10 fastest fighters ever

Spot on, Steward says he was actually faster than Leonard and talked at length about his speed in bouts vs Leonard 1 and Duran.

 

The fastest fighter ever? I have insufficent information to offer any kind of definitive answer.

I can only tell you a few relatively obscure names I've seen on camera in addition to those already mentioned. Against Fred Hutchings, Charles "Machine Gun" Carter displayed dazzling handspeed early.

At the dawn of ESPN, Freddie Roach's hands were a continuous ten round blur when he decisioned David Capo.

Nobody was faster than Johnny "The Heat" Verderosa, when he flattened Robert Mullins in 28 seconds.

Wilfred Benitez didn't have to take a backseat to anybody in the handspeed department, Hearns and SRL included. Unlike them, El Radar was able to put the super slick Randy Shields down and out.

Hector Camacho's stunning performance against Louis Loy was the most impressive display of handspeed I saw him produce.

For the first couple of rounds, Derrik Holmes made Wilfredo Gomez look like a statue. (In the amateur ranks, Holmes introduced Gomez to a national television audience by blasting him out inside a single round with three knockdowns. He had Bazooka out on his feet in their title fight rematch. To his tremendous credit, Gomez kept his cool, and caught up to Holmes this time, fracturing his jaw, and scoring multiple knockdowns until Joey Curtis stopped it. If the Curtis of Gomez/Holmes II had been officiating Dokes/Weaver I, Hercules might have retained his title.)

On camera, it looks to me as though the knockout sequence that Ali eliminated Brian London with was the most impressive display of handspeed he produced in his career. Does anybody have a suggestion of when Muhammad may have surpassed that episode?

It's hard for me to look back and separate Nino LaRocca's handspeed from his footspeed. When I combine the terms boxing and greyhound, a picture of LaRocca swarming Bobby Joe Young is the image I form in my mind.

Hilmer Kenty showed blinding speed against John Montes, and a strong case can be made that Tommy Hearns was only the second fastest boxer in the Kronk stable. (Sparring sessions between Kenty and Hearns must have been something to see! Or either of them with the McCrory brothers. Hell, Kronk sparring sessions were probably a great deal better than most fight cards.)

 

Handspeed - Muhammad Ali & Roy Jones jr

Footspeed - Muhammad Ali stands alone

 

Roy Jones
Zab Judah

I think the modern fighters take this one, there are fighters these days who are basically out and out athletes without much conventional boxing skill, didnt get this in the old days.

 

Muhammad Ali
Ray Leonard
Howard Davis Jr.
Meldrick Taylor
Bernard Taylor
Roy Jones Jr
Michael Dokes
Greg Page
Hector Camacho
Mike Tyson.

 

Shane Mosley, Howard Davis jr, Zab Judah, Ray Leonard, Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, Michael Dokes, Hector Camacho, Lonnie Smith, and Joe Louis.

 

Ray Leonard
Meldrick Taylor
Roy Jones
Hector Camacho
Shane Mosley
Zab Judah
Thomas Hearns
Ray robinson
Howard Davis
Muhamad Ali

 

Roy Jones
Hector Carrasquilla
Hector Camacho

Everybody else is behind these three.

 

Young Tyson. Young Joe Louis.

(most fighters are fast.....some just use their speed on limited basis)

 

Lennox Lewis was not fast, and neither was Tim Witherspoon.

 

Go do a little sparring with them...and as Max Baer once said: "Well somebody out there is hitting me".

 

nice lists so far, i have little to add.

jones, taylor and leonard have the fastest hands i've ever personally seen. ike williams had really fast hands in the footage i've seen. willie pastrano has some of the fastest feet on film as well.

 

SRR
Ali
SRL
Tyson
RJJ
Judah
Mosley
Hearns
De La Hoya
Hamed

So many, I could switch a couple.

 

SNV

Here's a training clip slowed down so that the naked eye can follow. At regular speed the punches make Meldrick Taylor look like a statue.

[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=40yJ4rZL3zw[/ame]

 

Roy Jones
Meldrick Taylor
Hector Camacho
Ray Leonard
Ray Robinson
Howard Davis
Shane Mosley
Floyd Patterson
Zab Judah
Muhammad Ali