Mike Tyson was the hardest puncher ever?

[Alan McDougall]

Hey I am new but a boxing fan of many years

For the past few years I have concentrated on the heavy weights , over time

By carefully watching videos and TV of great heavy weight fights over the the last century and even into this century of 2009 I am convinced at his best Mike Tyson was both the hardest puncher in heavy weight boxing history. And potentially the greatest of all time, until sadly his money grabbing wife mother in-law and Don King came in and messed up his boxing life

He punched much like the great Joe Louis, short hard and accurate, but with much more power

What people don't remember is he was bigger and stronger than the likes of Sonny Liston, as big as George Foreman in fact, but 100% dynamic muscle

He was the most magnificent physical specimen ever to embrace the boxing arena and it still greatly saddens me that he was never allowed to fulfil his true awesome boxing potential


George Foreman , a really nice guy, also was a very hard puncher maybe the next hardest after Tyson at his very best

Tyson might have had problems with the very tall Foreman and his powerful clubbing punches. Foreman liked fighting shorter opponents and this might have been a factor if both had met at the very best

Alan of South Africa

[El Kabong]

No Mike Tyson wasn't the hardest puncher ever, he might not even make it into the top 10 heavyweights P4P.

Bigger than Foreman?!?!?! George was 6'4 220 in his prime and even bigger when he won the title his second go round.

Tyson's strength was his speed and combination punching...he could hit hard but not like Foreman, nowhere close

[JazMerkin]

This thread has basically come up in plenty of different guises before. The general accepted wisdom is that at the very least George Foreman & Earnie Shavers hit harder. What Tyson had was great speed at close range, which enabled him to be a truly vicious puncher. However, I would no way ever believe he is the hardest ever, the two I mentioned definitely hit harder.

[ElTerribleMorales]

No Mike Tyson wasn't the hardest puncher ever, he might not even make it into the top 10 heavyweights P4P.

Bigger than Foreman?!?!?! George was 6'4 220 in his prime and even bigger when he won the title his second go round.

Tyson's strength was his speed and combination punching...he could hit hard but not like Foreman, nowhere close

he's in my top 10, just he's not #1

1.Foreman
2.Shavers
3.Louis
4.Frazier
5.Liston
6.Norton
7.Marciano
8.Patterson
9.Tyson
10.Tua

really not in any specific order though, just besides #1 Foreman and 9,10 are about right 2-8 can be moved around

[JazMerkin]

No Mike Tyson wasn't the hardest puncher ever, he might not even make it into the top 10 heavyweights P4P.

Bigger than Foreman?!?!?! George was 6'4 220 in his prime and even bigger when he won the title his second go round.

Tyson's strength was his speed and combination punching...he could hit hard but not like Foreman, nowhere close

he's in my top 10, just he's not #1

1.Foreman
2.Shavers
3.Louis
4.Frazier
5.Liston
6.Norton
7.Marciano
8.Patterson
9.Tyson
10.Tua

really not in any specific order though, just besides #1 Foreman and 9,10 are about right 2-8 can be moved around

I could more or less agree with that list, although there are a few other guys I might have in there instead of the bottom 5.

[ElTerribleMorales]

No Mike Tyson wasn't the hardest puncher ever, he might not even make it into the top 10 heavyweights P4P.

Bigger than Foreman?!?!?! George was 6'4 220 in his prime and even bigger when he won the title his second go round.

Tyson's strength was his speed and combination punching...he could hit hard but not like Foreman, nowhere close

he's in my top 10, just he's not #1

1.Foreman
2.Shavers
3.Louis
4.Frazier
5.Liston
6.Norton
7.Marciano
8.Patterson
9.Tyson
10.Tua

really not in any specific order though, just besides #1 Foreman and 9,10 are about right 2-8 can be moved around

I could more or less agree with that list, although there are a few other guys I might have in there instead of the bottom 5.

same here, i just did a quick 10 off the top of my head though lol

[JazMerkin]

Just curious, how often do you think a new poster creates a thread about Mike Tyson being either the best HW of all time or the hardest puncher of all time?

I've been here just under 6 months, & I'm sure this is at least the 4th I've seen in that time.

[Alan McDougall]

He was as big as Foreman in weight, not height, Foreman admittedly weighed slightly more, but Tyson was a much more muscular man , a better boxer with greater speed

Mikes solid weight , without any bodily fat varies between 216 and 220, Foreman at his very best, when he fought Mohammed Ali was only slightly heavier at 220

I think if anyone could have knocked out Tyson at his best it would have been George Foreman, George dispensed with the great Joe Frazier twice with great ease.

