Lennox Lewis vs Jack Dempsey

A finisher is a guy you only need to make one mistake against.

I guess the ultimate finisher is sombody like Sam Langford who sets a little trap and drops his oponent with a single punch or combination. Takes the oponent from doing alright to oblivion in seconds and decides the moment of their oponents demise. Jersey Joe Wlacott knocking out Ezzard Charles is perhaps one of the best textbook examples of a finish available on film.

The gold standard of the finisher is Bob Fitzsimmons who utilized the small gloves of his era to stop most of the top heavyweights with a single perfectly timed bolt from the blue. As gloves have got bigger that gold standard has perhaps become impossible to reproduce but it serves as a template.

 

Janitor a finnisher is subjective term but is generally considered to be a fighter who will put someone away once they have someone hurt/stunned.

What you are referring too is a counter puncher

 

No.

The absolute gold standard of the finisher is to be able to put sombody away when they are not hurt or stunned. This typicaly involves counterpunching as you point out but not always.

 

But Walcott was not a great finisher at all! If anything, he lacked aggression.


And the reason that that type of fighters you are looking for were heavyweight midgets is because that's the only way they could fight! Why should a guy like Lewis, Ali or Holmes go for the knockout when they can easily win on points?

 

lewis mid round ko. i see dempsey starting well but lewis' size strength and punching power wears down a game and valiant dempsey. great fight while it lasts

 

The most offensively minded heavyweight are obviously going to be the midgets, yes.

Because they have no other options.


But that doesn't mean the bigger boys can't bang. Just ask any of Lewis or Wlad's opponents.

Anyway, the point was, is, and will always be that guys over 200 lbs punch significantly harder than cruiserweights.
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Well put.