HERE ARE THE HARDEST PUNCHERS and knockout artists of all time. From Mike Tyson to Wladimir Klitschko. From Earnie Shavers to George Foreman.
I populated only boxers with at least a 75% KO'ratio and at least 35 wins (I had to draw a line somewhere, because as soon as you go below 75% and below 35 it results in hundreds of boxers).
For comparison purposes I also added less power punching (but famous) boxers like Primo Carnera, Sugar Ray Robinson and heavyweight featherfists[?] like Muhammad Ali, Evan Fields and Joe Frazier.
Long article, I know, but if you are seriously interested in objective/non-discriminatory knockout statistics then this here is a must.
You should read the Definitions page for terms like "fair", "bum", "unique", "aside", "median", "superheavyweight"; "KO'ratios" and "Total KOs" are based in KOs within 12 rounds unless otherwise stated.
You may also want to read Boxing eras (#4) Golden Age of Heavyweight -OR- Is the Klitschko era the first heavyweight era in history? where I compare the KO'ratios of world heavyweight champions of all eras.
Note: Since the Klitschkos are still boxing their KO data will change in the future. The tables on this page have been compiled after Wladimir Klitschko's fight against Sam Peter (2010) and after Vitali Klitschko's fight against Shannon Briggs (2010).
Heavyweight "KO'ratios" and "Fair KO'ratios"
KO'ratios are some of the simplest statistics to compile: Take the KO'wins and divide them by the total fights
However, the problem is the small print:
- Does TotalFights include NC (= no contest bouts) as Boxrec calculates it? (What the heck, Boxrec?)
- Does it include wins by disqualification = fights stopped due to the misbehavior of the opponent?
- Does it include fights that ended by injuries caused by non-intentional headbutts?
These are special situations that can UNNECESSARILY decrease the KO'ratio of a fighter. So I chose to use not the "Overall KO'ratio" but, whatIcall, the "Fair KO'ratio", which excludes such fights. Here are a few examples how "Overall KO'ratio" differs from "Fair KO'ratio":
name | KO'ratio | Fair KO'ratio |
---|---|---|
·John L. Sullivan | 78% (32of41) | 86% (32of37) |
·Mike Tyson | 75% (44of58) | 80% (44of55) |
·Riddick Bowe | 73% (33of45) | 80% (33of41) |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.1]
Since we are comparing KO artists (= top hitters) a difference of a few percent points can mean a lot. But in most cases the "Fair KO'ratio" is pretty close to the "Overall KO'ratio" and the above examples are rather extreme cases.
Overall KO statistics including sub-200 fights
OK, so let's get to the beef.
As I wrote above I took only so called heavyweights with a KO'ratio of 75%+ and 35+ wins. Additionally I added some famous boxers as a comparison.
So, here is the statistics including sub-200 fights. When I fighter has only 3 or less fights I didn't calculate the KO'ratio.
Decrease the font size of your browser if table is too wide
Name | Total KO'wins (within 12 rounds) | Fair KO'ratio | Median KO'victim weight | Total KO'wins (non-bums) | Median non-bummy KO'victim | Total KO'wins (non-bums, uniques) | How many of the unique KO'wins were non-bummy? | Fair KO'ratio (non-bums, uniques) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | ||||||||
·Lennox Lewis | ||||||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | ||||||||
·Mike Tyson | ||||||||
·Muhammad Ali | ||||||||
·Frank Bruno | ||||||||
·George Foreman | ||||||||
·Riddick Bowe | ||||||||
·Roy Jones Jr | ||||||||
·Joe Louis | ||||||||
·Rocky Marciano | ||||||||
·Brian Nielsen | ||||||||
·Joe Frazier | ||||||||
·David Tua | ||||||||
·Joe Mesi | ||||||||
·Evander Holyfield | ||||||||
·Tommy Morrison | ||||||||
·Larry Holmes | ||||||||
·Shannon Briggs | ||||||||
·Sonny Liston | ||||||||
·Bruce Woodcock | ||||||||
·James Toney | ||||||||
·Tye Fields | ||||||||
·Bruce Seldon | ||||||||
·Duane Bobick | ||||||||
·Gary Mason | ||||||||
·Chris Byrd | ||||||||
·Primo Carnera | ||||||||
·Buddy Baer | ||||||||
·Tommy Gomez | ||||||||
·Alex Stewart | ||||||||
·Max Baer | ||||||||
·Earnie Shavers | ||||||||
·Harry Wills | ||||||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | ||||||||
·Andre Purlette | ||||||||
·Jimmy Adamick | ||||||||
·Gene Tunney | ||||||||
·Jack Dempsey | ||||||||
·Tony Fulilangi | ||||||||
·Tony Galento | ||||||||
·Eric Esch | ||||||||
·Faruq Saleem | ||||||||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | ||||||||
·Sam Langford | ||||||||
·Harley Breshears | ||||||||
·John L. Sullivan | ||||||||
·Don Steele | ||||||||
·Hoot Burger | ||||||||
·Pat Killen | ||||||||
·Al Migliorato | ||||||||
·LaMar Clark |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.KO'ratioAnyWeight] KO'ratio any weight
Real Superheavyweight KO statistics (200×2 lbs)
Name | Total KO'wins (200×2) | Fair KO'ratio (200×2) | Total KO'wins (200×2, non-bums) | Total KO'wins (200×2, non-bums, uniques) | Fair KO'ratio (200×2, non-bums, uniques) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | |||||
·Lennox Lewis | |||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | |||||
·Mike Tyson | |||||
·Muhammad Ali | |||||
·Frank Bruno | |||||
·George Foreman | |||||
·Roy Jones Jr | |||||
·Riddick Bowe | |||||
·Joe Louis | |||||
·Rocky Marciano | |||||
·Brian Nielsen | |||||
·David Tua | |||||
·Joe Frazier | |||||
·Joe Mesi | |||||
·Evander Holyfield | |||||
·Tommy Morrison | |||||
·Larry Holmes | |||||
·Shannon Briggs | |||||
·Sonny Liston | |||||
·Bruce Woodcock | |||||
·James Toney | |||||
·Tye Fields | |||||
·Gary Mason | |||||
·Bruce Seldon | |||||
·Duane Bobick | |||||
·Primo Carnera | |||||
·Chris Byrd | |||||
·Buddy Baer | |||||
·Tommy Gomez | |||||
·Alex Stewart | |||||
·Max Baer | |||||
·Earnie Shavers | |||||
·Harry Wills | |||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | |||||
·Andre Purlette | |||||
·Jimmy Adamick | |||||
·Tony Fulilangi | |||||
·Jack Dempsey | |||||
·Gene Tunney | |||||
·Tony Galento | |||||
·Faruq Saleem | |||||
·Eric Esch | |||||
·Sam Langford | |||||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | |||||
·John L. Sullivan | |||||
·Harley Breshears | |||||
·Don Steele | |||||
·Hoot Burger | |||||
·Pat Killen | |||||
·Al Migliorato | |||||
·LaMar Clark |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.KO'ratio200x2] KO'ratio in real heavyweight fights
You can see that a lot of fighters are mainly BumBusters (Eric Esch), CruiserCrunchers (Rocky Marciano) or both (LaMar Clark).
Ultraheavyweight KO statistics (215 lbs opponents)
Now, let's come to the ultraheavyweight 215 lbs figures. I wanted to compile an ultraheavyweight 215×2 table but since a lot of the fighters above didn't already manage to have enough 200×2 fights I compiled a 215-lbs-opponent table (= not 215×2 but 215×1).
