Mike was faster, better defensively, P4P Mike did well in his career, but he never beat an elite guy who was his natural weight and primestronger and Hearns got taken out by the best rough house fighters he faced Hagler/Barkley that didn't have these skills. Hearns chin just isn't good enough even if he was naturally bigger to beat a destroyer like Tyson The argument Mike did well in his career, but he never beat an elite guy who was his natural weight and prime can also be leveled at Hearns
Yes Strength matters. The way I see it there are three types of KO artists. Those who do it with " heavy hands " and brute strength. Example George Foreman Those with precise punches and speed. Example Joe Louis or Sugar Ray Robinson. Those who dive their punches with leverage and punch through their targets. Example Bob Fitzsimmons.
I won't deny that. It has been a while since my last physics class but, power is directly proportional to Mass and Acceleration and inversely proportional to Time. The power equation explains why Hearns was so lethal.
Much of the previous posts are part of the equation. However, the guiding factor -the most predictable cause of knockouts- is not physical strength (that's actually low on the list and those who train to increase their physical strength often hurt their own cause), it is not heavy hands, it is not bad intentions/committment, it is not fast twitch fibers (although that is near the top). The most important guiding factor is This content is protected . This is why Molinares put Starling, who was never KOd, to sleep in their NC. This is why Hearns' shot was so devestating even though he was built like an oversized insect. Speed helps -but that isn't all. Hearns would often feint to the body and then drop one over and above. When Hearns got Duran, the following factors coagulated -speed, leverage (the shot was actually a right hook), distance, etc... but what got him is that Duran was set up to expect a shot to the body and Hearns tricked him. Duran didn't see the shot. This is why when I train novices, I teach them to look between the clavicles without focussing -that way they can see both shoulders but also the hands. Never look at the eyes, never the hands... you get feinted that way. I've always suspected that many knockouts happen when the man is the process of blinking. Seriously.
On the money Stonehands. The punches you don't see really hurt you. Hearns was particularly adept at feinting to the body and indeed I might start a thread on why Hearns was able to knock out fighters so easily after utilizing body punching.
No doubt there are many factors in how hard a punch is thrown. No doubt there are even more factors in how hard a punch lands. Fitzsimmons threw a hard punch; timing, sense of distance, accuracy, the knack of drawing his man in, the propensity for the unexpected, and total psychological commitment made him a giant killer.