Rank the 90s lineal champs' power

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by SixesAndSevens, Jan 31, 2025.


  1. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    Kinda following off of the Moorer thread. I wanted to make this because what I saw was kind of surprising- Moorer getting 6s and it being said that he was the weakest lineal champ from then, power wise? Obviously, I got some support on my posts so it's not like everyone thinks he sucks, but I wanted to make this thread to give some perspective.

    Rank the 8 lineal title holders from the '90s from strongest to weakest punch wise and give each of em a rating out of 10- And on top of that, give reasoning to why you place one over the other. "Lewis said Briggs was the strongest puncher he faced, so he's stronger than Holyfield. Moorer stopped Botha, so he's stronger than Briggs."

    (Tyson, Douglas, Holyfield, Bowe, Moorer, Foreman, Briggs, Lewis)
     
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  2. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    1. Tyson
    2. Lewis
    3. Briggs
    4. Foreman
    5. Bowe
    6. Holyfield
    7. Douglas
    8. Moorer

    Moorer still could crack though. The others just had more power.
     
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  3. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    What makes you put him under guys like Briggs and Holyfield? He has earlier stoppages against some opponents Evander faced and was able to stop Botha while Briggs couldn't.
     
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  4. PolishAssasin

    PolishAssasin Member Full Member

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    1. Foreman – 10/10
    The strongest punch, very heavy hands, knocked out Moorer with one shot.


    2. Lewis – 9/10
    Very good power. Devastating right hand.


    3. Tyson – 8.5/10
    Devastating combinations, but his power relied on speed.


    4. Briggs – 8/10
    Lewis says he was the hardest puncher he faced.


    5. Bowe – 7.5/10
    Heavy hands, stronger single punch than Holyfield.


    6. Holyfield – 7/10
    Good power, but relied more on combinations than raw punching strength.


    7. Moorer – 6.5/10
    Didn’t have the same power as the top guys.


    8. Douglas – 6/10
    Punching power wasn’t his biggest asset.
     
  5. Unique Way

    Unique Way Active Member Full Member

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    I think Bowe's power is very underrated nowdays. He put prime Holyfield down HARD 3 times in two different fights and hurt him numerous times. Tyson couldn't do the same, Lewis couldn't do it against washed up Holyfield in 24 rounds. Also, Bowe annihilated still decent version of Jesse Ferguson while Rahman couldn't stop a shot version of Jesse while being in his prime. I still rank Lewis and Tyson above Bowe in terms of power but the gap is much, much closer than people think. Old George was weird case - he still hit extremely hard and, again, hurt prime Holyfield while Tyson and Lewis couldn't do it in 14 and 24 rounds respectively against worse version of Evander (Lewis especially). I think old Foreman might have still had the heaviest hands of them all, but I prefer Lewis' and Tyson's delivery system. Briggs was obviously heavy-handed, but it's pretty hard to rank him since the only decent fighter he ever stopped was Liakhovich. Unless you count stopping 45 y.o. Mercer (who just laid down anyway) as a big achievement. Unlike Tyson, Lewis, Wlad or even Moorer Briggs couldn't stop Botha. Past prime Tyson KTFOed Botha with a single punch. Hell, even Deontay Wilder's list of stopped victims looks more impressive than Briggs' one.

    Douglas could punch hard, just watch his one-punch KO of unbeaten Dion Simpson who was favoured to beat him. But I also think Briggs might have had slightly more raw power, Douglas was just so much more skilled and smarter than him which allowed him to deliver his power better against good fighters.

    Lastly, I rank Moorer over Holyfield based on his punches having way more impact on both Alex Stewart and Bert Cooper. Way more. But Holyfield wasn't feather-fisted by any means, he had decent power at HW.

    So, my final ranking is:

    1. Tyson
    2. Lewis
    3. Bowe
    4. Foreman
    5. Briggs
    6. Douglas
    7. Moorer
    8. Holyfield
     
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  6. Overhand94

    Overhand94 Active Member Full Member

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    1) I would put Tyson, Bowe, Foreman and Lewis (with no particular order) in the upper echelon. They were all great punchers and they proved it against good opposition.
    So 9-10/10 power wise.

    2) Briggs. Big and strong, he had the record for the highest stoppages in the 1st round although he never stopped a notable opponent. 8/10

    3) Moorer. He stopped Cooper and Stewart, but should have more stoppages in world titles fights. His stoppage of Botha was more about Botha's exhaustion than his own power IMO. Still above average power. 7-7,5/10.

    4) Douglas. Not a powerpuncher, he still possessed a hard jab and carried his power beautifully when he throwed combinations while switching stances. 6,5/10.