Name | KO'wins (215+ opponents) | KO'ratio (215+ opponents) | KO'wins (215+ opponents, non-bums) | KO'wins (215+ opponents, non-bums, uniques) | KO'ratio (215+ opponents, non-bums, uniques) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | |||||
·Lennox Lewis | |||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | |||||
·Mike Tyson | |||||
·Muhammad Ali | |||||
·Frank Bruno | |||||
·George Foreman | |||||
·Roy Jones Jr | |||||
·Riddick Bowe | |||||
·Joe Louis | |||||
·Rocky Marciano | |||||
·Brian Nielsen | |||||
·David Tua | |||||
·Joe Frazier | |||||
·Joe Mesi | |||||
·Evander Holyfield | |||||
·Tommy Morrison | |||||
·Larry Holmes | |||||
·Shannon Briggs | |||||
·Sonny Liston | |||||
·Bruce Woodcock | |||||
·James Toney | |||||
·Tye Fields | |||||
·Gary Mason | |||||
·Bruce Seldon | |||||
·Duane Bobick | |||||
·Primo Carnera | |||||
·Chris Byrd | |||||
·Buddy Baer | |||||
·Tommy Gomez | |||||
·Alex Stewart | |||||
·Max Baer | |||||
·Earnie Shavers | |||||
·Harry Wills | |||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | |||||
·Andre Purlette | |||||
·Jimmy Adamick | |||||
·Tony Fulilangi | |||||
·Jack Dempsey | |||||
·Gene Tunney | |||||
·Tony Galento | |||||
·Faruq Saleem | |||||
·Eric Esch | |||||
·Sam Langford | |||||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | |||||
·John L. Sullivan | |||||
·Harley Breshears | |||||
·Don Steele | |||||
·Hoot Burger | |||||
·Pat Killen | |||||
·Al Migliorato | |||||
·LaMar Clark |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.KO'ratio215_2] KO'ratio against opponents who weighed 215+ lbs
Famous knockout artists are famous for a reason
OK, so what can we extract from these numbers?
- It _IS_ satisfiable why famous boxers are famous. And why others are not considered good DESPITE of their good KO'ratios. Important parameters are "How many of the opponents were worthy (= non-bums)?" and "How many worthy opponents did he defeat?" Use the tables above to find out.
- The heavyweight power of a lot of past-time boxers is overrated or even GROSSLY overrated (Rocky Marciano).
- Even if you don't believe in single statistics: There are boxers who ALWAYS are at the top whatever statistic you chose: Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. When it comes to compilations of "The world's heaviest punchers" these 4 guys must be at the top or you are doing something wrong.
However you try to twist it: Wladimir Klitschko is #1 in the KO statistics. Only Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson come close.
In real heavyweight fights (200×2) Wladimir Klitschko has KO'ed more non-bums than Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Sonny Liston, Earnie Shavers, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier COMBINED.
Enjoy him while he lasts. His KO achievements are not "typical", "standard", or "usual". Wladimir Klitschko is a phenomenon.
If you think that other boxers have a similarly good record then it's because you include bum-opponents[?] into the calculation (e.g. cases LaMar Clark, Eric Esch) or because you include sub-200 fights into the calculation (e.g. Joe Louis).
"Mike Tyson KOs his opponents faster than Wladimir Klitschko"
In what round are opponents being KO'ed on the average?
Fans sometimes use this statistic to assess the "raw punching power" and "ferocity" of a boxer. Sometimes early round KOs are interpreted as "dominance over his opponents" and when running a comparison "Who was the most dominant champion ever?" people may view early KOs as a dominance proof.
"Mike Tyson was a more dominant champion than Wlad… No matter HOW you slice it 5 round victories are MORE DOMINANT than 8 round victories…"
(original quote)
Usually if you engage in such discussions they boil down to an illegitimate equalization of SPEED OF THE KOs (= objectively measurable) and subjective interpretations like "dominance", "power", "destruction", "brutality", "dangerousness", "violence" and "ferociousness".
Now, let's first check the figures and then let me tell you why it's a BAD statistic:
name | Total KOs | Median KO'victim | Average rounds boxed till the KO | Total KOs (non-bums) | Median KO'victim (non-bum) | Average rounds boxed till the KO (non-bums) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | ||||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | ||||||
·Lennox Lewis | ||||||
·Muhammad Ali | ||||||
·Mike Tyson | ||||||
·Roy Jones Jr | ||||||
·Riddick Bowe | ||||||
·George Foreman | ||||||
·Frank Bruno | ||||||
·Rocky Marciano | ||||||
·Joe Louis | ||||||
·Brian Nielsen | ||||||
·David Tua | ||||||
·Joe Frazier | ||||||
·Evander Holyfield | ||||||
·Joe Mesi | ||||||
·Tommy Morrison | ||||||
·Larry Holmes | ||||||
·Shannon Briggs | ||||||
·Sonny Liston | ||||||
·James Toney | ||||||
·Tye Fields | ||||||
·Bruce Woodcock | ||||||
·Duane Bobick | ||||||
·Gary Mason | - | - | ||||
·Bruce Seldon | ||||||
·Primo Carnera | ||||||
·Chris Byrd | ||||||
·Tommy Gomez | ||||||
·Alex Stewart | - | - | ||||
·Earnie Shavers | ||||||
·Harry Wills | ||||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | ||||||
·Andre Purlette | - | - | ||||
·Gene Tunney | ||||||
·Jack Dempsey | ||||||
·Tony Galento | ||||||
·Tony Fulilangi | - | - | ||||
·Eric Esch | - | - | ||||
·Faruq Saleem | - | - | ||||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | - | - | ||||
·Harley Breshears | - | - | ||||
·Hoot Burger | - | - | ||||
·Al Migliorato | - | - | ||||
·Pat Killen | - | - | ||||
·Don Steele | - | - | ||||
·LaMar Clark | - | - | ||||
·Corrie Sanders | ||||||
·Samuel Peter | ||||||
·Hasim Rahman | ||||||
·Sultan Ibragimov | - | - | ||||
·Eddie Chambers | - | - | ||||
·Eliseo Castillo | - | - |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.5]
Definitions
"Rounds" are the rounds boxed until the KO happened. So if a KO happens in round 3 then this counts as "2.5" rounds. If an opponents retired after round 10 then this counts as "10". A KO in round 1 counts as "0.5".
If a boxer has less than 4 fights then I replace the average round by "-".
As you see this statistic is either inconclusive or even misleading. Actually the best boxers are rather in the middle and at the bottom. And I can tell you why:
- Because losses and nonKOs are completely excluded in this statistic.
If a boxer had 100 fights and lost 90x and KO'ed 10 opponents in round #1 then he has a better statistic than a boxer who scored 100 KOs in round #2.
To make it a good statistic you would have to include non-KO fights (by counting UD12 as KO13 or so) and losses too and I don't know how that would be possible. - Because the weight of the opponent (and other parameters) is completely ignored. George Foreman on the average needed 2.5 rounds to KO a median[?] opponent weighing 213 lbs. And this is of course less impressive than Sultan Ibragimov's 2.7 rounds (= later) for a median 233 lbs opponent despite the longer time.
Thus I disagree that the speed of the KO equals dominance if at the end of the day a speedy KO'er has KO'ed less than a slower KO'er.
Thus the "KO'ratio" itself (= the first tables on this page) is far more conclusive than the "Round of the KO". Please also read Wladimir Klitschko sucks because he KOs his opponents where give other examples why this statistic is bad.
Moreover dominance is not necessarily defined by KOs at all as somebody pointed out:
"The Klitschko brothers dominate, and how! 8+ years and counting. Cleaned out the division. Hardly lost a round. As Emanuel Steward [trainer of Wladimir Klitschko] said, for the 1st time in history the Champions have to beg the contenders for a fight! This will probably never happen again. That's DOMINANCE."
(original quote)
But for those who want to define "dominance" in terms of "KOs" I think I have a solution:
How to correctly assess the dangerousness of a hard punching boxer
Let me give you 2 better statistics to assess the dangerousness of a boxer:
The first is "Rounds needed per KO" that I featured at Boxing eras (#4) Golden Age of Heavyweight -OR- Is the Klitschko era the first heavyweight era in history?. Mike Tyson needs 4.7 rounds per KO and Wladimir Klitschko 4.8 (= 20 seconds earlier on the average). Yawn.
