What's with all these new heavies who don't/can't punch?

Where's Audley?

 

Big Punchers: Wlad, Virchis, Tua.

A step behind: McCall, Peter, Valuev, Mesi, Vitali, Povetkin, Briggs, Brewster.

Did I miss somebody? Not sure about Maskaev at this point.

Those are the boxers I think could KO the opponent on a top level fight.

 

I'm sorry Cachibatches but it seems you miss something. The question itself is legitimate and a good one, I’ll try to answer it. But it's seems that you can't see that one boxer can be knocked out, others are really tough so not stopping them doesn't mean anything.

Just some examples: Chagaev couldn't knock out Ruiz, Valuev, Skelton. Well, now no one could really hurt any of those guys except Tua in the Ruiz fight when he wasn't really warmed up. The only other serious situation in Ruiz career was when Golota REALLY decked him and he didn't have any problems going on. Failed to stop iron-chinned Valuev and Skelton? You gotta kidding me. Chagaev’s got good power when he uses it.

Valuev: well, he's really not a big puncher, he's just putting his huge body weight into it.

Juan Carlos Gomez - one of the best punchers and laziest unmotivated fighters out there. Failed to knock out McCall? C'mon! (The only fighter he supposed to knock out but failed was Bakhtov in another unmotivated fight).

Ibragimov - both Briggs and Holyfield have good chins. Ibragimov’s got good power.

Povetkin: not a big puncher but he’s got a good punch. Of course knocking out a very defensive and quick Chambers is hard, and c'mon... 'failed to knock out Donald'? Only one of the hardest punchers of HW history, Vitali could do it. And still the 3 kd rule stopped it.



What I can tell you that these Russian-school fighters don't like to go out for the knockout but when it comes they can finish the fight with a combo or with a good punch. Against lower opposition, the KO came so they produced KOs. They are all very skilled, so they can trade and they can play is safe, and there are fewer knockouts on the highest level, because they throw less punches with full power but more lighter and quicker shots.

The main thing: the HW rulers from Eastern Europe are boxers not punchers. They seem to play it safe on the highest level. They don’t look ripped, they don’t jump on every opponent they meet, they don’t throw a lot of punches (well, Povetkin has a great punch stat), they have a too good defense to make it an exciting fight and they are mostly counter-punching. They don’t look really good but every single boxing era would have MAJOR problems with the HW elite of today because they are all very experienced boxers (amateur and pro) with a less than spectacular but VERY VERY VERY effective boxing style. Every damn thread about how sh*t the division is are opened because most people just can’t see that they are very effective. They see terrible, horrible, uneventful fights as myself. And you know what, these ex-soviet fighters will make the division look sh*t for the next 10 years but that doesn’t mean they are sh*t or can’t punch. Unfortunately they can play it save, they can play it effective but uneventful and maybe that’s the answer why there are no clean KOs anymore.

 

If they would get into shape, they would be able to punch better.

 

simple: the current heavyweight division is a farce.

 

some are out of shape/blown up crusier weights

 

Welll, I guess that's the final word on the matter.

Let's all go home, now. :blood

 

what? you're saying it's not????

 

yeh it doesnt exactly give u goose bumps thinking about these guys but their definately not **** fighters...a saviour will come...

 

Knocking out top rated guys is more difficult because they are better conditioned and have more skills. Even at heavyweight only one man in a hundred is a bona fide puncher. Just because a man gets knockouts doesn't make him a puncher, Moorer proved that. A knockout artist can get knockouts because of boxing skills, he doesn't need one punch KO power.

 

that....and the division is a farce.

 

It seems many of the HW's now are out of shape type guys who have a decent workrate. Many seem to lack the speed and suddeness to catch a fighter off guard. The ones who can.....well, they win.

It's why Klitscho has gone unchallenged for a bit.

 

Peter can punch, his just not as skilled as past punchers. He has a primitve punch, but its powerful non the less.