BoxRec

Controversial wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:Anyone who ever fought Earnie Shavers said he hit them hardest, but who does Earnie Shavers say hit him the hardest?

I've never heard him speak on this.

I believe he said Ron Lyle did.

Thanks for that; that makes sense as Lyle was a killer.

I'm surprised George Foreman doesn't cite Lyle as the hardest hitter he faced, considering Lyle virtually KOd him at one point.

George reckons Gerry Cooney was the hardest puncher he faced.

Syntax Error wrote:

Controversial wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:Anyone who ever fought Earnie Shavers said he hit them hardest, but who does Earnie Shavers say hit him the hardest?

I've never heard him speak on this.

I believe he said Ron Lyle did.

Thanks for that; that makes sense as Lyle was a killer.

I'm surprised George Foreman doesn't cite Lyle as the hardest hitter he faced, considering Lyle virtually KOd him at one point.

George reckons Gerry Cooney was the hardest puncher he faced.

In his autobiography Foreman cited Lyle, and I have heard him say the same in interviews. That being said in both in the book and in interviews he has always noted Cooney as the other guy who really hurt him.

Syntax Error wrote:

Controversial wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:Anyone who ever fought Earnie Shavers said he hit them hardest, but who does Earnie Shavers say hit him the hardest?

I've never heard him speak on this.

I believe he said Ron Lyle did.

Thanks for that; that makes sense as Lyle was a killer.

I'm surprised George Foreman doesn't cite Lyle as the hardest hitter he faced, considering Lyle virtually KOd him at one point.

George reckons Gerry Cooney was the hardest puncher he faced.

What's surprising? This is the case with almost every fighter in these "best I've faced/hardest I've been hit" interviews. They almost always cite the top guys as the ones they beat or at least looked good against. If they get smacked around the ring, they're more likely to make an excuse rather than give the opponent their props. It's an ego thing. Jimmy Young's interview a while back was one of the notable exceptions. Class act.

Tuan_Jim wrote:

SaadOffTheDeck wrote:The coolest part about that piece was Tim naming Larry as the best overall at the end. He really thought highly of Tubbs. that was such a crappy fight, reading Tim it's odd to look outside the box and think about Tony's skills making it crappy.

Tubbs was a brilliant boxer, Saad! You hate him so much!

I don't hate him at all. He's just one of those guys, like cooney, that are perpetually overrated in these type forums.

King Carlos wrote:

Syntax Error wrote:

Controversial wrote:
I believe he said Ron Lyle did.

Thanks for that; that makes sense as Lyle was a killer.

I'm surprised George Foreman doesn't cite Lyle as the hardest hitter he faced, considering Lyle virtually KOd him at one point.

George reckons Gerry Cooney was the hardest puncher he faced.

What's surprising? This is the case with almost every fighter in these "best I've faced/hardest I've been hit" interviews. They almost always cite the top guys as the ones they beat or at least looked good against. If they get smacked around the ring, they're more likely to make an excuse rather than give the opponent their props. It's an ego thing. Jimmy Young's interview a while back was one of the notable exceptions. Class act.

Jesse Ferguson's another one who was very honest.

I remember one time in early 1970's.
On the Mike Douglas TV talk show.
He had on as guests Joe Louis,Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Mike Douglas asked them who hit them the hardest.
They all looked at one another for a second and then said in unison
"Rocky Marciano !".

The great Johnny Dundee, who fought all sorts of quality fighters, said that George K.O. Chaney socked him the hardest. Chaney punched him in his chest bone and Dundee thought it may have collapsed. Johnny compared it to a steel chisel hitting him. He also stated that he felt it for two weeks after the fight.

I think Ray Mancini (or Greg Haugen) said that Hector Camacho's punches really stung

Was hoping to find this online but no luck. Did see a doc about jjw and louis though and jjw said rocky hit harder with one punch but louis more fluid and a better finisher with combos. not the shock of the age i know but still :)

True whats been said here all fighters seem to give the hardest punch to guy who they survived and came back and won. Kinda makes them out to be better and braver etc. I think of one thing theres no doubt - the two hardest heavy punchers were shavers and foreman. Lyle gets a lot of mentions as does liston but those two look like the biggest bangers ever!

Caractacus wrote:I remember one time in early 1970's.
On the Mike Douglas TV talk show.
He had on as guests Joe Louis,Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Mike Douglas asked them who hit them the hardest.
They all looked at one another for a second and then said in unison
"Rocky Marciano !".