In world title fights 200×2 Larry Holmes needs 19.5 rounds per KO, Wladimir Klitschko 9.1 rounds, Tyson 8.1 rounds, Brian Nielsen 5.1 rounds and Herbie Hide 4.2 rounds. I cannot imagine ANYONE claiming that Brian Nielsen is twice as dangerous as Mike Tyson.
And why? Because it's irrelevant whether the KO victory was quick or not. It's irrelevant whether you lose the fight in round 5 or 6. What matters is whether you SURVIVE THE WHOLE FIGHT.
Thus I find the the following statistics being the most conclusive:
Earls, Counts, Kings
The second statistic that is better than "Average KO'round" is
"KO'ratio in rounds 1-6 compared to KO'ratio in rounds 7-12"
You can interpret this statistic as "Is the boxer dangerous throughout the whole fight or only at the beginning (when his own energy is still high and the chin of the opponent is not warmed up yet)?":
Name | KO'ratio when fight ended in rounds 1-6 | KO'ratio when fight ended in rounds 7-12 |
---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | ||
·Wladimir Klitschko | ||
·Lennox Lewis | ||
·Muhammad Ali | ||
·Mike Tyson | ||
·Roy Jones Jr | ||
·Riddick Bowe | ||
·George Foreman | ||
·Frank Bruno | ||
·Rocky Marciano | ||
·Joe Louis | ||
·Brian Nielsen | ||
·David Tua | ||
·Joe Frazier | ||
·Evander Holyfield | ||
·Joe Mesi | ||
·Tommy Morrison | ||
·Larry Holmes | ||
·Shannon Briggs | ||
·Sonny Liston | ||
·James Toney | ||
·Tye Fields | ||
·Bruce Woodcock | ||
·Duane Bobick | ||
·Gary Mason | ||
·Bruce Seldon | ||
·Primo Carnera | ||
·Chris Byrd | ||
·Tommy Gomez | ||
·Max Baer | ||
·Alex Stewart | ||
·Earnie Shavers | ||
·Harry Wills | ||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | ||
·Andre Purlette | ||
·Gene Tunney | ||
·Jack Dempsey | ||
·Tony Galento | ||
·Tony Fulilangi | ||
·Eric Esch | ||
·Faruq Saleem | ||
·Sam Langford | ||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | ||
·Harley Breshears | ||
·Hoot Burger | ||
·Al Migliorato | ||
·Pat Killen | ||
·Don Steele | ||
·LaMar Clark | ||
·Corrie Sanders | ||
·Samuel Peter | ||
·Hasim Rahman | ||
·Sultan Ibragimov | ||
·Eddie Chambers | ||
·Eliseo Castillo |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.6]
There you have it: Some KO artists are Earls (= specialists in early KOs) and some are Kings (= dangerous throughout the whole fight). Once you manage to stay alive for 6 rounds against, let us say, Earnie Shavers your chances to get KO'ed are only 23% (= your chances to survive or even win rise to 77%)! The same applies to Mike Tyson: He had 12 fights that ended in rounds 7-12 and only 4 of those 12 ended as KO'win for Mike.
Obviously part of the reason is that guys like Mike Tyson put everything into the first rounds ("uber-feroriousness") therefore score a lot of early KOs ("preemptive strikes") but as soon as the opponents adjust and the chins get warmed up the KO'ratio drops significantly.
On a sidenote: One theory why Tyson was so ferocious ("Mental Mike") (biting, raping, wife-beating, assaulting) is that he was using illegal muscle building steroids and hence suffered from "roid rage".
Boxers like Earnie Shavers, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Shannon Briggs, Joe Frazier were dangerous mainly in the EARLY rounds while the Klitschkos remain be dangerous throughout the whole fight.
The "Dangerousness in every round" applies to Rocky Marciano, too, but Rocky is a special case because his high KO'ratio is mainly because of thinner gloves.
I usually don't care what trainers say but since Emanuel Stewart hits the nail on its head I want to quote him:
"What makes him really special also is he has so much power in the late rounds. A lot of guys, great punchers like ·Mike Tyson, they were great in the early rounds but very seldom in the late rounds. Wladimir has knocked out guys like he did with ·Chris Byrd, and ·RayAustin, and ·Eliseo Castillo – he knocked those guys out early because he threw a punch early, an early power punch. And then he’s had the power to go out after being down three times with ·Samuel Peter and he had him out on his feet in the twelfth round of a very grueling fight with one single punch, a left hook. Then he knocked out ·Tony Thompson. With Tony Thompson he ran across the ring and threw one straight right hand in the eleventh round and just walked away, and Thompson went down totally finished. Now he knocks out this guy in the 12th round with ten or twelve seconds left with one punch. To have a fighter that has that kind of devastating one punch clean knockout power is so much stress on the opponent because you’re never safe."
(Emmanuel Stewart, HOF trainer of Wladimir Klitschko)
Against Mike Tyson
if you survive the first rounds
your chances to survive the whole fight increase dramatically.
Against both Klitschkos
your chances to survive increase only little!
The heaviest KOs by weight
Here is a list of the heaviest KOs.
When (Aste)Roids hit:
Fistic Statistic [#1267.7]
Note: Columns that show the "Sum of Top10" contain UP TO 10 fights (some boxers didn't have 10 fights).
It's astonishing how good Mike Tyson is in the "1st round KO" department.
Heaviest knockouts: Combined Weight
Here are some statistics with COMBINED weight (= weight of BOTH boxers combined):
Name | Minimum combined weight ever (whether KO or not) | Maximum combined weight (KO'win) | Maximum ever combined weight when 1st round KO'win |
---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | 445 lbs | 520 lbs | 518 lbs |
·Wladimir Klitschko | 428 lbs | 529 lbs | 529 lbs |
·Lennox Lewis | 423 lbs | 509 lbs | 488 lbs |
·Mike Tyson | 401 lbs | 498 lbs | 466 lbs |
·Muhammad Ali | 370 lbs | 443 lbs | 421 lbs |
·Roy Jones Jr | 305 lbs | 353 lbs | 349 lbs |
·Riddick Bowe | 424 lbs | 536 lbs | 487 lbs |
·Frank Bruno | 406 lbs | 518 lbs | 484 lbs |
·George Foreman | 403 lbs | 493 lbs | 486 lbs |
·Rocky Marciano | 350 lbs | 437 lbs | 437 lbs |
·Joe Louis | 356 lbs | 462 lbs | 456 lbs |
·Brian Nielsen | 453 lbs | 545 lbs | 497 lbs |
·David Tua | 396 lbs | 538 lbs | 505 lbs |
·Joe Frazier | 377 lbs | 447 lbs | 430 lbs |
·Evander Holyfield | 345 lbs | 470 lbs | 375 lbs |
·Larry Holmes | 387 lbs | 525 lbs | 448 lbs |
·Shannon Briggs | 399 lbs | 539 lbs | 533 lbs |
·Sonny Liston | 379 lbs | 447 lbs | 436 lbs |
·James Toney | 305 lbs | 457 lbs | 330 lbs |
·Primo Carnera | 431 lbs | 526 lbs | 519 lbs |
·Chris Byrd | 329 lbs | 497 lbs | 398 lbs |
·Sugar Ray Robinson | 261 lbs | 361 lbs | 327 lbs |
·Earnie Shavers | 371 lbs | 470 lbs | 440 lbs |
·Eric Esch | 480 lbs | 730 lbs | 676 lbs |
·LaMar Clark | 350 lbs | 413 lbs | 413 lbs |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.8]
I have no clue what you could use this table for, but at least we know now that Eric Esch vs Joe Siciliano is the phattest KO of all times.
How many opponents managed to survive in all clashes?
How many opponents were NEVER KO'ed by the boxer? Not in the first fight, not in the 5th fight. Never.
Caution! This table differs from all others on the page since lower numbers are better. Survivors by DQ (when the opponent got disqualified) or NC or headbutt-enders are excluded.
