I can see an argument that HW's, in general, might harder now, based purely on the size of many of them. But as a general rule, I cannot see that at all. MTF
Well, Im going on a couple of theories really: decade-by-decade progression and drugs. Liston hit harder than Louis, Foreman hit harder than Liston, Tyson hit harder than Foreman, Lewis hit harder than Tyson....this is just the heavyweights. Add the clear and obvious use of PEDs and HGH, and more advanced athleticism, better conditioning and I think, generally, boxers are harder punching than they ever were....overall.
I don't see it, to be honest. Show me a light-middle in the last ten years who hit as hard as Julian Jackson. Show me a middleweight in the last ten years who hit as hard as Nigel Benn or Gerald McClellan etc etc. At HW you'd expect harder hitters due to the sheer weight of the fuckers. At every other weight we have had very few true punchers in recent years. Manny was lethal at the lower weights but has there been a harder hitter than Hamed since his days? And the list goes on... MTF
Are we saying that this window of 1990-2000 is unique? No-one before or since that time has a higher % of bigger punching boxers? I just think guys are better conditioned these days and also, because of the huge amounts of money involved - drugs. (Im not trolling, I just think drugs is the answer in sports generally, to one ´being better´) Remember, I said ´generally´: just because you had a few freaks (McClellan, Jackson, Hamed, Trinidad, etc), doesnt mean to imply that era was special....
Lol. It hasn't been proven that any of those guys hit harder than any of the others. No way of knowing exactly since all of them were capable of one punch knockouts.
So who's to decide if Earnie Shavers hits harder than say Wladimir Klitschko? Naaeem Hamed harder than Danny Lopez? Or Razor Ruddock over David Haye? Gennady Golovkin harder puncher than Sugar Ray Robinson... If Golovkin went back in timé, fought and landed flush on someone like Tony Zale...he might think "this guy hits like a light-heavy"
AJ’s loss to Ruiz only makes the mere thought of a Frazier-AJ match up to be laughable. If Ruiz can land counter left hooks inside on AJ...
I think Wlad had genuine KO power in his left hook. He's got at least 3 out-cold wins with that punch, and it was his left hook that got him out of the 5th vs Joshua. He hit as hard with his left as Lewis did with his right, but obviously the left hook is harder to get off.
So much QUALITAY in this thread. It seems that Joshua threads are where old, retired, suspect fighters come to get their reputations rehabilitated.
WHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?????????????????????????????? Irish... Wlad didn't hit as hard as Lewis period. Not with ANY punch. Lewis was a bigger puncher than both Klits.
Not taking sides here, but it says something when the heavyweight champ with the longest combined championship reign in history has a highlight reel that is two minutes long.
Irish adulation of Wlad making him say nonsense (it wasn't nearly as hard as lemon right hand), but it's true that he had a great left hook
Do you have some device for measuring the Knocked-Outedness of guys? "Guys were more knocked outed when Lewis landed the right". Lewis landed his right hand plenty times on guys who just wouldn't go out. It's splitting hairs. Look, how do you lift a 220lb dude off his feet with a 3 inch left hook if it's not a killer shot?