Where does power come from?

In terms of technical elements, I think timing is the most important.
I believe anyone can become a KO puncher by learning technique and master the timing. Although, for some boxers that would compromise their best STYLE. Some styles of boxing are necessarily somewhat "lighter punching" styles.

And I agree with the statement that the truly "GREAT" punchers are born, not made. There are the punchers who you can't really explain with technique or who have levels of power you just cannot emulate with technical adjustments.

 

^i agree. Nearly anyone can develop decent snap or "good" 6/10ish power with proper training, timing, leverage and speed.

However its important to distinguish that theres three general types of power:

-explosive

-thudding

-sharp.

Some punchers can do a combination of 2 of those but theyre very, very rare. The first type is the kind that makes the most of shifting weight and throwing their body weight into a punch. It shakes up your whole body when it connects. These punchers get the most effective results with thr force=mass x acceleration formula. If youve ever seen a karare man punch through a block of wood, thats the whole idea. Punch THROUGH a target, not "at" the target. Guys like Joe Louis, Tyson, wladmir klitschko, julian jackson, Naseem Hamed, jack dempsey, Roy Jones, reached the pinnacle of explosive punches.

The second type, thudding, tend to be brawlers, arm punchers, or heavy handed people. They can push a guy around the ring despite hardly putting any weight into a shot. Thudding punches make not take u out with one shot, but absolutely do not want to just stand there and trade or remain a sitting duck. It feels like a battering ram. Foreman, Vitali Klitschko, Maidana, Golovkin, David Tua, embody this type

The third type is a little more rare and unless you fought one, train one, happen to be this type, or are very knowledgeable you might not even be aware of them. These guys, best way to describe it is they have vert bony ass sharp knuckles. They are often lean and dont even seem like they can crack. I will never forget the first time i fought my friend, he hit me on the jaw and the best way i can describe the sensation is "jarring". Everthing got fuzzy and it felt like electricity went through my body or i got stabbed. Ironically, when i sparred guys like these it felt more uncomfortable and painful than the big heavy hitters. These punchers tend to have fast hands and make their stikes even deadlier with counters or hitting sweet spots like the temple, chin, or when the opponent doesnt see it coming. They can often cause cuts or swelling very easily somehow. Muhammad Ali was definitely this type, just look at how often he puffed up an opponents face with a few lazy jabs and flurries. Holmes, Hearns, marquez, amir khan, crawford are a few guys i would put in this category, although some of them are also good explosive punchers.

As i said, some people are a mix and match combination of more than one type. Its easier to train people to develop a more "explosive" punch since its primarily body mechanics, proper technique and timing that allows for it. Cant really teach having heavy hands, clubbing power, or sharp knuckles.

The truly incredible strikers who have like 9/10 or higher jaw dropping "thats not even fair" power punchers like earnie shavers, errol spence, edwin valero, deontay wilder, etc seem to also be born with an aptitude for it. Sure activities like chopping wood, doing farmwork/construction, developing shoulder and back muscles, and developing proper technique and speed will take u a long way...but less than 5% of the population approaches levels anywhere near that for some reason. Its either genetics or some weird factor science hasnt been discovered.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/bal-5rahman-story.html

"But growing up, Rahman got into trouble, finding himself in street fights before he hit 12. By his 16th birthday, he weighed 230 pounds. "I was big for my age, and knocking a lot of guys out," he said. "I felt like I was supposed to portray an image. I felt I was supposed to be a tough guy, that was my responsibility." He later became a paid bodyguard.

Rahman attributed most of his problems to peer pressure to follow a dangerous crowd and the unwritten rules of the street that forbid snitching, even if it means you take the fall for someone else.

Rahman began dabbling in boxing, which he was introduced to at 18 by former pro Louis Butler. "He was hanging out with friends, and I grabbed him and we started body-punching each other," said Butler, 48. Rahman weighed about 300 pounds although still a teen-ager. "But he could go," Butler said, "and being a former professional fighter, I said, `This kid's got it.' "Butler made a call to Mack Lewis' gym: "I told him, `I got a heavyweight.'"

Rahman's uncle, Haleem Ali, took his nephew to Lewis, who has operated a gym at Broadway and East Eager streets since 1943. "Everybody told Hasim, `You're always fighting in the streets. You need to get paid for what you're doing.' I was trying to get him off the streets because I loved him," Ali said.

 

Excellent, thorough post about punching power; there ARE categories, and like all humans/athletes, they tend to overlap. You mention Foreman as a thudding puncher - I read an article one time stating that if George ever punched with proper technique (i.e. "snap" etc), it'd be illegal for him to fight as a professional. That's tongue-in-cheek of course, and he was obviously successful regardless - but when when you look at the ponderous arm swings he often used to derail opponents, and imagine those same shots delivered with precision, snap and follow-through ... wow. He was frightfully strong.

 

ok

 

Yup, Foreman had ridiculous thudding power. He would throw lazy arm punches with hardly any snap and send 200+ pound men over 6 feet tall across the ring like bowling pins. His jabs were as strong as some guys right hands and would sometines send a guy back so far it was counterproductive because he couldnt follow up on the jab with another punch!

 

I believe this is a big part of it. Guys like Tyson, Foreman and Dempsey wanted to make a hole in your body and rip your head off with every punch. On the other hand, guys like Malignaggi want to tip tap your face.

 

Some guys are born with tremendous power, but the technique, timing and accuracy is what brings the most out of their punching potential

 

I suspect that if Foreman punched with precision and snap he'd lose whatever made him the puncher he was. Guys who generate that type of thudding power seem to use a different physical mechanism to do so, which doesn't equate to speed or explosiveness. Look at any of the powerlifters/strongmen turned boxers, or guys like Rahman known for putting up big numbers in the gym. Very few of them are fast or snappy. It just seems to be one of those trade offs, like speed vs endurance.

 

Right now, most energy on the grid comes from generating plants. These plants still typically get power from ancient sources like coal, nuclear, and electricity dams...

 

In the Holyfield fight there's a moment where Foreman throws a hard 1-2 with Holyfield on the ropes and the only reason the right doesn't land is because the jab knocks his head about fourteen inches out of rage. In the slow-mo replay it kind of looks like crash test dummy footage being played in reverse.

 

Entirely possible - who am I to argue with success? What's interesting is when you see footage of him as a youngster (there's a clip of him instructing other boxers that looks like it took place when he was an amateur) and he's much quicker, more fluid ... when Gil Clancy was training him, he also encouraged George to work on finesse a bit more, the idea probably being a more relaxed Foreman might not gas out as quickly as he often did; he asked Foreman to lay off the wood chopping, heavy bag pounding, etc. Foreman quickly became bored, missed the feeling of having his muscles big and strong, and went back to his old ways. And apparently it worked ...

 

In that case, holyfield should thank god the right didnt land, history could have been very different with his brain already being rattled severely from the jab alone!

Theres a reason he named foreman as the hardest hitter he fought despite being fat and old and having fought so many other good punchers.