fastest hands in heavyweight history?

[el_grande_mauro_mina]

Me... once!

[davie]

Chris Byrd had very fast hands.

As does David Haye.

I find Haye's speed to be dramatically over-rated. I don't see him being any faster than a prime Pinklon Thomas.

Haye was explosive, key word being was.

His hand speed was good, not best ever but good. But he was also very good at covering ground quickly when launching an attack, his feet play as big a part as his hands.
I'd point to his reflexes, timing and reactions being pretty good too, all plays a part in it. But could he throw fast combinations like Ali or Tyson? no.

[rockyefc]

Herbie Hide.....2 x WBO Champ

[magwitch]

I always thought Riddick Bowe had very fast hands. And then of course Muhammad Ali.

[magwitch]

https://youtu.be/uFCv4Kh-ZiA

Enjoyed that Patterson looked like a bit of a badass in that little montage! Tbh, he is one of the heavies I’ve never really studied up on. Possible that his star was slightly outshone by fighters that came before as well as after him? I understand he was regarded as top drawer and the man, in his hey day.
Be interested in any good reads on him if anyone knows of any..

[Kalan]

I always thought Riddick Bowe had very fast hands. And then of course Muhammad Ali.

Riddick Bowe had slow hands and no defense... That's why he's so punchy today and can't talk... His hands were almost as slow as Golota's ... Ali's hands were relatively slow compared to guys like Gene Tunney and Larry Holmes... Also Louis, Lewis, and the Klitschko Bros had very fast hands.

[magwitch]

I always thought Riddick Bowe had very fast hands. And then of course Muhammad Ali.

Riddick Bowe had slow hands and no defense... That's why he's so punchy today and can't talk... His hands were almost as slow as Golota's ... Ali's hands were relatively slow compared to guys like Gene Tunney and Larry Holmes... Also Louis, Lewis, and the Klitschko Bros had very fast hands.

Who was the geezer that Bowe slapped on the chops at the presser? (I realise that may not actually be an exclusive club - and of course - no gloves were involved) - but to quote the Leonardo Di Caprio character in the film .... the name of which I don’t seem to be able to recall right now... straight after Gene Hackman’s character shot him... “sh*t that was fast!”

[Kalan]

I wasn't impressed with his speed or his smarts... Bowe would haul off and hit people if he felt like it... The man was mentally unhinged to say the least.

[DazDiCanio]

Mike Perez
Andy Ruiz

Not great champions but lightening fast hands.

[man]

... Ali's hands were relatively slow compared to guys like Gene Tunney and Larry Holmes... Also Louis, Lewis, and the Klitschko Bros had very fast hands.

ranking these by speed i would say

tunney
holmes
ali
louis
lewis
wlad k
vitali k

though it is slightly unfair cause
tunney is at least one weight class
below.

[Tony1244]

Matthew Ellis

I'm sure you meant that as a joke but it could be close to true. If a fighter doesn't have a chin, defense, or desire, the fast hands are virtually meaningless.

[Kalan]

The great Muhammad Ali had the fastest hands. No doubt in my mind. The great Mike Tyson had the most vicious fast hands ever seen in a heavyweight.

I don't think so because Doug Jones' hands looked faster than Ali's as he tagged Ali up.. And I've seen faster than that.. Light Heavyweight Champion Harold Johnson fought as a Heavyweight frequently. He boxed the piss out of Doug Jones when Jones was the #1 LHW contender for Johnson's title... Johnson also beat Ezzard Charles, Nino Valdes, Eddie Machen Bob Satterfield, Jimmy Slade, and other well known Heavyweights... His hands were really fast at his best.

[evrenb]

The great Muhammad Ali had the fastest hands. No doubt in my mind. The great Mike Tyson had the most vicious fast hands ever seen in a heavyweight.

I don't think so because Doug Jones' hands looked faster than Ali's as he tagged Ali up.. And I've seen faster than that.. Light Heavyweight Champion Harold Johnson fought as a Heavyweight frequently. He boxed the piss out of Doug Jones when Jones was the #1 LHW contender for Johnson's title... Johnson also beat Ezzard Charles, Nino Valdes, Eddie Machen Bob Satterfield, Jimmy Slade, and other well known Heavyweights... His hands were really fast at his best.

Ali's hands were the fastest along with Patterson and Tyson...I believe the late great Jim Jacobs even timed Ali at being the fastest. That was as of around 1971...

[dalcumly]

The young Tyson and Patterson certainly, but can I give a 'wee' mention to Marvis Frazier. He punched very fast, shame about his chin!!

[BoxBuzz]

Doug Jones did not have faster hands than Ali......Kalan...get thicker glasses. I'm not sayin' his hands were slow....and I'm not even denigrating his skills, he had a pretty good night when they fought........but I think their mutual handspeed is a rather measurable fact.

Patterson probably did have faster hands...at least it seems to me that he did....but as hard as this is going to be for Kalan to process, I'll give a nuance here. Kalan, take a note:

Floyd's handspeed in his prime is likely/possibly faster than Ali's, these guys both had blazing thoroughbred handspeed...so it's honestly debatable.