Name | Total survivors (No NC, no WDQ, no butts, uniques) | as % |
---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | 5 | 11.6% |
·Wladimir Klitschko | 3 | 5.3% |
·Lennox Lewis | 7 | 16.6% |
·Mike Tyson | 9 | 16.3% |
·Muhammad Ali | 20 | 32.7% |
·Roy Jones Jr | 17 | 27.8% |
·Riddick Bowe | 5 | 12.1% |
·Frank Bruno | 6 | 13.3% |
·George Foreman | 12 | 14.8% |
·Rocky Marciano | 3 | 6.1% |
·Joe Louis | 9 | 13.2% |
·Brian Nielsen | 21 | 32.3% |
·David Tua | 12 | 21.4% |
·Joe Frazier | 6 | 16.2% |
·Evander Holyfield | 17 | 32.0% |
·Larry Holmes | 30 | 40.0% |
·Shannon Briggs | 13 | 22.4% |
·Sonny Liston | 9 | 16.6% |
·James Toney | 31 | 38.7% |
·Primo Carnera | 20 | 19.8% |
·Chris Byrd | 24 | 51.0% |
·Sugar Ray Robinson | 52 | 26.2% |
·Earnie Shavers | 18 | 20.0% |
·Eric Esch | 20 | 22.7% |
·Sam Langford | 58 | 19.5% |
·LaMar Clark | 3 | 6.5% |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.9]
previously unKO'ed KOs
An usually ignored statistic is "How many previously unKO'ed opponents did the boxer KO?" and "How many previously KO'ed opponents didn't the boxer manage to KO?"
This is a very important statistic because this is basically as top as it gets: To KO a non-bum who has never been KO'ed before.
Fistic Statistic [#1267.unKO'edKOs] How many previously unKO'ed did the boxer KO?
When you analyze the table above you should not only check the "unKO'ed KO'ratio" but check how that ratios compare to each other:
Riddick Bowe, for example, was so good that it didn't matter much for him whether a non-bum was previously KO'ed (80% KO'ratio) or not (83% KO'ratio). He did what he was supposed to do. The same applies to Wladimir Klitschko, Rocky Marciano, David Tua and others.
On the other hand Lennox Lewis' ratio suffers much when facing unKO'ed opponents (91%–>50%). The same applies to Sugar Ray Robinson, Foreman, Shavers, Clay/Ali and nearly all others.
Knocking out previously undefeated opponents
Another nice statistic is "How many previously UNDEFEATED (= even better than unKO'ed) non-bums did the boxer KO?"
HOWEVER, KOs against undefeated non-bums are extremely rare. And that's why you cannot really compile a ranking (since most of the KO kings have only 0 or 1 of such KO'wins). But I wanted to add this stat anyway to show again who is at the top. Maybe this can prove helpful when you compile your own toplist.
Name | Fair KO'ratio | KOs against previously undefeated non-bums (uniques) | KO'ratio against previously undefeated non-bums (uniques) |
---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | |||
·Wladimir Klitschko | |||
·Lennox Lewis | |||
·Muhammad Ali | |||
·Mike Tyson | |||
·Roy Jones Jr | |||
·Riddick Bowe | |||
·George Foreman | |||
·Frank Bruno | |||
·Rocky Marciano | |||
·Joe Louis | |||
·Brian Nielsen | |||
·David Tua | |||
·Joe Frazier | |||
·Evander Holyfield | |||
·Joe Mesi | |||
·Tommy Morrison | |||
·Larry Holmes | |||
·Shannon Briggs | |||
·Sonny Liston | |||
·James Toney | |||
·Tye Fields | |||
·Bruce Woodcock | |||
·Duane Bobick | |||
·Gary Mason | |||
·Bruce Seldon | |||
·Primo Carnera | |||
·Chris Byrd | |||
·Tommy Gomez | |||
·Buddy Baer | |||
·Max Baer | |||
·Alex Stewart | |||
·Earnie Shavers | |||
·Harry Wills | |||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | |||
·Andre Purlette | |||
·Jimmy Adamick | |||
·Gene Tunney | |||
·Jack Dempsey | |||
·Tony Galento | |||
·Tony Fulilangi | |||
·Eric Esch | |||
·Faruq Saleem | |||
·Sam Langford | |||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | |||
·Harley Breshears | |||
·John L. Sullivan | |||
·Hoot Burger | |||
·Al Migliorato | |||
·Pat Killen | |||
·Don Steele | |||
·LaMar Clark |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.11]
It's interesting how some boxers are not afraid to face unKO'ed+unbeaten opponents. They seem to believe in their boxing abilities very much or they even ACTIVELY SEEK challenges ("I fear noone. Let's get it on!"): Wladimir Klitschko, Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, George Foreman, Larry Holmes. These boxers are the opposite of cherry-pickers. Others seem to suffer from, whatIcall, Liston-Esch syndrome -or- The Eric & Sonny show: Records that look good at first glance but consist merely of bums, previously KO'ed opponents or even opponents coming directly off losses.
KO'ing heavier-than-self opponents
This statistic is mentioned very often thus I need to include it here. "He only wins because he out-weighs his opponents" is a typical reproach against modern champs, but let's actually check whether it holds water and whether some fighters only seem to look for lighter opponents
name | In how many fights were the opponents heavier or same? | Fair KO'ratio against heavier-or-same opponents | KO'wins against heavier-or-same opponents (non-bums) | KO'wins against heavier-or-same opponents (non-bums, 200×2) |
---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | ||||
·Lennox Lewis | ||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | ||||
·Mike Tyson | ||||
·Muhammad Ali | ||||
·Roy Jones Jr | ||||
·Riddick Bowe | ||||
·George Foreman | ||||
·Rocky Marciano | ||||
·Joe Louis | ||||
·Joe Frazier | ||||
·Evander Holyfield | ||||
·Larry Holmes | ||||
·Sonny Liston | ||||
·James Toney | ||||
·Primo Carnera | ||||
·Chris Byrd | ||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | ||||
·Tony Galento | ||||
·Eric Esch | ||||
·Sam Langford |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.KO'sWhenOutWeighed] KO performance against heavier or same opponents
There will always be doubt about the KO power of Joe Louis, Riddick Bowe, Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali, because so many of their KOs came against lighter-than-self opponents.
Larry Holmes on the other hand, Wladimir Klitschko, Roy Jones Jr and Mike Tyson have it approximately fifty-fifty, which is a testimony to their boxing abilities.
Exceptionally brave are Chris Byrd and Evander Holyfield: They have been out-weighed by most of their opponents. Unfortunately they paid the price of this bravery by a lower KO'ratio.
On the "Dark side of the ratio" are notorious outweighers like George Foreman and Sonny Liston. Since George Foreman has real heavyweight[?] wins against a lot of non-bums (while Sonny Liston hasn't) we can speculate that Liston's out-weighing was a way to dodge dangerous opponents. Especially since Sonny wasn't that heavy himself (started as a cruiser, average weight 211 lbs) thus there should have been plenty of heavier opponents for him.
Since I featured statistics against "previously unKO'ed opponents" and against "out-weighing" opponents another statistic shouldn't be missing:
KO'ing southpaws
Oh, how boxers like to dodge southpaws (= boxers with the unorthodox stance of having their right hand in the front). And no wonder: Southpaws are difficult and southpaws are dangerous: Roy Jones Jr. (one of the best boxers of all time) suffered 3 bitter losses against southpaws (Antonio Tarver, Joe Calzaghe). Wladimir Klitschko was TKO'ed by a southpaw (Corrie Sanders) and scored his longest-round-KOs against southpaws or couldn't KO them (Ibragimov, Chris Byrd, Tony Thompson). Similar things apply to Evan Fields and others.
Therefore if you want to assess a boxers "Willingness to get-it-on-against-whomever" you should take a look at the number of southpaws they were willing to face.
