Lack Of Punching Power

Nazim Richardson said it best and its something I've always believed. If Paulie Malignaggi could punch then you would be looking at one of the best ever.

 

Harry Greb and Jake Lamotta have 78 KO's between them.

Can you imagine if they could rock heads? Serious Greb really did not need power to beat men up but if he had the kind of power that say Ketchal had he would have been KO'ing great heavyweight.

If you give Jake Lamotta Ketchal punching power I think the six fight series with Robinson looks a lot different. Maybe with a KO or two.

 

If Greb had paced his punches and sat on them rather than using his footwork and volume he probably wouldn't have won as many fights, certainly not against his bigger opponents.

 

Exactly. It's like that "Louis without power" thread - is not that simple. Take Canzoneri for example. When he sat on his punches he could deliver serious power but he wouldn't rely on that cause that would require a change in his whole game, a change that wouldn't play on his real strength. Same with Pea.

 

So then does that mean that all fighters have the potential to crack hard if they apply themselves to fighting in that style?

 

No, I meant in the case of Canzi and Pea. Both demonstrated they could deliver more than they did most of the time if they sat on their punches but they wouldn't do that cause that would require a change in their game, both in terms of style and in terms of strategy, that wouldn't play on their real strength which is boxing.

A fighter evolves (ideally) according to his strengths. His style is refined primarily to maximize them and make them more useful in the ring. That involves a specific pace, a specific footwork (there's a difference between aggressive footwork and defensive footwork though obviously a fighter can be good at both), a specific stance even (the height of the center of gravity, the distribution of the weight in the back or in the front leg, etc). Hell, the fighter's learning experience in the ring is different depending on his strong points. A wizard will learn more about shutting the other guy out while a killer will learn more about setting the other guy for the big one. A puncher deals more with frustration while a cutie would deals more with keeping his cool under fire. I'm simplifying the whole thing obviously, but what I mean is a fighter, one way or another, is made he doesn't born ready.

 

In my experience, most every practicing boxer, and certainly every pro, can hit hard enough to get your attention. Sure, some guys have a better instinct in timing and locating punches, and finally some guys are actually able to apply more force in their punches. I think it's a lot more about timing and instinct than some fast twitch bull****.