Who was the Hardest Hitting Heavyweight Champ Before Dempsey?

Goddard won World's Heavyweight title against Denver Ed Smith in 1896. He also held the South Africa and Australia heavy titles.

 

Sullivan is quicker than I am and he hits with terrible power. If I had a tenth of Sullivan’s force Id have beaten Goddard both times I fought him. Now its easy to figure out. I honestly think that John would smash him down with little trouble”.

Joe Choynski

 

If we're just talking gloved it's Fitz or Sullivan. I'd probably side with Fitz. The way he KOed Ruhlin.

 

They almost faced off!

 

Fitzsimmons or Jeffries. Sullivan's power is hard to gauge as he seldom if ever fought a man in his prime above 180 pounds.

According to Jim Corbett, who fought Sullivan, Choynski, Fitzsimmons, Jeffries, Jeffries was the best two-handed puncher of the bunch. Since he fought all four of them, his opinion has a unique perspective and carries the most weight.

The way I see it:

Fitzsimmons knew where to hit, and how to get leverage the best. A technician, with accuracy and power.

Jeffries had the most force on the blows. He also tested out above Fitzsimmons on a PSI punching machine.

Choynski took lots of guys the distance. I think he surprised guys with speed, but with no film of him throwing punches, except sparring with Jeffries in 1910, it's hard to tell. What you can say is Choysnki had swift feet. A jitterbug type. I'd rate him 4th of the bunch.

Sullivan was a puncher, in a land of few of them when he was active. In his time there was no comparison to him, which is why I think he has some glowing reports, if he had only fought a man near his size, in his prime with ability, I think we'd have a better picture. However his power disbarred later in his career...in his late 20's to early 30's. Power is the last thing to go usually. Defense in Sullivan's time was rather unscientific.

 

Fitz would have knocked John L cold. It would have been very ugly.

 

Perhaps, but what do you think about Choynski's observations?

This was a man who everybody thought hit harder than Fitzsimmons and Jeffries!

He was very clear in saying that Sullivan was faster than him, and hit harder!

He actually disdained his own power relative to Sullivan's!

 

The most qualified people on who hit harder were on the receiving end of many of them. Choynski did not fight Sullivan.

I think Choynski could hit, but his low KO percentage suggest he might have been a speedy type of KO puncher. More like say Roy Jones than Bob Foster if you know what I mean.

 

Fitz or John L I'd say .The way Bob could put em out ,I'd say leans in his favour .

 

Bob Fitzsimmons was a banger with gloves and Choynski was also known as a devastating puncher, his KO over Johnson was a notch. Sully more of a bare knuckle banger but power never the less.

Id love to see where Fitz & Chonski would fit in today

 

What about Jeffries?

 

I’d say probably a prime Sullivan