Physics And Punching Power

Seems like you answered your own question.

 

I have participated in this kind of debate for over 45 years, Power is a combi of genetics, muscular strength, accuracy, timing and speed. Foreman had great timing and thudding power, Shavers and Wilder had/have quick hands and athleticism in terms of winding up the blows.

 

I am not a physicist, but what you described is more suited for projectiles. But arm is not a projectile, there are too many factors including technique and many other things how fighters generate power. GGG had much more power in his punches than many fighters, who had same weight, but much more speed than him. So according to "force is equal to mass times acceleration" GGG should be feather fisted, but he is not.

 

Speed kills, but having mass does too. If a guy has small, weak hands he may not be able to deliver much power even if he has blinding hand speed and can become a "shoeshine" puncher who looks flashy but can't hurt most opponents.

What's more important than both power and speed is timing and accuracy. If you telegraph or have poor follow through, an opponent can brace for the punch, so you need to time it correctly going from 0-100 (preferably avoiding getting hit in the process). You can have all the power in the world but if you never manage to land on a sensitive spot such as the jaw, temple, etc, you can hurt the opponent but you probably won't do very significant damage landing on more robust areas such as the shoulder, bicep, etc.

Truly great punchers don't usually stand out for their raw destructive power, but rather their ability to consistently deliver that power with good technique, and more crucially being able to actually finish an opponent before they can recover. There may be hundreds of completely unknown or obscure guys out there with 10/10 punching power but don't make it because their technique and finishing ability are horrendous.

 

Timing, judgement of distance and experience have a lot to do with it. So many guys who would be hard hitters smother their punches while others want the best of both worlds (to hit and not take anything in return) and punch from too great a distance. Guys who are experienced (and elite) know when best to apply the power. They have a real sense for when an opponent is tired or even slightly hurt. Their punches ring with a lot more truth in those moments.

 

Different types of punchers .Big legs Rock 'smoking Joe ' Hamed ' v big chest n shoulders .Hit man ' Ruddock ' wilder.

 

You have to divide punching power into two elements:
a) Power generation.

All the stuff they teach us at gyms.

b) Power delivery.

All the mechanical advantages of force delivery like proper posture, alignment; kinetic chain, snap and the optimal contact time, bone structure which constitues to less kinetic energy lost on transfer.

 

Getting that thunder from the ankle to the fist.

 

It depends.
A punch may look faster on the surface, but is the puncher
getting any leverage on it? Is the puncher hitting the surface
of the object, or trying to punch through it?
A tight fist, locked wrist, timing ,angles,
the element of surprise ,all are considerations for proper
and impactful punches.
Prime example Howard Davis Jr. If speed was the only
consideration, than Davis Jr should be the greatest fighter
to ever live.
But clearly he wasn't .

 

Punching is a matter of technique. You can be big and strong and have "thudding" power but you will get tired swinging your big heavy arms with your thick chest. You can use your thick legs and push off to get power in your punches but, if your weight is behind your punches, you are pushing them. You can push with some force but a push is a push.
A proper punch is launching a projectile but the projectile is the fist, not the arm. The arms have nothing at all to do with punching. The shoulders are involved secondarily. A punch begins at the floor when the weight transfers from one foot to the other; once that is done you have a base to work from. Then, as Sam Langford said, you never get your hands ahead of your hips. The hips turn which turns the shoulders which drives the punch.
If you master that you will punch hard in close- short range- and at distance becaiuse the motion is the same. All the violence is in the hips and thje transference of weight on the feet is the foundation.

 

Joe Louis had notably solid calves and thighs also.

 

Excellent.

I’m no physicist either but the formula many people dust off is F = MA.

While speed still plays it’s part - that isn’t actually the formula for impact force.

Impact force also takes into account the duration of the actual collision - the shorter the duration - the greater the force that is transferred - which you’ve already stated.

In informal terms - the above describes the greater effect of snapping your punches, contact and immediate recoil - meaning optimal transference of force.

The opposite execution to that would be “pushing” your punches resulting in less transference of the force behind the punch.

The speed and snap Ali displayed against Williams made his punches look like they were detonating on impact - particularly the double left hook, right hand KD.

A lot of Joe Louis’s punches also had the appearance of exploding on impact - violent yes but a thing of true beauty for boxing fans.

 

George Foreman said he always knew when he landed a really good one because he felt it all the way to the bottoms of his feet. Whatever the Physics are, George had them in spades! And it has always been interesting to me that his punches were not particularly fast.

 

This is exactly where you’re meant to feel it if you punch properly. There were times when Foreman threw good looking, reasonable punches.

I personally believe that the movement of the hip and shoulder when properly swinging the sledge hammer and axe are similar enough to teach punching mechanics which may be why Archie had Shavers and Foreman do it.