Why does Power and Technique matter in Boxing

Building on Dago's wonderful thread of "Why does Size matter". I thought I'd address two more elephants in the room when it comes to boxing/matchups that people bring up all the time... Power and technique. Why do they matter?

 

We all know, the only thing that matters at all is heart, just look at how Peter mccneeley kicked Tysons ass

 

At a certain level everybody hits hard. Some fighters have more power than others, some use what they have better than others, and some just fight in a non aggressive style. Power just isn't that important in terms of the big picture. Walk into any gym and workout with coaches that know what they're doing and I can almost guarantee they won't really care about your power. There's a reason coaches put emphasis on combinations, angles, movement, and speed. Nobody gives a **** about one punch ko power.

Now don't get me wrong, power is great to have especially if you can make it work for you but this nonsense about "well Foreman hit harder than Dempsey blah blah blah" is garbage. Sure Foreman hit harder but it doesn't matter. Both can knock someone out and their styles are more of the reason they got the knockouts, not power. Foreman wouldn't have half of his knockouts if he boxed like Ali. Same with Dempsey.

 

That wasn`t prime Tyson.

 

That's because you talk from a fans point of view.

 

Professional fighters and coaches disagree with you. I'll take their word for it.

 

He is easy to disagree with

 

From what point of view do you talk?

 

Someone with lots of sparring experience that trains and learns from successful coaches.

 

and this has all taught you that Size, technique and power don't matter?

 

You never ever ever, never ever talk about power to your fighter. If he isn't getting anything on his shots, you look at the way he throws his punches, weight transfer and so on. You work to improve the way they move their feet, so they aren't smothering their own punches.

And you never ever ever tell your fighter that he is a power puncher, that he hits harder than everyone else. Never ever ever. You see it done but it isn't a smart thing to do.

 

I don't think anybody is talking about over-inflating somebody's confidence about their power. What is being said though, is that Size, Power and Technique do plays roles in how good a fighter is and how good he does. There should be no disputing that. Those aren't the only things that matter, but they certainly matter.

 

I agree with this. When guys fall in love with their power they start to load up and get countered. Power punchers that have beautiful combinations and work off the jab? They go far.

 

That makes sense. Not-so-random question: In your opinion, would there be any legitimate reason for a coach to tell one of his fighters that he is one of the hardest hitting fighters in his gym?

 

I never said technique doesn't matter. Why are you lying?

Size matters at the lower weights. At heavyweight, not so much. You can give up 30 lbs at heavyweight. You do that at lightweight and you're toast.