Name | Southpaws faced (non-bums) | Southpaws KO'ed (non-bums) | Southpaws KO'ed (non-bums, 200×2) |
---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | |||
·Lennox Lewis | |||
·Wladimir Klitschko | |||
·Mike Tyson | |||
·Muhammad Ali | |||
·Roy Jones Jr | |||
·Riddick Bowe | |||
·George Foreman | |||
·Rocky Marciano | |||
·Joe Louis | |||
·Joe Frazier | |||
·Evander Holyfield | |||
·Larry Holmes | |||
·Sonny Liston | |||
·James Toney | |||
·Primo Carnera | |||
·Chris Byrd | |||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | |||
·Tony Galento | |||
·Eric Esch | |||
·Sam Langford |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.13]
The numbers in brackets "(+2?)" indicate that for some non-bums the stance isn't known, thus it could theoretically be that Tony Galento KO'ed 2 non-bummy southpaws.
Again this table confirms that boxers like Wladimir Klitschko and Roy Jones Jr dodge no one. Mike Tyson is a disappointment in the southpaw department. Apparently he is utterly untested against good southpaws, as is AGAIN Riddick Bowe and Lennox Lewis and Joe Frazier. They had their reasons why they avoided tougher tasks.
In the section above ("Earls, Counts and Kings") I pointed out why comparing the average KO round gives inconclusive results. Let me emphasize here again that comparing Mike Tyson (a boxer who is typically used for KO comparison purposes) to other boxers is additionally unfair because southpaws are more difficult to KO thus Mike Tyson (who has never faced a non-bummy southpaw) has an unfair advantage.
Here is a small table to compare KO'ratios against southpaws and KO'ratios against orthodoxes.
Name | Southpaws KO'ed (bums and non-bums) | Average KO'round against southpaw opponents | Average KO'round against orthodox opponents |
---|---|---|---|
·Wladimir Klitschko | 6 | 7.3 | 3.3 |
·Roy Jones Jr | 6 | 7 | 4.1 |
·James Toney | 6 | 8.5 | 5.9 |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.14]
You see clearly how the performance suffers against southpaws.
Being KO'ed statistics
Theoretically this table shouldn't be on this page, since this article is about "KO'ing" and not about "being KO'ed". But I thought it might be interesting anyway.
Name | LossRatio | KO'lossRatio | KO'lossRatio (200×2) | LossRatio (non-bums, 200×2) | KO'lossRatio (non-bums, 200×2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | |||||
·Wladimir Klitschko | |||||
·Lennox Lewis | |||||
·Mike Tyson | |||||
·Muhammad Ali | |||||
·Roy Jones Jr | |||||
·Riddick Bowe | |||||
·Frank Bruno | |||||
·George Foreman | |||||
·Rocky Marciano | |||||
·Joe Louis | |||||
·Brian Nielsen | |||||
·David Tua | |||||
·Joe Frazier | |||||
·Evander Holyfield | |||||
·Larry Holmes | |||||
·Shannon Briggs | |||||
·Sonny Liston | |||||
·James Toney | |||||
·Primo Carnera | |||||
·Chris Byrd | |||||
·Buddy Baer | |||||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | |||||
·Earnie Shavers | |||||
·Gene Tunney | |||||
·Jack Dempsey | |||||
·Tony Galento | |||||
·Eric Esch | |||||
·Sam Langford | |||||
·LaMar Clark |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.15]
Do whatever you want with these figures but remember that they are far less conclusive than KO'ratios, because losses (and KO'losses) of top boxers are pretty seldom.
Boxing nostalgia. A trip into the bellies of nostalgists
When talking with old-time boxing fans (= those who grew up without Boxrec) you will soon find out that they they think that past-time boxers were so much more powerful. The reason seems to be an ignorance of facts:
- Nostalgists do not CALCULATE KO'ratios of past-time boxers based on their real record (= Boxrec)
but instead
- Nostalgists do some "psychological calculations" by SELECTING A FEW FIGHTS and EXCLUDING A LOT OF OTHER FIGHTS.
It seems that nostalgists
- consider only fights they have seen, read of or heard of (famous fights, signature bouts, world titles) thus they don't consider 4-6-8-10-rounders at the beginning of the career
- exclude being-KO'ed-losses
- consider bummy opponents
- consider KOs in rounds 13+ ("A KO is a KO is a KO")
- melt several fights (of which only some ended in KOs) against the same opponent into 1 single KO ("Muhammad Ali KO'ed Frazier, Norton and Spinks")
- melt cruiserweight (175+) into heavyweight (200+)
- consider KOs against opponents 175+ and lower as valid heavyweight KOs
- consider not only knockouts but also knockdowns
- go by stage names ("the greatest)
- go by advertisements (Cleveland Williams, who has a heavyweight KO'ratio of 47% in real[?] heavyweight fights is a power puncher in the minds of nostalgists because the ad said "The hardest hitting heavyweight in the world")
In other words: Older boxers (e.g. Buddy Baer) who had their important fights BEFORE the advent of Boxrec are rather judged by "Nostalgic Belly Ratios" while modern boxers have a huge disadvantage because Boxrec makes it so much easier nowadays to dismiss KO'wins as meaningless and to remind everyone of non-KOs in 4-rounders at the beginning of the career.
Thus I compiled the following table, which serves as an emulation of "nostalgic KO'ratios" by
- excluding 4-6-8-10-rounders that ended in decisions
- excluding being-KO'ed-losses
- including KOs 13+
- including opponents of any weight
and then compare it to the same boxer but this time how modern boxing viewers would perceive it:
- by considering only only non-bums
- only KOs 1-12
- including 4-6-8-10-rounders
- considering only opponents 215+ (since this is the de facto entry point for the heavyweight division nowadays)
Now let's check the astonishing results. There are HUGE differences in what the bellies of nostalgists tell them ("Shavers is a power puncher") and how modern fans would assess him:
Name | Fair KO'ratio (including bums, non-bums, KOs 1-12) | Nostalgic KO'ratio (uniques, including bums, KOs 13+) | Perceived KO'ratio would the boxer box nowadays (non-bums, non-uniques, only KOs 1-12, 215+ opponents) | How modern fans would comment it |
---|---|---|---|---|
·Muhammad Ali | Would be perceived nowadays as very featherfisty | |||
·George Foreman | Would be perceived nowadays as an OK puncher. | |||
·Rocky Marciano | Not a heavyweight nowadays. May have chances as a very tiny cruiser or as a light-heavyweight | |||
·Joe Louis | Would be perceived nowadays as a good puncher | |||
·Joe Frazier | Would be perceived nowadays as an extreme featherfist | |||
·Sonny Liston | Not a heavyweight nowadays. Could make a career as a cruiser, since his overall punch seems good (at least against bums) | |||
·Primo Carnera | Would be perceived nowadays as a good puncher | |||
·Buddy Baer | "Whom has he beaten?" | |||
·Earnie Shavers | Would be perceived nowadays as very featherfisty | |||
·Gene Tunney | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
·Jack Dempsey | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
·Tony Galento | Would be perceived nowadays as an extreme featherfist | |||
·Sam Langford | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
·Ken Norton | Would be perceived nowadays as a boxer with a non-existent punch | |||
·Ron Lyle | Would be perceived nowadays as very featherfisty | |||
·Joe Bugner | Would be perceived nowadays as a proof of how the division sucks | |||
·Buster Mathis | Would be perceived nowadays as a grossly overweight featherfist | |||
·Henry Cooper | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
·George Chuvalo | Would be perceived nowadays as an extremely weak puncher with a somewhat good chin, which is untested against very good punchers | |||
·Zora Folley | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
Muhammad Ali I | Not a heavyweight nowadays | |||
George Foreman I | Would be perceived nowadays as a good puncher | |||
Muhammad Ali II | Would be perceived nowadays as a featherfist | |||
George Foreman II | Would be perceived nowadays as an OK puncher |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.16]
This goes the other way around too: I randomly checked some modern boxers who are not thought of as power punchers and checked how they would have been perceived HAD THEY BOXED in the 1970ies:
name | Fair KO'ratio (including bums, non-bums, KOs 1-12) | Nostalgic KO'ratio had they boxed in the 1970ies | Comments had they boxed in the 1970ies |
---|---|---|---|
·Chris Byrd | "Was noted for his punch!" | ||
·Sultan Ibragimov | "Superb power puncher" | ||
·Tony Thompson | "Wlad has never faced such a power puncher like Tony Thompson" | ||
·Eddie Chambers | "The Chambers of Quick Death" | ||
·Eliseo Castillo | "The Cuban Terminator" | ||
·Ross Puritty | "Nobody hits harder than Big Ross Puritty" |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.17]
Mind you: The Nostalgic KO'ratios of these boxers would be even higher, since in the 1970ies they would have been allowed to box opponents as low as 176 lbs and would be allowed to box more than 12 rounds.
