Jake Lamotta's punching ability

Grimm · Post by **Grimm** » 31 Jul 2005, 19:04

How would you rate Jake Lamotta's punching power with a Thomas Hearns or a RJJ etc?

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 31 Jul 2005, 22:40

his ability to break others hands by leading with his chin is unsurpassed.
More hands broken on his iron jaw than damage done with his left or right.

Honestly I would rate him above average in punching power but it was his ability to weather anything that was the miracle of Lamotta. Did he even have a liver? And blockhead is an understatement regarding him on several levels.

tonyevs · Post by **tonyevs** » 01 Aug 2005, 12:53

Wasn`t the Bronxbull aimed more at his oversized head than his fighting style.

His record does not suggest he was that big a puncher, certainly no Tommy Hearns KO-style-one hitting.

tiredoldngrey · Post by **tiredoldngrey** » 01 Aug 2005, 16:59

At one point in his career LaMotta was 26-4-4 with 4KOs and considered a very dangerous puncher. The thing is, he was forced to fight against real good fighters from the start, and better fighters take better punches. In the course of his swarming attack he did throw his share of arm punches , but in that era of fighting twice a month fighters didn't tend to come out winging like nowadays as they didn't need to miss paydays. Plus such regular bouts meant they were more skilled defensively than today's boxers. Finally do you really believe that Hearns or RJJ would be bombing on Ray Robinson, Holman Williams, Bert Lytell and others that Jake fought?

enrique · Post by **enrique** » 03 Aug 2005, 08:07

Jake should not be classified as a KO artist. His punch was probably average or somewhat above average. His capacity to take a punch was legendary and he was a better boxer than given credit for...