Bigger one punch power? Shavers vs Tyson

Tyson was more accurate .in terms of raw power hard to say .powers no use if you don't connect.lots of HWs hit very hard ruddock ;Bruno; Bonecrusher they didn't have Mikes speed and movement that made the difference.

 

Shavers. Tyson had better technique though

 

I count at least 5 head shots from when he hurts Norton (or when Cosell says Norton is hurt) until Norton hits the canvas. That is not a one-punch KO. A one punch KO is how Tyson dispatched Botha.

And to be fair, I am just playing Devil's Advocate here, mostly because the question is just ridiculous. As a world class boxer once explained, comparing power is just a d*ck-measuring contest.

 

Earnie is the only guy to floor and knock out Jimmy Young. Cooney stopped him, but on cuts.

 

These discussions start to lose me after a point. Foreman, Shavers, Tyson, etc all hit hard enough that if they hit you you wouldn't be thinking "we'll at least it wasn't . . . .".

 

Yeah.

What about: If Shavers hit the heavybag harder than Tyson, does he punch harder?

 

Well Ali beat Liston, Lyle, Foreman and Shavers so there's no bias toward the man he beat there he beat 'em all. Also Jimmy Young was ko'd by Shavers and beat Lyle and Foreman yet cited Shavers so your theory falls down with him as well. Caldwell was ko'd by both in 2 rounds so there we go again.

The fact that Shavers gets such unanimous recognition and respect from so many corners of his era (one containing Foreman among others) is near astonishing.

 

Shavers with the right, Tyson with the hook.

 

I fully agree.
Botha was a one punch KO. Many of the other KOs mentioned were not.
I'm not sure Botha was a "top notch fighter" though.

I agree. It's amusing how internet geeks seem to take the question so seriously while most heavyweights you speak to, in honest moments, tend to say "well, they all hit hard".

 

Nothing wrong with good trivia, especially when it comes to power. I've seen a truckload of more trivial matters argued at length.

 

That's probably true. But I'm not sure there are any concrete answers to be found here.
Too many variables.

For example, every punch thrown is different.
Just like in throwing event athletics, the throwers don't always throw with the same power, and those are events where identical conditions can be replicated so imagine how much a boxer's "power"generated varies from punch to punch.

Then there's the question of the effects of a devastating punch. It has just as much to do with the man receiving the punch as the puncher himself. If a man runs into a punch he increases its force, for example, and the "best" punchers tended to time their punches in exactly such a fashion.

What I do find interesting is that men such as Earnie Shavers tend to get a lot of plaudits from opponents for having RAW POWER, in the sense that their punches just had such a memorable effect even if they didn't really land so well. Just little touches and digs would make the opponent respect the man as a different animal entirely, punches that glanced would make the bones tremble.

I remember when John Garfield (the late and sorely missed Joe Rein) used to post here he had his stories about watching Rocky Marciano spar with the big gloves, and while it looked like Rocky was being worked over by some mediocre sparring partner, as the round (or rounds) progressed the sparring partner would become bruised and worn and busted up. These are the things most people watching the films and evaluating the records tend to miss.

So, yes, I agree with the idea that POWER isn't the same as "one punch KOs" or "KOs over quality opponents".
And, in fact, "one punch power" isn't about one punch KOs either.
Power and knock-outs aren't the same thing. KOs at top level are 90% skills.

All in all an interesting discussion, but to argue about it so much seems a waste of time, and laughable if taken to extremes.

 

So, your criteria is purely anecdotal and mine is result driven.

 

My point exactly.

 

Shavers. Tyson had better speed and technique to go along with his power.

 

I agree with the ranking there.