Lol why do people like never seem to grasp that boxing has evolved since Langford and Fitzsimmons boxed? Neither one of them are all time greats. They were only "Great" for their era. Also their power was only great for their era.
Have not seen Carpentiers name come up yet ? Total wins 89 by KO 57 not to shabby, also whilst a LHW put the skids under many a HW that outweighed him considerably. stay safe guys.
I'm a big fan of Marshall but can't for the life of me find justification to have him top 3 and ahead of Michael Spinks to boot.
Marshall's knockout record just doesn't seem to tell how hard he hits. Marshall was the first man to knock the great Ezzard Charles in his prime and showed devastating display of power against the tough Freddie Mills. He even knocked out durable fighters such as Tiger Red Lewis and Frankie Daniels when he was pass his prime. Moore would later claimed that Marshall is 2nd hardest puncher he has ever fought quote unquote: "Lloyd Marshall is the snappiest hitter of them all. He could knock you out with either hand." - Archie Moore Charley Burley also raved about Marshall's power, stating that he's the only man to knock him off his feet! I really hope this change your mind about his power cuz I really do think the fact you can't see him hit harder than Spinks at all is a tiny bit absurd.
The young Charles became far more robust after his military service when he filled out and from decent accounts was injured going into that bout. Mills was indeed impressive for me from the dominance standpoint as much as the impressive power. Charles dropped Burley and almost knocked him out. Spinks can be seen changing the tempo of a fight with single punches not to mention one punch KO'ing guys. Evidence of his brutal power can be found in a lot of places. On top of this Marshall's best natural weight was between 160 and 175 and 168 would have been ideal. So he was a bit smaller than some of these bonafide light heavyweight punchers which can take a bit of overcoming. I'm not trying to dis Marshall as he's one of my faves but i can't rank him that high on power alone sorry.
Although Charles is a bit pre prime, he even admitted that he's one hardest punchers he fought along with Satterfield but you've made a good point too. I think what frustrates me about Marshall is he never consistently showed power but when he showed it.. it could be very terrifying. Just like Johansonn's knockout over undefeated Machen. Scary and impressive, but other than what did he do? Nothing actually. Another thing that frustrates me is that he pretty much lose a lot of fights when step up to competition and if he won he couldn't knock them out, but what can you say? At the end of the day you determine who hits harder with your own beliefs.
I think Marshall was compelled to, "do business," on occasion.It's a fact that when he came to the UK to fight Mills he assumed he was going to be told to go for a swim,he wasn't and we know the result!
Of those that held the title I don't think anyone hit harder than Foster.By the time Fitz won it his power had declined somewhat.