Was Earnie shavers really the hardest hitter of all time?

[OMGWTF]

I always believed that he was, but he was fairly light and not that fast, I think there is a possibility that he used and had alot of strength in his punches and thats why all the guys he faced said they HURT the most but they might not actually be as powerful as say a Tyson punch!? (Which wouldnt hurt as much but was more likely to put you to sleep)

I look at Tyson putting away huge guys and then I look at Earnies KO highlights and they arnt anywhere near as impressive as in he didnt put away many big guys like Tyson did.

I dont really know though thats my uneducated guess, what do you think?

[imp]

No one will ever know.
Unless we put every boxer that ever lived on that sport science program and test their punching power.

Even then, thats an experiment and wont take into consideration the adrenaline, fear and confidence you have in the ring to give you that extra bit of edge to push those punches.

Heavyweights will always hit the hardest but if you look at it from a pound for pound status who hit the hardest i would say a toss up of hitman hearns, julian jackson, nazeem hamed (sort off!).

Ali said earnie was the hardest hitter he faced so those words alone put him right up there when you look at who ali faced..

[TysonBomb]

Nobody knows

Unless you can bring a prime Shavers and Tyson back along with Foreman, Liston, Marciano and the rest of the big hitters and have them measure their punching power on one of those machines.

I know that Frank Bruno actually tested his power and had it recorded. Even stumbled on an article on it once.

The most we can do is make educated guesses based on the available evidence.

[ElTerribleMorales]

No one will ever know.
Unless we put every boxer that ever lived on that sport science program and test their punching power.

Even then, thats an experiment and wont take into consideration the adrenaline, fear and confidence you have in the ring to give you that extra bit of edge to push those punches.

Heavyweights will always hit the hardest but if you look at it from a pound for pound status who hit the hardest i would say a toss up of hitman hearns, julian jackson, nazeem hamed (sort off!).

Ali said earnie was the hardest hitter he faced so those words alone put him right up there when you look at who ali faced..

also have to factor counter punching, your opponents own movements for example weaving into a punch, etc. so there would never be a definite answer, and I'd put Gomez ahead of Hamed on the list though, just my opinion

[IamInuit]

No one will ever know.
Unless we put every boxer that ever lived on that sport science program and test their punching power.

Even then, thats an experiment and wont take into consideration the adrenaline, fear and confidence you have in the ring to give you that extra bit of edge to push those punches.

Heavyweights will always hit the hardest but if you look at it from a pound for pound status who hit the hardest i would say a toss up of hitman hearns, julian jackson, nazeem hamed (sort off!).

Ali said earnie was the hardest hitter he faced so those words alone put him right up there when you look at who ali faced..

Good post and I think its wrong to always default to the heavyweights. I personally believe that the stronger punchers throughout history are/were much smaller men. Knockouts just look bigger and most people including non boxing fans can usually tell you who the heavyweight champion is.

In addition its the when a punch lands which is what @ElTerribleMorales touched on. Most recently for example the punch that put Manny in a coma. Marquez is not a 0ne punch ko artist and yet that punch delivered in the exact same matter would have most likely stopped anyone in the division and probably a lot of people north of 147. Same with the Marciano shot on Walcott. That punch probably ko's Chuvalo.

[Master]

Yes from what people that have felt his power said Shavers power was the hardest and some of these opponents fought Foreman and Fraizier.

[Beanflicker]

I would say that with today's superior athletes, Earnie's power was probably surpassed by several guys over the years. As hard as he hit, to me it's hard to imagine that Earnie, at 210-215, had the same power as a goliath like, let's say, Samuel Peter, at 250-260.

But it's hard to argue his status when guys like Ali, Holmes, and other guys from that time period say he was the hardest puncher. For that time, I'd say he was the biggest puncher. His power carried him very well, because unlike Foreman, Earnie didn't have the best heart, chin or stamina.

[brocktonblockbust]

OH YES HE WAS THE BLACK DESTROYER----

[THE PHILOSOPHER]

I always believed that he was, but he was fairly light and not that fast, I think there is a possibility that he used and had alot of strength in his punches and thats why all the guys he faced said they HURT the most but they might not actually be as powerful as say a Tyson punch!? (Which wouldnt hurt as much but was more likely to put you to sleep)

I look at Tyson putting away huge guys and then I look at Earnies KO highlights and they arnt anywhere near as impressive as in he didnt put away many big guys like Tyson did.

I dont really know though thats my uneducated guess, what do you think?

How can we measure it?? Im not so sure. I doubt he hit's harder than some of todays SHW's! A lot of mythology surounds the fighters of yesteryear.

[greynotsoold]

Does anybody remember what Crowley said about magick? The proper application of the proper force, in the proper amount at the proper time? Punching power is a lot like that, in that it doesn't matter how hard you can hit, if you can't hit the other guy when he is in a position -"ready"- to be hit.
Henry Cooper, all 185 pounds of him, did a test long ago where they measured the force of his left hook, after it had traveled 5 inches- 5 inches!!-and the force was rated to be equal to a 16 pound bowling ball hitting the headpin. The point being that any trained fighter, a guy that spends all day every day practicing hitting things, can kill you with a punch. But sitting down, winding up and smashing on is a bunch different than hitting a guy that doesn't want to get it and has also spent all his time practicing hitting you.
That is why I think Joe Louis is the most effective HW puncher of all time; he could pull the trigger and finish you with either hand at any time. I think that ought to be the measure- effectiveness versus 'hardest' because that is basically irrelevant.
By the way, that cut in the Lewis/K fight, came from a glancing thumb. K rolls that punch off his shoulder as Lewis is really turning his fist, it catches K with the thumb area.

[TysonBomb]

I always believed that he was, but he was fairly light and not that fast, I think there is a possibility that he used and had alot of strength in his punches and thats why all the guys he faced said they HURT the most but they might not actually be as powerful as say a Tyson punch!? (Which wouldnt hurt as much but was more likely to put you to sleep)

I look at Tyson putting away huge guys and then I look at Earnies KO highlights and they arnt anywhere near as impressive as in he didnt put away many big guys like Tyson did.

I dont really know though thats my uneducated guess, what do you think?

How can we measure it?? Im not so sure. I doubt he hit's harder than some of todays SHW's! A lot of mythology surounds the fighters of yesteryear.

Bruno had his measured on a machine.

I'll try and fight that article about it.

[brocktonblockbust]

I always believed that he was, but he was fairly light and not that fast, I think there is a possibility that he used and had alot of strength in his punches and thats why all the guys he faced said they HURT the most but they might not actually be as powerful as say a Tyson punch!? (Which wouldnt hurt as much but was more likely to put you to sleep)

I look at Tyson putting away huge guys and then I look at Earnies KO highlights and they arnt anywhere near as impressive as in he didnt put away many big guys like Tyson did.

I dont really know though thats my uneducated guess, what do you think?

How can we measure it?? Im not so sure. I doubt he hit's harder than some of todays SHW's! A lot of mythology surounds the fighters of yesteryear.

Bruno had his measured on a machine.

I'll try and fight that article about it.

yes give it a good uppercut before reading it