I hope these tables brought some light into the fantasy world of nostalgists. These tables help to explain why past time boxers are sooo extremely overrated why modern boxers are sooo extremely dissed.
Boxing nostalgia for everyone
Theoretically you could compile such "Nostalgic KO'ratios" for all modern fighters, too. I did it for a selected few (in the last table above), but one could do it for every other modern boxer.
However in practice the following happens:
- Suddenly you raise all KO'ratios, even of weak punchers because suddenly 4-rounders by decision are excluded. Thus you effectively punish power punchers who DID manage to KO their opponents within 4 rounds.
- Suddenly you reward weak chins and losers because being KO'ed or losing in 4-rounders becomes irrelevant.
- Suddenly KO'ratios can rise from 50% (featherfisty) to 90%+ (power puncher). In other words: Suddenly a lot of boxers can have very high KO'ratios thus the high ranges become much more crowded (= more meaningless).
- Suddenly featherfists (Tony Galento) can have a higher KO'ratio than Wladimir Klitschko or Mike Tyson.
Name | Fair KO'ratio | Nostalgic KO'ratio (within 12 rounds, uniques, bums and non-bums) |
---|---|---|
·Vitali Klitschko | ||
·Lennox Lewis | ||
·Wladimir Klitschko | ||
·Mike Tyson | ||
·Muhammad Ali | ||
·Frank Bruno | ||
·George Foreman | ||
·Roy Jones Jr | ||
·Riddick Bowe | ||
·Joe Louis | ||
·Rocky Marciano | ||
·Brian Nielsen | ||
·David Tua | ||
·Joe Frazier | ||
·Joe Mesi | ||
·Evander Holyfield | ||
·Tommy Morrison | ||
·Larry Holmes | ||
·Shannon Briggs | ||
·Sonny Liston | ||
·Bruce Woodcock | ||
·James Toney | ||
·Tye Fields | ||
·Gary Mason | ||
·Bruce Seldon | ||
·Duane Bobick | ||
·Primo Carnera | ||
·Chris Byrd | ||
·Buddy Baer | ||
·Tommy Gomez | ||
·Alex Stewart | ||
·Max Baer | ||
·Earnie Shavers | ||
·Harry Wills | ||
·Sugar Ray Robinson | ||
·Andre Purlette | ||
·Jimmy Adamick | ||
·Tony Fulilangi | ||
·Jack Dempsey | ||
·Gene Tunney | ||
·Tony Galento | ||
·Faruq Saleem | ||
·Eric Esch | ||
·Sam Langford | ||
·Mohamed Benguesmia | ||
·John L. Sullivan | ||
·Harley Breshears | ||
·Don Steele | ||
·Hoot Burger | ||
·Pat Killen | ||
·Al Migliorato | ||
·Ruslan Chagaev | ||
·Corrie Sanders | ||
·Samuel Peter | ||
·Floyd Patterson | ||
·Lamon Brewster | ||
·Sultan Ibragimov | ||
·Tony Thompson | ||
·Ray Mercer | ||
·Francois Botha | ||
·Jameel McCline |
Fistic Statistic [#1267.18]
And let me point out again that the last column doesn't feature the real KO'ratios but "doctored KO'ratios" to emulate "Nostalgists' belly rankings".
End words
- You can see from these tables that there is a reason. A reason why famous boxers are really famous. And why others (despite their high KO'ratios) are not famous.
- Kicking bums off the record simplifies everything and clears the fog.
- The Klitschkos have secured top positions for the next decades to come. More successful and powerful KO'ers never existed before. Only Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes come close. All others (Sonny Liston, Earnie Shavers, Joe Louis…) don't even play in the same league.
- The KO'ratio of Wladimir Klitschko is even more impressive since he more than others has KO'ed difficult opponents that others tended to avoid: Previously unKO'ed opponents, southpaw opponents, heavier-than-self opponents. Whenever comparing Klitschko to Mike Tyson always remember that Mike Tyson has not faced a single good southpaw in his career.
- Since Wladimir Klitschko emerges as the toppest heavyweight KO'er who ever boxed I tried to find a KO'er statistic where he actually looks bad. There is none. Thus whenever you make fantasy matchups ("Wladimir vs XYZ") always consider that you are talking about probably the best KO'er of all times: Hardest punches, dangerous from first round to the last (ask Eddie Chambers) and equally successful against bums and non-bums and against easy and difficult opponents. Even if you survived previous fights against hard punchers your chances to survive Wladimir Klitschko are minimal.
Hardest hitters of boxing: KO stats of Tyson, Klitschko, Foreman, Shavers and other knockout artists,
Seriously, wake up THEY ARE ALL BUMS. name ONE credible hall of fame potential opponent??? with every great champion a person defending there so called chosen fighter usually reels off a succesion of GREAT FIGHTERS they have beaten on road to success….i challenge you to do the same instead of writing the statistical drivel based on overmatched, smaller bums you are comparing to greats who fought greats….well…
I pre-answered this already at
[post=932]
What? He basically just popped a huge myth beyond much doubt with this article. All of those old guys would be so weak these days it would be laughable, and second rate HW like Puritty and weak punchers of today would absolutely annihilate them, there IS no challenge. "Hall of Fame" is the biggest joke out. The "Hall of Fame" seems to me, is where they put boxers after they are no longer regarded as competitive mostly. Ali and Louis are barely HW and are in it. Frazier is in it and is one of the weakest champs. Yet Tyson has only JUST got in and Wlad will be lucky if he EVER makes it lol you must be joking right?
Lol i love it how you have put my comments into your "typical reproaches" page..genius.
Can you do a comparison of the weight difference +/- of the heavyweight champions opponents?
for example, the difference of the weights between the fighters themselfs deducted from there opponents in a +/- form?
For example the weight difference between wlad and his opponents fought/beaten comparaed to others like rocky, joe loius, ali, frazier etc compared to there opponents, then we could get a better picture of who is beating the better opposition and harder match ups, for instance, if a fighter wins most of his fights against heavier/taller victims that has to count in there favour right??
Also if you could do something simular with heights then we could really see which champions were truly setting the bar high for there eras, or ones that were just born taller,bigger and stronger than everyone else.
This is a sensible request,and please, with out any statistical funny business, just the straght record fact for fact, every opponent,every fight.regardless of kickboxing weights.
Thanks.
Don't overestimate yourself. Simply accept that you are using reproaches like I have read them dozens of times. That's because ABCs (American and British complainers) are so predictable and merely repeat what they heard on TV.
[post=3369]
Right. This can be used as one parameter in all-time rankings.
This is not possible since a lot of heights are unknown. When it comes to reach it's even more so. Additionally the heights given are VERY unreliable.
Fair enough, i see what you mean by heights, i get several different figuers for george forman and valuev, also weights differed from fight to fight and often quite alot through the whole carear..which one is there 'best' weight?
I agree that this parameter could be used as a non biased basis for all time ranking.
others could be..
Advancements in boxing technique/strategies ie jack johnson defense..
KO ratio, i know you have tried something simular, but i mean kos, in weight compared to them self.
Any record broken, or 'firsts'..yes i suppose you could unclude wlads longest rein of the ibo/wbo belts, although not as valuable as the lineal or even wbc,wba,ibf due to length of time in service.
Records against hall of famers and/or notable fighters of there era.
Length of time at the top 'longevity' title defenses.