    5) Holyfield. A little tricky to rate, as his punching power increased during the decade, reaching his peak during 1995-97 IMO. Not heavy handed but his speed, accuracy, technique and smartness made him one of the most dangerous punchers.
    First one to drop Mercer and Bowe, stopped Tyson, put Foreman in big trouble and stunned Lewis during the rematch.
    His left hook was his most powerful punch and carried good power, but overall 6/10.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2025
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  7. Unique Way

    Unique Way Active Member Full Member

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    I think Moorer was much, much better boxer than Briggs. Much smarter as well which enabled him to deliver his power better than Briggs did. But you might be right since Briggs power never looked that impressive at the top level
     
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  8. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    Holyfield managed to drop Tyson and Bowe, eventually stopping Tyson. Moorer wouldn’t do that.

    Briggs was an incomplete fighter and often was out of breath, but I wouldn’t want to get hit cleanly by him. He also would’ve stopped Botha earlier than Moorer, but Botha got saved by the bell. Briggs has the first round ko record.
     
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  9. Overhand94

    Overhand94 Active Member Full Member

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    Great post. I also think Bowe's power is undersold nowadays. He had fantastic uppercuts and an excellent right hand/left hook.
    Only one who destroyed a good version of the durable Jesse Ferguson and only one to stop a 90's Holyfield.
     
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  10. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    1. Foreman, 9.5 - Holyfield rated him as the strongest puncher he faced. This one is clean cut.
    2. Lewis, 9 - Easier stoppages than anybody else over Biggs, Ruddock, and Botha.
    3. Bowe, 9 - Visually hurt Evander the most out of his heavyweight opponents, stopped men like Cooper much easier than Moorer or Holyfield.
    4. Tyson, 9 - Easier stoppages over Stewart and Botha. I think that he had a better punch in the '80s, he would move up if we were talking about that version of him.
    5. Moorer, 8.5 - Better stoppages over Stewart and Cooper than Holyfield, and stopped Botha while Briggs wasn't able to.
    6. Briggs, 8 - Lewis named him as the strongest puncher he faced, but I don't take this to include Bowe, as Riddick vastly improved as a boxer after the Olympics.
    7. Holyfield, 7.5 - Good, above average punch. More impressive stoppages than Douglas had.
    8. Douglas, 7 - Not a bad puncher, but not a big puncher. Doesn't have impressive stoppages over common opponents with the others.
     
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  11. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    I think that Holyfield dropped em after wearing em down rather than just dropping em based on his pure power. He took longer to stop Stewart and Cooper than Moorer did, and in one of their fights, he didn't even stop Alex.

    What round did Botha get saved in? I haven't watched the fight in a while, and I might be wrong about that.
     
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  12. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist

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    At the end of the 8th.

    None of us have been punched by these guys, so we’re just guessing, and the guys who did get punched by them seem to downplay the guy who knocked them out cold. I’d say Douglas, Holyfield, and Moorer are the bottom tier without the order mattering much, and the others are definitely a cut or two higher.
     
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  13. SixesAndSevens

    SixesAndSevens Gator Wrestler Extraordinaire Full Member

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    I see. I still think that Moorer is the superior puncher to Briggs, but he might have some legitimacy to his spoken power.

    It's probably some combination of ego and what they've felt, it depends on the fighter. I think that the bottom four are pretty provably Douglas, Holyfield, Moorer, and Briggs- With the top two amongst those four provably being Moorer and Briggs, but there's room to question who's stronger than who.
     
  14. Dynamicpuncher

    Dynamicpuncher Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    1. Lewis
    2. Tyson
    3. Foreman
    4. Bowe
    5. Briggs
    6. Moorer
    7. Holyfield
    8. Douglas
     
  15. Unique Way

    Unique Way Active Member Full Member

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    Yes, top 4 are clear as day here. And Briggs never proved himself to belong there with them. The only top 30 opponent whom he has stopped in 68 fights was Liakhovich, who was already brutally KTFOed by Maurice Harris before.

    - Briggs threw everything and kitchen think on Darrol Wilson in round one but couldn't put him down. Tua KOed him with a single left hook

    - couldn't stop Botha unlike Moorer, Tyson, Lewis, Wlad. He knocked Botha down? Yes, but so did Bounty Hunter who wasn't a big puncher at all

    - Briggs couldn't put a dent on Fields a d McCline. Well, McCline kicked his ass badly and so did Ibragimov, but Briggs landed some decent punches on Fields with bo impact. Now go and watch what Robert Davis did to Fields with a single left hook.

    You can go on and on and won't find a prove of terrifying punching power from Briggs. Yes, he knocked out a lot of bums early, but so did Butterbean, Lamar Clark and Don Steele
     
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