Explosive power vs Heavy Handedness

Not always the same thing in boxing but sometimes there is overlap.

This topic is subjective but here's my take. IMO, a heavy handed fighter is a guy that hurts you with every punch, even jars the opponent with jabs, but he's not necessarily an explosive one punch artist.

Examples of Heavy handed fighters that IMO are not one punch explosive fighters are:

Miguel Cotto
GGG
Sergey Kovalev
George Foreman
Riddick Bowe
Vitali Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko
Roberto Duran

Examples of Explosive punchers that are not necessarily heavy handed are

Thomas Hearns
Alexis Arguello
Lennox Lewis
Bob Foster
Roy Jones

Examples of fighters that are BOTH heavy handed and Explosive are

Naseem Hamed
Julian Jackson
Mike Tyson
Joe Louis


Thoughts? Other examples?

 

I get your idea and this is an interesting topic for sure.

I would rank Kovalev to the last category. He has incredibly hard hands but he does also blast his opponents out with single shots. Maybe Foreman too

From the second group, Foster might also belong to the third. He was a lanky guy but all of his shots dd hurt.

From the last choices I am not sure. Tyson does belong in there and maybe Louis, but I think Hamed and Jackson loaded up with nearly all of their shots, they didn't have the same kind of effortless power as Foreman or GGG

 

You touched on a good point: "effortless power". Heavy handed guys seem to just produce power without loading up. Still...Hamed and Jackson though didn't throw punches any other way but to load up and so every punch they threw hurt...and Hamed showed against Kelly that he can hurt a man without necessarily putting too much muster on it.

 

Lightweight Duran was both explosive and heavy handed. He had heavy hands AND he had very quick hands. The combination of the two made him explosive. I think it's a misconception to just think of lightweight Duran as some grinder. At 135 he could end a fight with one or two good shots.

 

I reserve the term "explosive puncher" for a guy that was a one punch lights out specialist...even at lightweight Duran wasn't that. All fighters can one-punch a guy at one time or another...Nunn did it to Kalambay, for example, but I'm talking about consistently having that type of one punch power threat. I don't see Duran as being that type of puncher...he was the very definition of heavy handed (hands of stone).

 

There's degrees of punchers.

Was Duran a Tyson, Foster, Jackson level puncher? No. VERY VERY few are.

However, I think it's a misconception that many view him as this Chavez-like grinder who relied on attrition of wear guys down. That was OFTEN the case, but he also was capable of turnning a guys lights out. Especially if we're talking about his right hand, which was his money punch.

And I agree with Ugo that Kov is both. Kov has extremely heavy hands, but is also capable of fucking a guy up with one good shot.

 

Xplosive I think you and I agree on Duran based upon what you just said. I agree that Duran hits harder than Chavez...but as you said, you cannot put him in the category with a Tyson or Jackson or Foster and that's why he's really just in the first group.

 

Disagree with Naseem Hamed.
He didn't have the 'every-punch-hurt' heavy-handedness that someone like Julio Cesar Chavez had....and his jab was pretty non-existent as were a lot of his boxing skills.
He has explosiveness which came from a variety of angles...and especially timing: prime example of this being his 1st knockdown of Kevin Kelly.

 

I can except the arguments regarding Hamed. Y'all make good points there. good discussion.

 

You're entirely wrong on Hamed. I hated the little piece of shit, I really did. But I've never seen featherweights react the way they did when Hamed laid hands on them. Guys were getting carried out on stretchers from NON-solid blows. Timing and speed ALONE ain't doing that. Hamed was pretty OBVIOUSLY both.

His punches even SOUNDED different when they landed than any other featherweight. He most certainly had heavy hands.

 

I agree with you...and I think it's especially apparent against Kevin Kelly...but I can see why people choose to see that he was all explosiveness.

 

I think Edwin Rosario is a perfect example of a guy who was both.

Rosario had fast hands which gave him the explosiveness. Yet at the same time, when he hit guys it sounded like a middleweight connecting on lightweights.

 

Against shit opposition, sure.
Whenever he stepped-up, and the guy didn't budge, it was "I broke my hand in the 2nd"

McCullough said Erik Morales hit harder and Kevin Kelley said Goya Vargas hit harder....so, I'll go with their opinions to back my own. :shadow:

 

Like who?

Sanchez was a free-hit, 4-punch combo.
Bungu was a super-bantamweight
Ingle was a short, punch right through the middle - bit lik Kelly: timing.
Vasquez was an old man

Everyone else was a tomato-can.

 

I think Ray Mancini is a good example of a guy who had heavy, hurtful hands, but wasn't really an explosive puncher.

 

As Sly said - Sergei Kovalev: very heavy-hands.
You wouldn't want to lose a unanimous 12 rounds with him.

 

If Arguello isn't heavy handed, I don't know who is

anyway, Chavez was an extremely hurtful puncher without big time KO power... Heavy hands, he inflicted pain

 

arguello definitely explosive and heavy handed.

trinidad explosove and heavy handed (pre-hopkins).

castillo heavy handed but not explosive

corrales explosive but not heavy handed

 

I think DLH is a good example of explosive, but not heavy handed.

 

Good examples...I agree for the most part and I can accept what you're saying about Arguello.

 

Yup...Zab Judah too, arguably.

 

Donovan Ruddock was explosive but not heavy handed whereas Frank Bruno was Heavy handed but not explosive.

 

how about this: heavy handed and explosive but without exceptional or even good hand-speed?

 

I'd say Kelly Pavlik was heavy handed without being explosive whereas Nigel Benn was all TNT and no blunt force trauma

 

Ruddock is explosive without exceptional handspeed and Duran was heavy handed without being slow. There is, however, somewhat of a correlation between hand speed and whether or not you're heavy handed vs Explosive...but it's not a hard rule.

 

Hagler was all blunt force trauma....but he lacked Armour piercing bullets.

 

i thing all else equal, i prefer heavy handed. i think it is more lethal. although explosive results in more one punch kos.

in terms of preserving my long term mental faculties, i would rather be in with explosive than heavy. heavy i could get battered all night without being knocked out.

 

I think Arguello and Foreman are good examples of this.

 

Hagler was a very SHARP puncher, that's why he scored stoppages. He didn't have devastating power. And I don't even think he had especially heavy hands. He was just extremely sharp, and accurate.... that combined with the fact that he had GOOD pop accounted for his KO's.