Chuck Wepner (who fought Sonny Liston and George Foreman) said on ESPNC that Liston was the hardest puncher. I've heard stories and legends that Liston could knock the speedbag off of its mount, split heavy bags, and blow the stitching off of headgear. Did Liston really hit harder than Foreman at that time, or is it that Liston was a purer boxer and could string together his punches better and was more damaging and punishing over the course of the fight? And how does Earnie Shavers, who is often said to be the hardest punching HW, fit into all of this?
Hi, I think that Liston was a more technically sound puncher than Foreman. Foreman used to throw wide punches, whereas Liston threw shorter more compact punches. Liston was able to concentrate the power better. Also, Liston was a more accurate puncher and thus his punches landed flush. Grebfan9 www.firstroundboxing.com
I also heard when Wepner make the sam comment you mentioned in your post, he also said theres no way Ali could of beat Liston. Having not seen many fights of Shavers I cant comment, I would put Liston in the top 5 Heavywieghts champs with the most power.
I'd say Mike Tyson. I've seen that footage of Sonny Liston on practice and I think that man really got that horsepower punch..
Liston gets a tad overrated in this regard, imo - if what we are talking about is who hit HARDER. If you are talking about who had better TECHNIQUE to DELIVER the punch, then Liston would be on top, imo. In terms of pure power, however, I would rate these three guys as follows: 1. Shavers 2. Foreman 3. Liston