BUT AT THE TIME THEY FOUGHT IN THEIR RESPECTIVE PERSONAL TIMELINES>>>>THIS CAREER FACT MAY NOT APPLY. AT THAT TIME ONE ONE OF THEM HAD A CLEAR VIEWABLE SPEED ADVANTAGE. AND ON THOSE TWO NIGHTS IT DID NOT APPEAR TO BE FLOYD>

If ANYONE disagrees with my personal opinion on this, I will listen without prejudice.....I'm open, interested, and curious on this subject, and I appreciate different viewpoints.

By the way....just an anomaly here.....and it certainly is a fringe factor. Corrie Sanders had a rather quick sneaky way of delivering a devastating punch. Almost a one of a kind sneaky delivery, that he repeated quite often. I'm not sure I've seen another example of just what he was up to.

Does anyone have a "Corrie Equivalent" they can think of? His open style delivery was not lightening fast, but that one special of his sort of stands as an icon of "suprise punches".
Archie Moore did have something similar in his vast arsenal as well, but Corrie's was sort of a "Johnny One Note" "one hit wonder" boutique signature thing that sets him apart.

Ok Kalan, take me to task on my ignorance. I'm here to learn.

[Kalan]

The great Muhammad Ali had the fastest hands. No doubt in my mind. The great Mike Tyson had the most vicious fast hands ever seen in a heavyweight.

I don't think so because Doug Jones' hands looked faster than Ali's as he tagged Ali up.. And I've seen faster than that.. Light Heavyweight Champion Harold Johnson fought as a Heavyweight frequently. He boxed the piss out of Doug Jones when Jones was the #1 LHW contender for Johnson's title... Johnson also beat Ezzard Charles, Nino Valdes, Eddie Machen Bob Satterfield, Jimmy Slade, and other well known Heavyweights... His hands were really fast at his best.

Ali's hands were the fastest along with Patterson and Tyson...I believe the late great Jim Jacobs even timed Ali at being the fastest. That was as of around 1971...

They weren’t the fastest by a long shot. Douglas easily out-sped a prime Tyson. Quarry outpunched Patterson in exchanges and decked him 4 times. Doug Jones was faster than Ali. Ali couldn’t overpower and run over the much smaller light heavyweight the way Tyson did Michael Spinks for instance.

Jacobs has been dead for almost 30 years. He never timed 99.999% of the boxers with the fastest hands because they weren't on his radar. He measured Ali and Robinson in a poorly designed test off film that can’t possibly work. Boxers throw their punches at different speeds – like a pitcher may throw a 98 mph pitch followed by a 75 mph pitch. He’s using deception and speed – like tennis players serve at various speeds. And on a given day a pitcher might have his “best stuff” and hurl a no-hitter with 20 strikeouts – but get bombed off the mound on another day when his control and velocity aren’t peaking. No athlete hits his peak daily so measuring film is tenuous.

You'd have to set up a specific speed test where a laser light flashes and the boxer triggers his punch at a target. You’d measure the time and distance the punch travels from the signal. It would have to meet the minimum force requirement of an effective punch.

The problem with film is you’re measuring both speed and skill. A master boxer sets up his punches with footwork, draws, and feints, by using perception, intuition, and anticipation gleaned from studious observation through the course of the fight. Less important than how fast his hand moves is: Did the punch land? How effectively?

[SteveO]

Ali had the fastest hands - ask Brian London.

[evrenb]

Ali had the fastest hands - ask Brian London.

[elmersalsa]

The fastests hands of all time in the heavyweight division in my view:
Muhammad Ali
Mike Tyson
Ezzard Charles
Floyd Patterson
Jack Dempsey
Evander Holyfield
Buster Douglas
Jersey Joe Walcott
Gene Tunney
Larry Holmes

[Kalan]

How pathetic was Brian London??? He was stopped in 2 rounds by Jerry Quarry. By your logic Henry Cooper had faster hands because he knocked London out in the 1st round with a flurry. London won only 2 of his last 10 fights and he was in that stretch when he fought Ali.. You don't decide how fast somebody is by measuring him against a punching bag who can't defend himself.. If Ali was so fast how come he missed any punches against such a pathetic bag? London is the only male boxer I ever saw who twaddles around the ring like Szilvia Szabados - the punching bag who lost to Claressa Shields the other night.

Ali hit Karl Mildenberger with more punches, but missed a lot more... Mildenberger was a very small Heavyweight who was really clumsy and terrible -- and who was knocked ice cold in the 1st round by Dick Richardson.. He wasn't half as bad as London and went 12 rounds with Ali.. London decided to dive for the canvas and stay there after taking a few light hits in that 3rd round flurry.. Why not get out of the fight with very little punishment rather than stick around like the bigger and just as slow Chuvalo did for 15 rounds -- and get all beaten up??? It's the same money.

