Does Wilder punch harder than Bruno, Tyson or Ruddock, or Smith in their primes?

Tim Witherspoon who Smith knocked out in one round in their rematch is a much better and more accomplished fighter than Ortiz, he gave Holmes all he could handle as a relative novice & became 2x heavyweight champion and remained in contention until the early 2000s.

Mike Weaver is a much more accomplished fighter than Ortiz as well with a much better resume despite the many losses.

I really don't get how Ortiz is rated so highly on here, he literally has one quality win, always played 3rd fiddle as an amateur in cuba and prior to the Wilder rematch looked sluggish against Christian Hammer losing 2 rounds and getting hit with telegraphed rights throughout the fight.

 

Unpopular opinion: I think David Price punches or at least punched harder than Wilder. Too bad his stamina, chin and skills don't hold up.

 

Wilders “effectiveness” is largely due to leverage, speed and technique.

Imo, those qualities are his forte. Not so much the raw power/ strength behind his punches


When you think of raw power, you think of short crisp inside hook or uppercut type shots, not long, wind-up, Hail Mary shots like Wilder throws so effectively

I don’t think wilders actual punching power is excessive.

 

of course ortiz knocked out ken jennings! lust look at the guy when he was on "jeopardy" couple of weeks ago. the guy was a super middle, at best!

personally, wilder i believe DOES have one the single hardest punches in heavy history. harder that shavers in m.h.o. how ever, we will never know who really hit the hardest!

 

Yes. Wilder hits harder than all of them.

And Bonecrusher Smith didn't hit any harder than any other average heavyweight. People assumed - because of the Bonecrusher nickname - that he was a murderous puncher.

Smith had 62 pro fights and only had 32 knockouts. How did you decide he was one of the hardest punchers Tyson fought?

The long list of guys who Smith didn't knock out include Lynwood Jones, Bernd Friedrich, Ricky Parkey, Levi Billups, Marshall Tillman, Andrew Stokes, Lester Jackson, Dan Dancuta, Mark Wills, Chris McDonald, Adilson Rodriques, Marvis Frazier, James Broad, Jose Ribalta, Tony Tubbs, Jesse Ferguson, David Bey, Brian Nielsen, Axel Shulz ... and on and on and on.

Wilder would have to fight 40 more fights, and not score any knockouts in those 40 fights, for "Bonecrusher" to surpass Wilder in terms of KO percentage.

I always laugh to myself when Bonecrusher is brought up by someone as a power puncher.

 

I would say so, sure. I think only Shavers had more one-shot power in his right hand. And if Fury-Wilder II goes the way I think it might, we could learn it's even got more power than even Earnie.

Put it this way: had Shavers hit Fury the way he did Holmes II, Fury wouldn't have gotten up imo. I am hoping next time Wilder will have learned what earned him that knockdown and will hit him even harder.

 

You guys are something with your triangle theories of assessing knockout power.

Ask Ortiz if Wilder hits hard. Teddy Atlas, yes Teddy Atlas, opines that Wilder may be the hardest puncher ever. Like him or not Teddy knows more about boxing and than most.

Vlad Klit, he knows a little about boxing, and used Wilder as a sparring power commented on Wilders freaky power. He didn't rate Wilder highly as a technical boxer but commented his freaky power makes him a force to be reckoned with.

Wilder has power. A lot of it. He also comes to fight, is always in shape and shows no sign of having any quit in him.

To say the hardest puncher ever is a tall statement because it's impossible to measure but he clearly has first tier punching power.

The real question is if his somewhat rudimentary boxing skills will allow him to deliver that power.

 

You must have concluded this from all those stella wins on Ortiz's record.

 

Tyson is the only one with comparable explosive hands. The like of Foreman had more brute power. He could hit you with a slow punch that knocked you into next week. Truly heavy hands.

Tyson imo was heavier handed, but as hard as it is to say, I think Wilder might be the most explosive in history.

*If* his athelticism fades, so will his power. It comes from leverage, speed and kinetic energy.

 

Problem with judging Wilders power is he hasn’t fought a decent fighter or anyone who was anywhere near their best!

Almost all of Wilders resume is against fighters outside the top 100 and many are totally unranked.
These type of fighters have no desire to stay on their feet and fold up like an old ironing board at the first solid punch.

38 to 40 of Wilders opponents have come from that kind of stock, they’re bums, tomato cans & journey men, I wouldn’t even class them as high as Club Fighters.

 

When I think explosive power I think Tyson, Shavers, and Wilder. Wilder hits harder with the right hand than Tyson, and the future might prove him even more explosive than Shavers.

I'd have to see him hit somebody like Earnie hit Holmes II. Though I've seen some awe-inspiring shots, none like that one. Sometimes I wonder if Larry even getting up from that shot, much less getting back in control within a round and ultimately stopping Shavers proved his status as ATG...all by itself.

 

Buddy, are you plugged in? One of Wilder's biggest strengths is his technique?

Im a fan of Wilder too, but technically hes a train wreck. But I do get the gist of what you're saying and I tend to agree.

 

Anyone doubting wilders power at this point is a baffoon. No one doubted Tyson's power before he got a signature win because the power was there to plainly see

 

So everyone brings up Wilder's resume to say that his KO power is overrated, yet they bring Earnie Shavers into the conversation everytime.... You can't use the 'resume' argument if you're going to put Shavers or even Bruno as harder hitters.