Frazier at his best was a much smaller less powerful boxer than Tyson , both were of similar hight. Joe weighed 205 Mike 220

I do not agree that Ernie Shavers could hit as hard as Mike, he was knocked out by inferior boxers. Mike would have destroyed him

Think at the great ease that Mike knocked out Larry Holmes, I know Larry was past his best but who else knocked out Larry in this fashion? Even at this stage Larry was still a great heavy weight boxer

1.Tyson
2.Foreman
3.Shavers
4.Frazier
5.Liston
6.Norton
7.Marciano
8.Ali
9.Dempsey
10 Patterson

My list is for hardest punchers in boxing history


Alan

[ElTerribleMorales]

He was as big as Foreman in weight, not height, Foreman admittedly weighed slightly more, but Tyson was a much more muscular man , a better boxer with greater speed

Mikes solid weight , without any bodily fat varies between 216 and 220, Foreman at his very best, when he fought Mohammed Ali was only slightly heavier at 220

I think if anyone could have knocked out Tyson at his best it would have been George Foreman, George dispensed with the great Joe Frazier twice with great ease.

Frazier at his best was a much smaller less powerful boxer than Tyson , both were of similar hight. Joe weighed 205 Mike 220

I do not agree that Ernie Shavers could hit as hard as Mike, he was knocked out by inferior boxers. Mike would have destroyed him

Think at the great ease that Mike knocked out Larry Holmes, I know Larry was past his best but who else knocked out Larry in this fashion? Even at this stage Larry was still a great heavy weight boxer

Alan

did you ever see Foreman in his prime cause by saying Tyson was the more muscular fighter i kinda think you haven't

[JazMerkin]

He was as big as Foreman in weight, not height, Foreman admittedly weighed slightly more, but Tyson was a much more muscular man , a better boxer with greater speed

Mikes solid weight , without any bodily fat varies between 216 and 220, Foreman at his very best, when he fought Mohammed Ali was only slightly heavier at 220

I think if anyone could have knocked out Tyson at his best it would have been George Foreman, George dispensed with the great Joe Frazier twice with great ease.

Frazier at his best was a much smaller less powerful boxer than Tyson , both were of similar hight. Joe weighed 205 Mike 220

I do not agree that Ernie Shavers could hit as hard as Mike, he was knocked out by inferior boxers. Mike would have destroyed him

Think at the great ease that Mike knocked out Larry Holmes, I know Larry was past his best but who else knocked out Larry in this fashion? Even at this stage Larry was still a great heavy weight boxer

Alan

Being a big puncher has nothing to do with how good a boxer they are. Watch Earnie Shavers in action, I've no doubt Tyson destroys him, but if he got caught by Shavers it could have been night night. Foreman used to leave dents in huge heavy bags, he hit so hard. Also I'm assuming prime-Tyson is pre-prison Tyson yes? Because I'm sure a fella called Buster Douglas took him out then.

[ElTerribleMorales]

He was as big as Foreman in weight, not height, Foreman admittedly weighed slightly more, but Tyson was a much more muscular man , a better boxer with greater speed

Mikes solid weight , without any bodily fat varies between 216 and 220, Foreman at his very best, when he fought Mohammed Ali was only slightly heavier at 220

I think if anyone could have knocked out Tyson at his best it would have been George Foreman, George dispensed with the great Joe Frazier twice with great ease.

Frazier at his best was a much smaller less powerful boxer than Tyson , both were of similar hight. Joe weighed 205 Mike 220

I do not agree that Ernie Shavers could hit as hard as Mike, he was knocked out by inferior boxers. Mike would have destroyed him

Think at the great ease that Mike knocked out Larry Holmes, I know Larry was past his best but who else knocked out Larry in this fashion? Even at this stage Larry was still a great heavy weight boxer

Alan

Being a big puncher has nothing to do with how good a boxer they are. Watch Earnie Shavers in action, I've no doubt Tyson destroys him, but if he got caught by Shavers it could have been night night. Foreman used to leave dents in huge heavy bags, he hit so hard. Also I'm assuming prime-Tyson is pre-prison Tyson yes? Because I'm sure a fella called Buster Douglas took him out then.

honestly i think old Foreman still would beat Tyson

[El Kabong]

Nobody is saying Shavers is a better boxer than Tyson but yes he was a harder puncher...the bomb he landed on Holmes was insane and that Larry got up from it was even more crazy.

[WelshDevilRob]

Floyd Paterson in the Top 10 hardest punchers in Heavyweight history? That shows a shocking lack of knowledge of heavyweight history. Never read anything like it.

[CGM]

Nobody is saying Shavers is a better boxer than Tyson but yes he was a harder puncher...the bomb he landed on Holmes was insane and that Larry got up from it was even more crazy.

Yeah, there's a quote you can probably find on the net where Holmes says he still sees stars from that Shavers punch. Holmes had very good recuperative powers, as a champ he was staggered a few times, but always came back strong.

[Mr140]

Man i am so sick of people saying how great a puncher Tyson was and how he was better then Foreman and all that crap just dont get it. Tyson knocked out old men and bums Foreman knocked out Atg and in quicker fashion sometimes all you got to do is look who they knocked out. And you while see by far that Foreman was knocking out the better men.