe Hipp (God Bless him) walked through everything Tommy could throw before gassing out.
Sure, Hagler fits iI think. He was so fluid in throwing combinations and was so accurate that people sometimes mistake that for raw power.
That had little to do with Smith's power and more with Marvis' ability to run. He still downed him in round 5, but ultimately lost the decision in a gift to Frazier. Smith ripped apart tons of guys with otherwise great chins, even if he went on to lose the decision. Hurt Holmes, turned Ribalta into a punching bag, stopped Weaver and had him down again in their rematch, etc.
His power was overrated. It looked impressive against old drug addicts or guys collecting their pension. The few times he stepped up to elite class it had no effect.