BoxRec

What about some fighters who were strong but couldn't really punch or the opposite.

EX: strong fighters without a punch.

Jake Lamotta
Evander Holyfield

EX: punchers who weren't very strong

Tommy Hearns

EX: strong fighters without a punch.

Jake Lamotta
Evander Holyfield

Lamotta is probably the best example you will find. However I dont agree with Holyfield not having a punch. He may not have had one punch power like Shavers or Tyson,but his punch definitly had kick. Jack Sharkey is a better example of a strong heavyweight without a punch.

EX: punchers who weren't very strong

Tommy Hearns

Good one. Roy Jones is another good example.

I would say Harry Greb would be the best example. Had he had a really solid punch he would have been virtually unbeatable, which he nearly was with the heavy punch. A couple of others that immediately jump out are Tommy Loughran and Maxie Rosenbloom...they both beat great competition without having a good heavy punch. There have been a bunch...guys like Freddie Welsh, Willie Pep, Miguel Canto, Pernell Whitaker and many others were some of the best yet they would be doing very good to score any solid knockouts! Actually Pep did have a pretty solid punch, but KO percents go way down when a fighter faces very good competition.

Yes I agree Holyfield had a real damaging punch. As a Heavy it wasn't in Foreman's league or even Tyson's, but P4P he really could bang....

Irish Middle Steve Collins was a very very strong man but he wasn't a great puncher.

I would say Harry Greb would be the best example. Had he had a really solid punch he would have been virtually unbeatable, which he nearly was with the heavy punch. A couple of others that immediately jump out are Tommy Loughran and Maxie Rosenbloom...they both beat great competition without having a good heavy punch. There have been a bunch...guys like Freddie Welsh, Willie Pep, Miguel Canto, Pernell Whitaker and many others were some of the best yet they would be doing very good to score any solid knockouts!

You made me change my pick for number one barry. I forgot about Greb. But for the others you mentioned i think you may have missed the point. Besides Greb, none of those guys you mentioned were particular thought of as physically strong.

>>>But for the others you mentioned i think you may have missed the point. Besides Greb, none of those guys you mentioned were particular thought of as physically strong.<<<

That's true...I didn't read the question correctly.

These two come to mind ; Danny Lil Red Lopez, not real strong, but legitimate one punch k.o. power, and Vito Antufermo, he was real strong on the inside,but not a huge puncher.

I think it was just that Lopez didn't look to be strong...he was a really physical fighter and like you said...one-punch KO power...certainly one of the most exciting fighters to ever step in the ring.

I just love to watch and also read about guys like Lopez, Gatti, Rocky Graziano, Eric Boon, Terry McGovern, Stanley Ketchel, Bob Satterfield, Tommy Morrison, Ricardo Moreno, George Chaney and others of that style...someone was getting knocked out when they fought, whether it was the opponent, or themselves the fight was not going the distance.

expug wrote:Vito Antufermo, he was real strong on the inside,but not a huge puncher.

Good choice

I think you could put Fullmer and Dick Tiger in this catagory. They were built like bulls and overwhelmed alot of good fighters with their sheer physicality. But they both usually needed to land a hell of alot of punches to finish off most of the opponents they ko'd.

Tex Cobb maybe?

WBO Featherweight Champion Scott Harrison is a real strong, dreadnought type of a fighter but not a big puncher.

Not a famous one but Mike Williams, a heavyweight from the 80s-90s who looked like a bodybuilder. About 6ft 4 and packed with muscle but he had a very average KO percentage.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=001284

In fact Williams was rated "Prospect of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1987

What about Hagler I hear many people say he wasn't very strong.

Controversial wrote:Not a famous one but Mike Williams, a heavyweight from the 80s-90s who looked like a bodybuilder. About 6ft 4 and packed with muscle but he had a very average KO percentage.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=001284

In fact Williams was rated "Prospect of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1987

didnt he play union cane in rocky V?

Mark Breland hit very hard for a guy who wasn't physically all that strong.

Ezzard wrote:Irish Middle Steve Collins was a very very strong man but he wasn't a great puncher.

Man, Collins was a crap puncher. Looked like a one-month novice at times. Real tough guy though.

Grimm wrote:What about Hagler I hear many people say he wasn't very strong.

Who said that? Hagler was strong alright. Some people misperceive things. Hagler opted to box against Antuofermo, Hamsho and Briscoe, because that was the best thing to do, and he had those skills at his disposal. Although some people will take a look at Hagler fighting on the back foot and come to the conclusion that he couldn't hang with those guys, but he could. He just wanted to win in the most efficient manner. When faced with a taller opponent, Hagler would become the bull and use his other set of skills.

Chuvalo. A pretty decent banger but never a one punch KO guy. But he was bull strong.

Hopkins would also fit this category. Very strong guy but never a huge puncher.

What about Ali. For strong fighters who weren't really punchers.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:

Controversial wrote:Not a famous one but Mike Williams, a heavyweight from the 80s-90s who looked like a bodybuilder. About 6ft 4 and packed with muscle but he had a very average KO percentage.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=001284

In fact Williams was rated "Prospect of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1987

didnt he play union cane in rocky V?

Yes he did. He was supposed to fight Rocky V nemesis Tommy Morrison in a real fight in the 90s, but he pulled out at the last minute for some reason. Probably because he realized Morrison would have destroyed him.

evndrbsn wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:

Controversial wrote:Not a famous one but Mike Williams, a heavyweight from the 80s-90s who looked like a bodybuilder. About 6ft 4 and packed with muscle but he had a very average KO percentage.

http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=001284

In fact Williams was rated "Prospect of the Year" by Ring Magazine in 1987

didnt he play union cane in rocky V?

Yes he did. He was supposed to fight Rocky V nemesis Tommy Morrison in a real fight in the 90s, but he pulled out at the last minute for some reason. Probably because he realized Morrison would have destroyed him.

And Tim Tomashek was literally pulled out of the bar to be his replacement.

Decagon wrote:Well, punching power comes from technique, not strength, so it's not surprising that fighters would have one and not the other. Fighters like Ali and Greb were very strong and were two of the best fighters ever, but the reason they didn't have one-punch knockout power was that they used different techniques; both focused on footwork, but in a different way. Greb was more interested in putting forth a volume of punches rather than one big punch.

And how about Henry Armstrong? He had over 100 knockouts, but he wasn't the type to take anyone out with one punch.

Armstrong was the strongest fighter I've seen, but he also packed a punch. You're right, he wasn't a one-punch knockout artist, but he could bang with the best of them. He had a complete arsenal of punches, and they all hurt.

Billy Bird is probably the lightest hitting fighter ever to score over 100 knockouts, not that he didn't have a good punch...though there have not been but a very few to score 100 knockouts...What helped Bird is having fought well over 300 times.

How could I forget Winky Wright?

Incredible strength but couldn't take Trinidad out with 1000 clean punches.