Was Anthony Joshua faster because he canned the 6'5" X 245, undefeated Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin in only 2 rounds? At least Martin got up after the 1st knockdown although he also bagged the fight like London did.. He was much stronger competition who was tagged more cleanly and effortlessly without Joshua spinning himself around when he missed and other nonsense you saw with Ali vs London.

[Kalan]

The fastests hands of all time in the heavyweight division in my view:
Muhammad Ali
Mike Tyson
Ezzard Charles
Floyd Patterson
Jack Dempsey
Evander Holyfield
Buster Douglas
Jersey Joe Walcott
Gene Tunney
Larry Holmes

You're picking names out of the air and putting your fav on top... How could Dempsey have faster hands than Tunney when he got out-punched 5/1?

Ali got out punched 15/1 by Holmes. You might switch those 2.

[BoxBuzz]

Kalan.....now this is going to take your full focus.....can you think of any reason why Larry was so much faster than Ali in their fight?

I want you to take your time....deep breath....put your thinking cap on, and give it your very very bestest consideration ever.

I'm betting you can figure this one out, without me or anyone else coming to your rescue.

[Kalan]

This is going to take far more focus and intelligence than you ever possessed BuzzBox.. But I'm going tell you this anyway in case you ever grow a brain.

Holmes was a much better natural athlete than Ali... Holmes had a much better stance that allowed him to slip punches with greater ease... and for that reason he lasted a lot longer than Ali -- and even though Larry grew a big fat pot belly in his 40's... and weighed far more than Ali ever did for any fight... he still boxed the bejabbers out of Ray Mercer at the age of 42... You see BuzzBox...when you know how to box you don't get tattooed by tyros like Leon Spinks... you tend to retain more of your speed, reflexes, and abilities a lot longer - by dint of those fewer head shots taken... and therefore you have a career in your 40's and 50's more closely resembling that of Larry Holmes rather than getting trashed like Muhammad Ali

I'm hoping that you get some enlightenment out of that.

[davie]

How pathetic was Brian London??? He was stopped in 2 rounds by Jerry Quarry. By your logic Henry Cooper had faster hands because he knocked London out in the 1st round with a flurry. London won only 2 of his last 10 fights and he was in that stretch when he fought Ali.. You don't decide how fast somebody is by measuring him against a punching bag who can't defend himself.. If Ali was so fast how come he missed any punches against such a pathetic bag? London is the only male boxer I ever saw who twaddles around the ring like Szilvia Szabados - the punching bag who lost to Claressa Shields the other night.

Ali hit Karl Mildenberger with more punches, but missed a lot more... Mildenberger was a very small Heavyweight who was really clumsy and terrible -- and who was knocked ice cold in the 1st round by Dick Richardson.. He wasn't half as bad as London and went 12 rounds with Ali.. London decided to dive for the canvas and stay there after taking a few light hits in that 3rd round flurry.. Why not get out of the fight with very little punishment rather than stick around like the bigger and just as slow Chuvalo did for 15 rounds -- and get all beaten up??? It's the same money.

Was Anthony Joshua faster because he canned the 6'5" X 245, undefeated Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin in only 2 rounds? At least Martin got up after the 1st knockdown although he also bagged the fight like London did.. He was much stronger competition who was tagged more cleanly and effortlessly without Joshua spinning himself around when he missed and other nonsense you saw with Ali vs London.

Even by your standards this post is dreadful.

"by your logic Cooper had faster hands...."
His logic? He didn't say Ali had fast hands because he knocked London out or what round he did it in.
You have decided "his logic" for yourself. His logic was probably watching the fight and not surprisingly seeing how fast his hands moved
Watch the fight. Ali flicks out quick jabs, fires of fast right hands, the knockout finish is an absolute blur of a combination, I just watched it and genuinely couldn't tell you what he threw or how many..... Why? his hands were moving really fvcking fast. Tada, there's your fvcking logic

"how come he missed any punches against such a pathetic bag?"
Because landing punches is not just about speed, if it were Amir Khan would be the most accurate fighter in the world.
It takes timing, accuracy, choosing the right shot, feints to get your man in the position you want to throw the punch at. Come on man, you've trained hundreds of fighters, you should know this sh1t. Slow fighters land punches if they do it right. Fast fighter miss if they're shite.

the rest of the post basically equates levels of competition and nature of victories (which are decided on many many physical and technical attributes) to hand speed as if the argument actually makes any sense. It's utter pish, below even your usually dismal level

[davie]

How could Dempsey have faster hands than Tunney when he got out-punched 5/1?

Tunney perhaps out-boxed and out thought Dempsey, he was perhaps more accurate, timed his shots better, picked the time to throw his shots better, got himself in better positions to throw his shots, drew leads from Dempsey and countered them, he maybe did any number of things to out land Dempsey 5/1 that were not necessarily down to moving his hands quicker.
He perhaps also out landed Dempsey because Dempsey could not land many on him, not because Dempsey was slow, but because Tunney maybe moved better, blocked better and because Dempsey was a crude slugger fast or not