Jack Dempsey was asked who had hit him with the hardest punch in his ring career and he said Jess Willard
hit him with a right uppercut in the second round when he was trying to finish him off
that he was almost out on his feet. "I saw a Million lights and then everything went dark""

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?n ... 7148&hl=en

check this clip out about whom Muhammad Ali had said (in 1975)who had hit him with the hardest that he had ever been hit in the ring.
(It may surprise you)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8y_5eBZ4Yw

Two-time Canadian champ Ken Lakusta sparred with Cooney and Tyson, and fought Holmes and Foreman for real. When I asked who hit the hardest, he said Cooney,Tyson and Holmes were similar in that their punches were fast, sharp and accurate, but Foreman's best shots "make your whole body shake because he can hurt you every time he hits you, no matter where it lands."

Great subject.... Only problem in judging it from a fighters perspective? You don't remember much about getting put down by fast shots. It is the clubbing shot that doesn't put you out you remember. I can say the hardest I was hit in the amateurs was by a short stocky Mexican kid who I outpointed by a mile. He jacked me jaw though in the third and it hurt for two weeks. Got knocked down by a sharp fast right hand.... I remember wondering why was I was on my knees? Didn't "hurt"'at all. Got up and was in a fog for about a minute. Muscle memory takes you through those moments. Tyson hit folks really sharp and they went out. Not really painful. Painful is a broken nose, broken rib, jacked jaw, scratched eyeball (that hurts so bad for weeks), etc. Thudding punchers like Foreman, Shavers and Lyle must hurt you a lot before putting you out.

Joe Louis had said in 1944 that the hardest single punch that he had ever absorbed,
was a right hand
that landed on his chin from Al Delaney (aka Alex Borchuk)
the punch nearly cracked his jaw and had broken a molar,causing Louis excruitiating pain.
Joe Louis admitted in his 1977 autobiography that no one knew how close he came to losing that fight.

Here's a video of Foreman talking about the biggest punchers he's faced - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmG_gR576EA

Joe Louis also said in the 1944 interview that
James J.Braddock was the hardest hitter he had faced
and Max Baer was his toughest opponent.

I think I remember reading that Benny Leonard said that Charlie White hit him the hardest in his career, Charlie's left hook was a famous punch at the time.

Jack Dempsey had always previously claimed however that the hardest punch that he was ever hit with
was a right hand flush on the jaw from Gunboat Smith in their first fight in Mission Baseball Park in San Francisco.
Dempsey was out on his feet from it in the second round before the bell rang and still out when he was in his corner
and didnt even remember finishing the four round fight afterwards.
It was then that his manager Jack Kearns knew that he was going to be the next heavyweight champion of the world.

Two-time Canadian champ Ken Lakusta sparred with Cooney and Tyson, and fought Holmes and Foreman for real. When I asked who hit the hardest, he said Cooney,Tyson and Holmes were similar in that their punches were fast, sharp and accurate, but Foreman's best shots "make your whole body shake because he can hurt you every time he hits you, no matter where it lands."

Considering that Ken got hit hard and often by some of the very best; I'd certainly rate his opinion
He went right for Bruno when he was well past his best - very game - and took some monster shots that night as well.

Those tough 'come at you' heavyweight brawlers - who came for a fight and were above journeyman/opponent status - are the blokes I listen to when it comes to evaluating the punchers in the top division.

Lakusta and Scott Le Doux must have known real power when they faced it....and more recently Mike Sprott must be something of an expert.

Danny Williams could tell a few stories as well, he's faced some big hitters.

Eusebio Pedroza: "Orlando Omares hit me the hardest. He was the only fighter that actually had me seeing the ring upside down!"

Cornelius Boza Edwards: "John 'The Heat' Verderosa hit me with a right hand in the first round that felt like bricks. I always wanted to know what he had in those gloves."

James "Buddy" McGirt: "Vincent Relaford out of Texas. He was a tough man. He hit me in the stomach and I felt it in my nose [laughs]. I felt it in my nasal passage. I mean it. Like someone stuck a shank in me."

Bobby Czyz: "I never fought him but I trained with him – the hardest puncher I ever faced was in the gym – Ray Mercer. He hit me harder with 18 oz. gloves than Holyfield did with 8 oz. gloves. He hit me so hard I thought a piece of cement fell out of the ceiling and hit me in the head. That’s how hard he hit."

What was the hardest punch you ever received?

Michael Olajide: The hardest I’ve ever been hit. So hard to say. I have never been down for the count. I have always gotten up. So I can’t judge by that. When you get hit hard in the head, there isn’t pain involved either, so you can’t judge that way. But I have felt Hearns right hand against my arms and lemme say, he can crack. Merqui Sosa, was really powerful too. A guy named Dangerous Don Lee who I fought, also was an amazingly hard puncher, and he didn’t appear to even try. He was just heavy handed. Iran Barkley was also heavy handed.