Rank the 90s lineal champs' power

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

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