Mike Tyson was the hardest puncher ever?

[Taeth]

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

I would argue this all day, Mike Tyson was 5'10 220-230 pounds and hit much faster, IMO he hit pounds per square inch probably harder than anyone(him or L. Lewis), but not necessarily in the ring because he had to reach up to land on a taller guys he couldn't get the same leverage on head shots

IMO Foreman's power wasn't that close, he's probably comparably strong, but nowhere near as fast.

[El Kabong]

Taeth, refresh my memory are we talking about the FASTER puncher or the more POWERFUL puncher

I don't discount Tyson's handspeed, infact it's because of his handspeed that he hit so hard. Look at a guy like Foreman, his opponents knew the punches were coming but he would punch through their guard and knock them out. Tyson would bob and weave and get in close to counter.....Foreman would just push you into range and let loose some bombs.

Comparing the power of Tyson and Foreman is like comparing the power of Shane Mosley and the power of Miguel Cotto....one is a little faster and sharper and the other is more deliberate but heavier

[Taeth]

The difference is Cotto got better leverage and more of his body power into punches. Foreman had a ton of power but besides Moorer I can't think of him one punching almost anyone of significance. He had a lot of power and he would pummel guys, Tyson could do that, or he could spark you out.

But if you have one guy who is 6 inches shorter and the same wieght or more with no body fat, that means that weight comes in the form of more muscle. Tyson had more muscle mass than Foreman, he had more speed than Foreman, he had better technique than Foreman, and he knocked guys out in one punch more often than Foreman.

So I say he would hit something that measures PSI harder is because
A. He's stronger
B. He's a lot faster
C. He has better technique behind his punches.

Nobody has ever gotten better leverage than Mike Tyson (who would have gotten even better leverage if it wasn't for him being so short) That why guys like Holyfield would force Tyson to throw bombs on the outside, and tie him up on the inside because from the outside Tyson was so short he needed to leap in and on the inside he was terrible if you tied him up, he needed it to be clean to get off punches, he didn't know how to work to get punches off like Hatton, Duran, or Holyfield.

[El Kabong]

His KO of Gerry Cooney wasn't a 1 punch KO of someone with significance? And bombing out Joe Frazier was bigger than ANYTHING Tyson ever did.

Foreman hurt Holyfield worse than Tyson ever did....and Foreman was like 44 when he fought Evander.

[Taeth]

Foreman was landing a lot more against Holyfield when he was in the right position, how often did you see Tyson get a lined up shot against Holyfield that he landed? Tyson because of his height had a hard time landing the right shot. He hit Cooney a ton of times in the second round with solid punches, but once again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2XlGWhY_5I
How many punches did it take in the first round?

Tall guys don't get the same body mechanics into their punches, they just don't have the coordination.

I am not saying Foreman didn't land harder on certain opponents than Mike Tyson, but if they were both hitting something, Tyson would have the more force on his punches, Foreman just didn't have the technique, the speed, or low center of gravity to produce comparable power.

You could argue David Tua or Shavers IMO, but not Foreman. Lennox Lewis was the only big guy I've ever seen in the pros that had that snap and crack to his punches that guys like Tua, Tyson, and Shavers had. IMO Felix Savon also had it, but never got to show it as a pro.

[El Kabong]

Hey you win.....George just couldn't punch at all....I'm shocked we're even arguing over it sure he had 68 KO wins but God he fought a bunch of guys who ANYONE could KO....how Joe Frazier lasted a full round with anyone I am not sure, the guy just couldn't take a punch


Mike Tyson could KO anyone with one punch and that's why he never lost