Record of fame or big fights such as..the joe louis max shmelling bonanza. or jack dempsy bringing the first 1 million dollar fight..this has less to do with there fighting skills 1v1 i know, but is an indication of there charisma and importance and therefor as fame and notoriety are linked this invaribly leads to greatness.
What do you think?? anythink to add?..
Any record broken, or 'firsts'..yes i suppose you could unclude wlads longest rein of the ibo/wbo belts, although not as valuable as the lineal or even wbc,wba,ibf due to length of time in service.
Records against hall of famers and/or notable fighters of there era.
Length of time at the top 'longevity' title defenses.
Record of fame or big fights such as..the joe louis max shmelling bonanza. or jack dempsy bringing the first 1 million dollar fight..this has less to do with there fighting skills 1v1 i know, but is an indication of there charisma and importance and therefor as fame and notoriety are linked this invaribly leads to greatness.
Literally all the boxing toplists known to man were based on these "hype and charisma" type of statistics BEFORE I came along.
Just search for boxing toplists on the internet and nearly all of them are based on such things.
Therefore I am not interested in acknowledging for example the hype of the Max'n'Joe show, especially not since it was 198lbs vs 192lbs and shouldn't belong on a heavyweight toplist anyway.
What? KOs in weight compared to them self?
As i have said previously, that WAS for the heavyweight championship..was there another weight division above that one? is there even one now? NO.
If your argument is that wlad,vitali, valuev, primo camera etc belong in ANOTHER weight division..say a new super heavyweight division..then yes i can see that makes sense.
In that scenario you could make the claim with some more credibility that wlad IS the greatest SUPER heavyweight of all time..maybe, although george forman, lennox lewis is also big as is vitali…so he may even come 4th, although a fairer arguement can be made.
In that scenario, it would be a fair argument, but then we wouldnt be comparing wlad to 98% of all heavyweights in history..making the comparisons on this site pointless.
-i bit like comapring welterweights to middleweights if you will.
You right when you say 'hype' should have any room when making list of the best fighters.
How ever the 'term greatnesss' seems to be a bit mixed up..greatness is mainly based on reputation, notoriety,….
But yea, ok i will go along with that more measurable 'statistical' way, as all the other stuff is more subjective.
Yea i mean the difference in size, height and weight of the champion, in comparison to the guys he has knocked out….
Im not sure how you would go about such a thing, as you have stated that such statistics are hard to come by, let alone accurate.
But my thinking is this, punching power is basically weight/strength x speed = power. more or less.
So obviously the bigger the guy, the more weight/strength= power he carries..also due to the angle he punches from he sustaines the power…everyone knows that it is harder punching up and fighters lose some punching power doing so, taller bigger heavier fighters carry a natural adv…
Also, due to the mass (weight)of the opponents, there ability to take a punch (chin) is probably (although not always certain) increased the higher in weight you go…ask a welterweight to try and knock out a heavyweight with one punch?..it aint gonna happen!.
So what i am trying to say is, that there is lots of posturing, reputaions etc saying this fighter or this fighter..however how are there records really comparable?? george forman has a very high knockout ratio…but how many of them were his own size??
What about rocky, who is regarded a slightly lighter punncher of the heavies, but yet he knock out fighters that were usually bigger, taller and heavier than him, so P4P does that make him the better knockut artist?? same with wlad + vitali.
In terms of who is the 'hardest puncher' that is impossible to gauge unless you get everyone in history to punch a pressure monitor..but the 'best ko puncher' that would be doable, you already have alot of weights on this site…would it really be difficult to do something simular as above?…
Maybe the cut off point for the 'superheavyweights' could be something like 6'4,78inch reach, 230lbs and above…something like that?..bascically if i remember, george forman and ron lyle were considered a new breed of super heavies back in the seventies..so they could be included.
Just followed your li9nk above..Thankyou for listening to my suggestion..not entirely sure that it is not biased on first look, as your a wlad fan, and every thing/statistic seems to justify wlad as some kind of super hero. would be interesting to see the individual weights of the fighters that you got this info from.
On another note, when i clicked on the link above i was logged in as admin, so i couldnt comment in that section…why was that??
..could you do who is the greatest super hero…compare powers and put in some kind of chart to see whos the best of all times?…dont tell me wlad wins in every stat
The Admin (= me) can comment in every section he pleases to.
So either you were not logged in as admin or it's a severe bug in WordPress. As long as you can not edit someone else's comments or post new articles you were not logged in as admin.
Wlad does not win in every category. But Wlad is at the very top in so many categories that he might be considered the greatest boxer of all time BY RECORD, although that's premature to say and I won't run any in depth statistics until Wlad and Vitali finish their careers.
Yea for some reason if i click on that link you gave above about your new article, it takes me into admin mode? where if i go the manual route its just normal..?
One other thing, why have you not included ko's after round 12??
also you make assumptions on evander holyfield taking steroids (correct) but fail to mention about vitali admitting the same thing in his auto biography..
Also as you make assumptions that mike tyson took steroids (wrong) you could draw assumptions with the same logic that wladimir also took steroids….
Just making a point..
I pre-answered this already at [post=932]
Vitali was excluded from Olympics because his doctor prescribed him a medicine which contained an illegal substance. There is no hint, let alone proof that Vitali or Wladimir take any illegal substances at pro boxing.
Just making a point..
That Mike suffered from roid rage is not my assumption. I merely mention it, because it's one theory why he was so impulsive, e.g. biting other people's LEGS.
No i dont have a word press blog, i just wont use that link.
Ha yes he was/is a bit crazy, i doubt it has got anything to do with steroids, he had a messed up childhood and has always been like that, he has also always been a very stocky natuarlly big man, unlike evan fields who obviously has to bulk/juice up just to compete at the weight..he is a natuaral cruiserweight after all.
Look dude, your not exactly doing your self any favours with you stat rules…
We know wladimir is a big heavyweight..so you discredit the old fighters weights..
We know wladimir fights at 12 longer ko friendly rounds…so you chop off the oldies 15rd kos..
That and the rather suspect/subjective 'ahem median' weights when just average is standard…
Whilst i agree on your views on bums and padded record at the start of carear..i also appreciate that you have to figuer out a certain set of rules to stick to in order to do long winded statistics..but..
Would it not be more realistic to compare each fighters resume, fight for fight from the start and pick out the 'bums' idivdually rather than 75% rule?
Also not sure about you rules on when fighters fight the same fighter more than once..
as wlad hasnt fought many rematches that would be another area which could be ahem 'adjusted' to favour wlad…not saying it has..just dubious thats all..
It's exactly vice versa. Don't use inverted logic.
15 rounds would give Vitali and Wladimir MORE chances to win by KO (because they are such KOers).
Since Wladimir and Vitali don't lose any rounds they don't benefit from 12-round-fights. The ancient boxers did.
Having now only 12 rounds FAVORS the ancient boxers MASSIVELY. That's why I use the 12-round-cap to level the comparison field.
I use the median average instead of the arithmetic average as I pre-explained at [post=341]
No, that way you would ignite a yearlong debate whether Mike Tyson should be considered a bum. From my experience EVERY boxer has been called a bum, including Tyson, Evan Fields, Valuev and Sonny Liston. Therefore you need to adhere to a strict definition.
I pre-answered this at [post=341]
Rematches favor ANCIENT fighters (like Ali) since rematches give them a chance to avenge. See also [post=2342] –> "Ali's rematches"
No i dont have a word press blog, i just wont use that link.
Ha yes he was/is a bit crazy, i doubt it has got anything to do with steroids, he had a messed up childhood and has always been like that, he has also always been a very stocky natuarlly big man, unlike evan fields who obviously has to bulk/juice up just to compete at the weight..he is a natuaral cruiserweight after all.
Look dude, your not exactly doing your self any favours with you stat rules…
We know wladimir is a big heavyweight..so you discredit the old fighters weights..
We know wladimir fights at 12 longer ko friendly rounds…so you chop off the oldies 15rd kos..
