BoxRec

Hey, this thread is dedicated to the hardest hitters... Any and all opinions will be accpeted.

We are looking for the top 5 hardest hitter of the heavyweight division EVER.....Here is a list of the few candidates:

James J. Braddock, Sam Langford, Jim J. Jeffries, Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Max Schmeling, Max Baer, Rex Layne, Carmine Vingo, Roland LaStarza, Lee Savold, Freddy Beshore, Rocky Marciano, Joey Maxim, Jimmy Bivins, Elmer Ray, Archie Moore, Jerry Quarry, Sonny Liston, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Pinklon Thomas, Ernie Shavers Oscar Bonavena, Henry Cooper, George Chuvalo, Chuck Wepner, Ron Lyle, Jimmy Ellis, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Evander Holyfield.....

If you feel like adding some more, please do, BUT we are looking for the TOP 5 HARDEST HITTERS!

My top 5 would be:

1. Rocky Marciano
2. George Foreman
3. Jack Dempsey
4. Joe Frazier
5. Jack Johnson

1) Earnie Shavers
2) George Foreman
3) Jack Dempsey
4) Mike Tyson
5) Rocky Marciano

1. Sonny Liston

Great question. My list would be:

5: Max Baer
4: Sonny Liston
3: Rocky Marciano
2: Earnie Shavers
1: George Foreman

1. David Tua
2. Earnie Shavers
3. George Foreman
4. Joe Louis
5. James J. Jeffries

The Raging Bull wrote:Great question. My list would be:

5: Max Baer
4: Sonny Liston
3: Rocky Marciano
2: Earnie Shavers
1: George Foreman

Good list. Tua should be somewhere in there, also Lyle.

But then, sheer power is the most overrated quality in boxing. Without timing, speed and precision it's not worth very much.

elmersalsa wrote:My top 5 heavy hitters of the heavyweights:

1. George Foreman: probably also the strongest heavyweight that I have seen. He could really whack, too

2. Mike Tyson: A beast and a blast from the past.

3. Joe Louis: the greatest KO puncher of all time

4. Jack Dempsey: by looking at his record, he has 24 KOs in the first round and scored 49 KOs in 66 wins.

5. Earnie Shavers: He could really hit. He also has like 23 KOs in the first round. He made the greats Larry Holmes, Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton see strars.

Shavers hit far harder than your # 1-4. And was a much poorer and far less succesful fighter than any of them.

..hey guys..the thread is a put on for gawd's sake.....joey maxim? etcetc etc.....

..freddie beshore.....!.....lee savold...!......roland lastarza...! well. let me add maxie rosenbloom....he campaigned as a heavy for a while....

I'd say more modern heavyweights have an advantage in this category due to improving health and thus larger size but...

1. George Foreman: Absolutely crushed most competition purely with power, most notably Frazier.
2. Mike Tyson: Looked like he could easily KO or even kill many quality fighters in a couple rounds.
3. David Tua: Similar to Tyson, a compact machine of power who could throw his whole body into punches and destroy his opposition. See: vs. David Tua
4. Joe Frazier: Total hook master and became the first to defeat and knock down a prime Ali with his vicious shots.
5. Rocky Marciano: KO'd several future legends as well as most of the rest of his opposition ending with a KO percentage of close to 90%.

Syntax Error wrote:1) Earnie Shavers
2) George Foreman
3) Jack Dempsey
4) Mike Tyson
5) Rocky Marciano

Good list. All of these guys possessed timing and could land that power punch right where they were aiming.

1.earnie shavers(no need to explain)
2.george foreman(i was ringside at a comeback fight his punches sounded
like a mac truck swooshing by.)
3.mike tyson(i can't stand the guy but explosive best describes it)
4.rocky marciano(bone crushing power)
5.jack johnson(a big man in a small era but a bigger punch)

1. Marciano (Mastered the powerful punch)
2. Dempsey (Brutal)
3. Foreman (Big, Heavy Blows)
4. Liston (Didn't hit as hard as above but more than below)
5. Tyson (Hit hard but lacked stamina)

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:1. Marciano (Mastered the powerful punch)
2. Dempsey (Brutal)
3. Foreman (Big, Heavy Blows)
4. Liston (Didn't hit as hard as above but more than below)
5. Tyson (Hit hard but lacked stamina)

Thats kind of how a list works.

J-C wrote:

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:1. Marciano (Mastered the powerful punch)
2. Dempsey (Brutal)
3. Foreman (Big, Heavy Blows)
4. Liston (Didn't hit as hard as above but more than below)
5. Tyson (Hit hard but lacked stamina)

Thats kind of how a list works.

Well you can't be that sure you haven't given one, sarcastic t*t...

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:

J-C wrote:

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:1. Marciano (Mastered the powerful punch)
2. Dempsey (Brutal)
3. Foreman (Big, Heavy Blows)
4. Liston (Didn't hit as hard as above but more than below)
5. Tyson (Hit hard but lacked stamina)

Thats kind of how a list works.

Well you can't be that sure you haven't given one, sarcastic t*t...

Jeeze lighten up

J-C wrote:

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:

J-C wrote: Thats kind of how a list works.

Well you can't be that sure you haven't given one, sarcastic t*t...

Jeeze lighten up

Ok, lets see your list then???

1. Shavers - Ali and Holmes both said he was the hardest puncher they fought which considering between them they fought, Foreman, Liston Frazer, Cooney, Tyson etc has to carry a lot of weight.
2. Louis
3. Foreman
4. Liston
5. Marciano

I'd probably have Dempsey next.

Although Tyson was a great puncher I think his pure power gets over rated, when he was fighting decent opposition it was usually his handspeed and accuracy that got hm the KO.

There are probably many less successful fighters I haven't seen enough of to ranks such as Elmer Ray, Bob Satterfield and Peter Mahr who may be worth a spot in the top 5.

..and let's not forget chuck wepner and jimmy ellis....and farther back in history jim corbett.....

J-C wrote:2. Louis

You rate Louis awfully high, he was an exceptional boxer and clinical in delivery of a punch and quite often a KO but that heavy of hitter...

'Rocket'Rigby wrote:

J-C wrote:2. Louis

You rate Louis awfully high, he was an exceptional boxer and clinical in delivery of a punch and quite often a KO but that heavy of hitter...

Louis was a stright up dynamite puncher. Just watch his fight with Baer, Max had never been knocked down once, but right from when the first jab lands you can see he doesn't fancy it anymore. After fighting Louis Primo Carnera sat in the locker room sobbing and repeating "how hard he hits, how hard he hits"

Obviously without getting in the ring with all these guys you can't say for sure, but you can find plenty of sources testifying to his chilling power. Ring magazine put him at number 1 in the 100 greatest punchers list

As Louis' sparring partner Seal Harris said "When he hits you, you think you been shot, and if he hits you right, you think you are dead.”

Raw power?

1. Shavers
2. Foreman
3. Ruddock
4. Cooney
5. Tyson

RazorKO wrote:Raw power?

1. Shavers
2. Foreman
3. Ruddock
4. Cooney
5. Tyson

Tua at #2. Max Baer at #3. Rest agreed.