Are punchers BORN or MADE?

“There is no such thing as a natural puncher. There is a natural aptitude for punching and that is different. Nobody is born the best. You have to practice and train to become the best.”

Cus D'amato

 

Those who dont think better timing and technique dont improve the power of your shot are clueless.

The more you practice at something the better you get at it.

Learning technique, weight transfer and timing can turn a decent puncher into a powerful puncher.

 

No one is born a genius, people are taught people have different levels of how much they can absorb and learn and how quickly they can do to become a genius...So if Einsten for eg was born and then locked in a dark room for 30 years he would walk out that room a genius ?!

No he had to be taught

 

born

 

Yes and no.
Even someone like Paulie can actually punch. But because of his bad hands he altered his technique and thus applied a lot less power.
Someone who did the polar opposite was Sergio Martinez. At first he traded power for speed. But during his middleweight run he learned to sit down on his punches. He fixed his technique.

Canelo Alvarez is someone who has improved his technique as well. He used to slap a lot with his punches. Those slaps sound amazing on the heavy bag but aren't all the powerful.
This is why welterweight Matthew Hatton could go 12 with him, and Super-Middleweight Fielding barely made it into the 3rd.

Pretty much everyone can punch, but some guys just have that extra pop. Same story with speed, reflexes, athleticism. We all have them, but some have a lot more.

 

Punching power can be improved with technique, but extraordinary power is something that you're born with. Fighters can train all they like for example and would never have the punching power of lets say Earnie Shavers. Wilder's technique is awful, but his gift of punching power is just something he was born with. Pacquiao has awful technique, his feet are off balance, he leans in too much when he throws punches, but his power is incredible. You're not really supposed to get that kind of power when your feet aren't planted etc.

 

Paulie Malignaggi is one of the smartest boxers in the history of the game. I'm sure that he's perfected the art of punching. The power just isn't there to tap into.

 

Pacquiao's technique isn't awful. It's of his own design, inimitable, and perfectly complements his freakish athleticism. It's why guys go into survival mode and why he's one of the greatest offensive fighters in the history of boxing.

 

Do you think Bowe was an elite puncher though? A lot of his shots were just point scorers.

 

Hearns didn`t punch hard as an amateur, Steward said he worked on his technique and it wass the same with G-man also according to Steward.

 

Canelo punches harder now than he did at 154, he worked on punching with his whole body weight.

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Simon Brown said Ray Leonard came into his gym when he was an amateur and showed him how to throw the hook with his whole weight.

 

I'll use myself as an example. I can draw really well. So well that people have questioned why I never became an artist/illustrator. I don't have a passion for it. I don't even care for it. Never took an art class, either. And people doubt me when I tell them.

 

A knockout puncher is a combination of strength and confidence. For KO power you need to punch through a target not at it. However, when you punch through a target you leave yourself open to a counter. You can teach someone to punch through a target but it's harder to teach confidence, that's in the fighters head. This is why there are less knockouts the higher up you go unless you are really confident. Wilder's for instance is wildly confident.