Where do you rank Joe Louis punching power in history?

He reminded me of Liston and Holmes: the way he used the jab as a power punch.

 

Probably an 8 out of 10 in power, but combined with his 10/10 accuracy and rapid combo throwing, he's a 10/10 puncher. If that makes any sense.

 

Damn high.There is a tendency among ( mainly younger ) fans to underrate Joe's power because of
his comparative lack of size.However he did inflict horrific damage on his opponents.The damage
suffered by men like Primo Carnera,Paolino Uzcudun and Jimmy Braddock bear testimony to the
brutality of Louis's punches.
As the heavyweight-division has produced so many huge punchers it is always difficult to give an
exact placing of any heavyweight as a puncher.
While Joe may not have hit quite as hard as monsters like Foreman,Liston and Wilder he probably
does merit a place among the top ten hardest punchers in heavyweight history.

 

I think he’s the best pure puncher in heavyweight history, maybe along with Tyson.
Technically so proficient and so accurate, not much wasted.

 

For his combination punching, power in either hand, accuracy, and his finishing abilities hes a 10.

 

There are other HWs who hit harder with a single punch, but Louis rarely put everything into a single shot, ala Foreman or Wilder, or even to a lesser extent Shavers or Tyson. You just didn't see him throw a punch like he was swinging for a home run. He almost always threw more compact shots, leaving him perfectly balanced to follow up in combination.

I rank him very high in power, for shots not thrown with maximum leverage and weight behind them, but rather relatively short shots that were both more difficult to evade and more effective to put fluid combinations off of them. It's rare for a boxer to be able to put your lights out with a punch thrown like that, but Joe could.

 

I rate him at 9 out of 10 in punching power. For me, 10 is reserved for people like George Foreman.

 

P4P No. 1 in effective power combination punching.

 

I always think of an 90 years old Louis, making Rocky s face black and blue... That's power.

 

Not the hardest puncher ever, but most certainly the greatest one.

 

Racism! Joe Louis was 137 years old, Frank Sinatra even told me so!

 

Frank was a drunk!!

 

Accuracy and speed are part of effective power in my book. And I only care about power as evidenced in actual high level fighting conditions. Otherwise, we might as well revert to the results of those stupid Fire Arcade machines in bars (OK, I hit those things every time I see them)...

Anyways, 10 out of 10. The way he hit you, you stayed hit.