How would you compare/contrast the power right hands of Lennox, Wlad and Louis?

Hard to say.

Obviously they are all exceptionaly powerfull but the power might not be the critical factor.

Like you I am inclined to think that Lewis brings the most blunt force impact but with a bit less schlappp.

I think that Louis right hand was the most effective of the three based on his delivery technique combined with the fact that he used it as a close in tool rather than standing off at long range.

Of course his critics would be entitled to respond that this left him more open to counters.

 

Lewis had a heavy right hand but Joe Louis had the best power over the course of 15 rds. Lewis never stopped anyone after 8rds and JLouis had a perfectly delivered right hand...Wlad has a rocket of a right but is less fluid than Lewis's and not as versitle as Joe Louis...Still it seems to carry better late in the fight than Lewis....Joe Louis is tops for me of the 3

 

I watched a 23 yr. old Louis with Braddock last night. You forget, I do anyway what a thing of beauty he was as a young man. He had athleticism. He was never a frenetic fighter, but watching the lean, athletic Louis I was reminded of a Ray Robinson. One thing I haven't heard mentioned so much was how great Joe was at energy conservation. He never got ruffled and never got impatient. To me, that right hand of his was a tensed catapult that could go from potential to kinetic energy on a dime. Sharp, precise, no wasted energy or movement, technically clean! There are few right hands in any era in any division that are as close to a work of art, imo.

 

From my study of punching power, Joe Louis shouldn't be compared to Lewis and Wlad when it comes to pure punching power. He didn't carry enough mass, which is one of the most important factors of pure power. At his peak he only weighed around 200 pounds. Now it is more reasonable to debate whether or not Louis had the same ability to (t)KO any solid 230-240 pound heavyweight as often as Lewis and Wlad could at their primes, since it takes a lot more than pure power to measure a slugger's ability to stop someone.



In terms of pure power this is how I see it.



1. Lewis

2. Klitchko

3. Louis- by a long shot



As far as getting a the average modern contender out of there if they try.



1. Klitchko

2. Lewis

3. Louis- closer but still clearly not quite on the same level as the other 2





My viewpoints are completely unbiased because Louis is one of my favorite fighters and I do not care for Wlad and Lewis too much. I wanted Vitaly and Tyson to beat Lewis.

 

In terms of sheer power - i'd go with Lennox.

Just look at how he annihilated Ruddock with a single right hand blow, whereas Tyson couldn't legitimately stop him in 17 rounds. He could loop it (often earlier in his career, but most famously during the Rahman rematch), but also throw it straight with textbook technique.


Joe Louis was like a destruction machine in that his right hands were sharp, right on point and could come from all angles. For single right hand power, i'd rate him a bit below the other two giants, but not far behind. When he connected, you were in trouble.


Wladimir certainly is the most mechanical of the two. His right hand is always thrown with perfect technique. It is very fast, extremely accurate and non of his opponents have been able to stop it from landing, including the very slick southpaw Byrd. During his early years, his hands were extremely fast, but since he got with Steward in 2004, his right hand just rolls so incredible SMOOTH! Just like Frazier naturally rolls off those left hooks as if he was born to do it. Watch him knock down the iron chinned Chagaev here. Full leverage on the shot, perfect timing and shoots it right through the guard:

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The knockdown against Byrd (rematch) was great too:

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And to finish it off with a rare but very hard looping right hand:

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Where Lennox would sometimes throw a shot with 100% of his power behind it, Wlad seems to throw them at a steady pace, at 80% of his maximum power or so, which is still off the scales. The same thing goes for Joe Louis, who had excellent stamina and perfect pacing.


I couldn't really compare them any more specific than that, other than that they're the best heavyweight right hands in history.




To those interested, a few gif's on Lewis, although most right hand gifs i have are uppercuts:

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Unfortunately i have no gif's on Joe Louis...

 

Joe Louis' was the most effective of the three by far ... Lewis had trouble landing it on anyone with any speed. He clocked a Golata but could berely hit Holyfield in 24 rounds. Wlad's might even be a bit harder than Lewis but he is so cautious due to his weak chin.

 

Yeah, I can see how some would say that others had more power in their right hands. Joe was a small HW after all. But I wouldn't bet on many guys in HW history to actually beat Joe Louis prime for prime, not in a shoot out anyway, or a fight that was likely to end in a KO.

 

Hmph. I mention it a lot.

To me it's one of Louis' greatest qualities, if not his greatest quality.

 

I like the GIFs. They make it quite easy to study punching technique.

You bring up an interesting point about Wladimir though, in that he's not throwing 100% commited right hands, at least not in the GIFs above. I hadn't noticed that before.
I mean sure, he's putting power and leverage into the punch, but it doesn't seem like he's entirely commited 100% to the punch either.

 

nice distribution of weight going into a punch......Evander took that last one like a man...man indeed

by the way Vitali took that uppercut like a Man as well.....quite a chin

 

New favorite word.

 

If I had to land one punch I would pick Lewis.
If I had to use it repeatedly in a fight= Wlad.

 

In a comparitive sense maybe Louis is a little behind Vlad and Lennox but in a relative sense he is actually ahead of them due to his smaller size. Considering that Joe in his prime was roughly 200lbs while Lennox and Vlad scale 230-245 shows just how powerful Joe's right hand was. Power is force times speed and Louis's right was shorter and faster than Vlads and Lewis' right hands. Gil Clancy once used Earnie Banks as an example of a powerful athlete, a baseball player who weighed 150-160lbs but could hit a ball 400 feet out of the ballpark. I liken Vlad and Lennox to George Foreman but with more finesse. Clubbers with class. Louis is a pure power puncher.