Watching the Tank fight this weekend, Tank has very good power, but he has to really torque and put his entire body into his long winging power shots. Inoue's KO shots (see the ultra short Maloney right hand and the Dasmarinas body molesting hook) are very short and have very little travel distance. He doesn't even look like he puts a lot into his shots. Inoue a legit monster.
The Monster's set up and foot work of his KO's is what separates him from most punchers. Vs Maloney he beats him to the punch, catches him as he's throwing his own right hand, so Maloney is literally turning into Inoue's full power, increasing the force of impact. Vs Dasmarinas he throws a right hand but drags his rear leg forward so he's squared up so able to generate maximum power in the next punch but Dasmarinas has pivoted slightly to his left, so Inoue throws a little cheeky uppercut to bring up Dasmarina's guard to expose the body, steps the left leg back so he's again squared up to Dasmarinas and can then let go with a left hook to the body with all the power from that advantageous position.
Dont know if hes the biggest puncher or not but i love watching him... def one of my favs.... i have all of his fights and when i have more time i plan on binge watching all of them again.
All excellent points, especially in regards to Inoue's positioning. But what's insanely impressive is that Inoue doesn't have to throw haymakers. Positioning can only maximize so much force. There's more to be untapped with fully leveraged shots.
I think he does generate full leverage shots via proper technique and positioning. His technique is just so much better than other guys who need to load up to make up for their technical deficiencies. His amazing technique is what makes it look so effortless. For example Wilder has the that massive step in and often cocks the right hand to deliver the huge right hand. But Wlad threw the straight right, straight down the pipe, from the shoulder, not telegraphed at all but with immense power too, I'd say with even more power than Wilder's right hand or at least equal power. Wlad didn't have the over exaggerated technique because he had pretty much a flawless right hand, power from perfect balance, turning his feet, drive from the calves, quads, proper hip rotation and then shoulder rotation and arm extension. No wasted motion from Wlad, no areas where power can leak away. In elite level power and weight lifting, technique is often what separates the champions from the rest. Flaws in technique even minor ones can lead to power leak, any wasted force or motion that isn't used to move the bar could mean a failed lift and I think it's the same with punching, minor flaws in punching technique means power is wasted. So Wilder's exaggerated right hand, while it creates huge power not all of it end up at the end of his fist, power is leaking into other movements. For example an exaggerated step in means his not just moving forward to his target but downwards as his feet again make contact with the canvas so some power isn't heading at his opponents jaw but to the canvas. So guys without the technique are forced to make loaded up exaggerated movements to generate extra power while guys with great technique look like they haven't even put 80% into a punch but knock people down effortlessly.
