Hardest puncher between these guys SHOT FOR SHOT

Liston
Tyson
Louis
Morrison

 

I don't believe anyone ever made that distinction.

 

Thought you weren't going to give your opinion?

 

So what is your opinion?

 

The mistaken belief that Tyson's KOs came primarily from his phenomenal speed and combination punching. That was one part of the equation, but it was also very much due to his overall punching power as well. That's what made him so devastating, and I think a lot of fans like to downplay his power to give other fighters a chance to compete in at least one category.

The idea that Tyson excelled in so many areas is hard for many to grasp, and there's a tendency to underrate his raw punching power as a result.

 

Except if youre objective youll notice his highlight reel of kos in his prime was against lower level competition. He was just very good at making mediocre boxers look bad.

Many of his opponents said the same thing, that he obviously hit hard but he wasnt this godly 10/10 puncher. When people say the speed and combinations are what got them its hardly an insult and it makes sense.

First of all tyson was short, and made himself shorter with his weaving, squatting, slipping. His erratic head bobbing and sharp aggressive forward movement made it hard to predict what he was going to do.

Second, Tyson was a counter puncher, he rarely just bulldozed over an opponent with raw power or arm strength. He waited for openings, looked for bad habits, etc and used superb timing and technique to land the perfect shot.

So combine that with his speed and the fact they almost never see the ko punch coming then no, he doesnt even necessarily need to be a mobstrous puncher to get the ko. He was in excellent shape, had high ring iq, perfect balance, perfect leverage to get all his weight in his shots, good snap and explosiveness, excellent timing ans accuracy, etc. Somethings gotta give.

Again, im not saying tyson DIDNT hit that hard or that he was only above average. He obviously hit hard as hell. But people who look at his kos and think its just raw power dont know what theyre looking at and arent appreciating the sweet science or all the ingredients that go into making the ko happen.

 

Based on power ! Thudding force!


1. Tommy Morrison

2. Mike Tyson

3. Sonny Liston

4 .Joe Louis

 

As are people who ignore that raw power. That's all I'm saying.

 

I think Morrison gets underrated as a puncher sometimes because he was so flawed and uneven. But he really did seem to have one hell of a left hook.

 

I think that's one thing Tyson has in common with Joe Louis; their raw power tends to get somewhat overrated because of their exceptional delivery system and finishing skills.

 

I´m not sure if its useful to hit any harder than Tyson did, when a fighter could focus on the delivering.

But for raw left hand power, Morrison hit maybe harder. But I don´t think for two handed power. Thats what makes Tyson special, have that power in either hand.
I think Tua left hand was harder too. Maybe Ruddock as well.

Not sure about Liston, cause he rarely hit a durable big fighter with that shots, so can´t say.
Louis had less force in his punches, but was tremendously sharp with his shots. Especially on the short distance.

I think some punchers have higher right hand power than fighters listed here: Frank Bruno, Bonecrusher, Big George, maybe Ibeabuchi, Lewis, Joshua.

 

I agree with most of this. Morrison's left was not only a tremendously sharp punch, but delivered with perfect technique and accuracy too. Tyson's technique tended to slip a little in his aggression to knock an opponent down, but he was able to generate power from literally any shot with his squat legs and explosive upper body movement, and could often knock fighters down with less than perfectly landed punches (Savarese is a good case in point).

As far as ranking them, I'd argue that Tyson had more heavy handedness than Morrison, while Morrison was able to keep his technique a bit better. Tyson had a bit more savagery in his shots, and tended to have a more devastating effect on his opponents, so he gets the nod from me.

Liston was a bit of a question mark, true. He delivered most of his best work against men who'd be considered small men by today's standards, but he clearly had massive heavy handedness that can be seen on film. His jab alone seems to power through fighters' guards and batter their heads back. I'm not sure if that alone is enough to put him above men like Tyson and Morrison, but it's enough to put him above Louis, IMO, as far as raw power is being considered. I can't help but feel he wouldn't have stood out in a later era, however.

 

I would definitely say it's the other way round, at least as far as Tyson is concerned. Strip away Tyson's speed, skills and combination punching, as pretty much happened towards the end of his career, and he still possessed tremendous one hit power (Botha, Savarese, Etienne).