That and the rather suspect/subjective 'ahem median' weights when just average is standard…
Whilst i agree on your views on bums and padded record at the start of carear..i also appreciate that you have to figuer out a certain set of rules to stick to in order to do long winded statistics..but..
Would it not be more realistic to compare each fighters resume, fight for fight from the start and pick out the 'bums' idivdually rather than 75% rule?
Also not sure about you rules on when fighters fight the same fighter more than once..
as wlad hasnt fought many rematches that would be another area which could be ahem 'adjusted' to favour wlad…not saying it has..just dubious thats all..
Also i have just checked other fights that you dont allow..such as nc, and cuts that you define by head buts…how would you know how the foul was commited and what effect it would have on the fight without watching EVERY fight?? and if so if you are making judgements on which fouls/rules are 'allowed' by your terms isnt that being subjective if it is YOU who is calling the shots against the official ruling??..(taking into consideration bias..)
There is certainly a lot of lee way that you have created that MIGHT sway fine margins one way or another….
Being as you adversing this site as 'non bias' and many of you comments do come across defending wlad/pro wlad and your articles are mainly based around wlad..not too mention he comes out on top of nealy every statistic you do..out of every heavyweight in history..come on you must admit that subjective lee-way does look a little ..suspect..
Aha, so you have adjusted it to suit wlad.
Im not using inverted logic, you have biased it favour of 12 round fighters…as you would know, 12 rounders are subjected to LONGER 3minute rounds, the longer the fight goes on into the later rounds the HARDER' it is to knock fighters out!,(hypercritical since that is wlads strength right?) as you have warped these statics, you have also negativly affected the ko ratio, as 12 round fights are LONGER ROUNDS and 15 rounds are SHORTER rounds by chopping off the top end you are giving the oldies a massive dissadvantges..
1)You have given the old fighters LESS time to complete the knockout…(3min RD VS only 2min RD )
2)you have changed the number of knockouts negativly affecting ko ratio in favour of wlad…
3)You have affected the stats on v weight comparisons and any other stats..
4)you are putting your own subjective rules, not taking into account fighters paced them selfs for such things..tactics???
5)by the same logic, if you LEFT ON the oldies last percentage that you chopped off, but if you applied your same biased rules inverted to wlad and chopped off HIS end round kos INSTEAD the ko ratio would be just as biased against wlad as they are now against the oldies……
This along with the rematch dodgyness..favouring wlads record,and the weight bias.. the 'median' rules that would show wlads weight advanteges less pronounced/obvious…
… Judging by what i have seen so far, and pointed out above, no doubt if i went through alot of the NC disallowed fights you have probably chopped off that would affect the outcome in wlads favour also…
Wlad is a great fighter, regardless of you making tables that are biased to show him come on top, he would have very good stats anyway, either way it is all completely subjective and no tables can compare eras for all sorts of variables that cannot be accounted for with stats..biased or not.
Im sure if i could be bothered i could go through you stats with a fine tooth comb and pick it apart but i cant be bothered, i have seen enough already…
If in future you want to put your intellect to something more usefull, i sugest you do a proper boxing site, and base the stats from a popular respectable source, like box rec, taking there view/record as the absolute basis, non changed, adjusted in any way…THEN make stats and graphs to compare various greats from all the weght divisions..that would be usefull.
Im sorry dude it is quite obvious that you are a wlad fan, and it is quite obvious that you, whilst probably not gave false imformation, at least biased the stats to favour wlad in many scenarios.
..That is a shame because fans have been crying out for a proper non biased statistical site, it seems theres always a catch..
On another note..judging by the theme of your conversations, and your preference towards wlad..i would have a wild guess that you nationality is German..or at the very least easten european.. am i right??
Brits usually get on with germans…
What? Wlad's chances to knock someone out are very high in the first and in the last rounds.
Wald chances to lose a round are minimal in the first and in the last rounds.
Therefore 12-rounders put Wlad at an disadvantage because they rob him of 3 additional rounds.
What in the world? 2-minute rounds? This is not female boxing. Louis boxed 3 minute rounds as did Ali.
1) This applies only to very little fighters. And very marginally so.
2) To pre-counter-argue guys like you I have also included the statistic "rounds per KO" where I feature both values: One including overlate KOs and one excluding. This is by the way my preferred method of comparing the KO power, since it unites both features: KOratio and KOspeed.
What?
I pre-answered this already at [post=932]. No need to throw at me IN NEARLY EVERY OF YOUR POSTS reproaches that I have answered already.
but if you applied your same biased rules inverted to wlad and chopped off HIS end round kos INSTEAD the ko ratio would be just as biased against wlad as they are now against the oldies……
Look, if in the future all fights would be 10 rounds then yes, for KOratio comparisons I would delete KOs in rounds 11 or 12 off the record.
That is my whole point of having "Rounds per KO". Because that statistic does not delete KOs off the record.
Don't invent things. I use median so that extremes (like fighting Eric Esch) don't matter. That is the whole purpose of the median and that's why median is used so often in science.
And it's actually the arithmetic average that is used to hide something.
Since you are referring to [post=3369]
I RECHECKED the averages to see how the differ (in most cases median and averages don't differ much):
Wlad Klitschko vs heavier-than-self opponents: 12 lbs median, 16.1 lbs arithmetic (4.1 lbs difference)
Ali: 8 and 9.8 (1.8 lbs difference)
Tyson: 11 and 13.3 (2.3 lbs difference)
FIreman: 9.5 and 11.5 (2 lbs difference)
Marciano: 10.5 and 14.7 (4.2 lbs difference)
So actually the MEDIAN AVERAGE is to the disadvantage of Klitschko since the ARITHMETIC AVERAGE would underline even more how well Klitschko performs.
So if anything at all, the stats are BIASED AGAINST Klitschko.
What the heck? Now you want to include NO CONTEST fights into calculations?
You are welcome to give me statistics I didn't think of before. I will gladly run them, as long as they are objective and not subjective (like "ring presence" or "foot speed").
My stats are based on EXACTLY the same data like Boxrec's. There is no difference between me and boxrec.
It's actually boxrec that is biased as I wrote at [post=488]. THEY will always skew their stats to have Ali at #1.
..That is a shame because fans have been crying out for a proper non biased statistical site, it seems theres always a catch.
Yeah, the catch is, that boxing fans don't want to believe how good Wlad is.
I neither live in Germany, nor was I born in Germany, nor am I married to a German, nor do I use a German Windows version.
My flag says it all.
Even in your own biased table you have adjusted it again to put, rocky, tua,lewis,tyson and briggs at the BOTTOM of the 'kos against undefeated fighters' when in fact they should be AT THE TOP on 66%?? WTF?
Ive had enough of this crap.
What the heck?
All tables are sorted alphabetically (= fighters' names).
And you can SORT the tables by clicking the first row.
lol funny sh*t!!
Im not saying that wlad isnt a great fighter, he is, its just that you are not non biased, your articles are all based around him..and only him.
No im not saying include NC fights..but if there record says that a fight was stopped on a cut..that was caused by a punch..for instance lewis v vitali and you maybe went back and changed such a fight to a no contest..becuase you would decide that it was a foul FOR EXAMPLE NOT SAYING YOU DID. then that would be one way to doctor win/loss ratios ko stats etc..as wlad is a very 'clean' type of boxer..
I appologise for the round time, i just checked and it was 3 min 15 RD.
The chopping off the end rounds is still blatently unfair tho it is known that it is very hard to knock opponent out the later the fight goes on..this is one of wlads strengths in 12 round fights, he has finished a number of opponents in the later rounds…
SO if you chop off the few kos that threy might have got you take away some of there achievements, also they would have had to pace them selfs and plan for the late rounds which changed the nature of the fights back then, and the ko ratios as they would expend less energy at the start the easiest ko time in case they run out of steam at the end of the fight.
Thats why stats like this are very interesting, but make true comparisons on who would win or who is the greatest impossible to compare..just interesting.
Im not bothered whether wlad does well in stats against boxer x or y, i knew that anyway he has lots of fights and lots of kos.i knew that..whats unrealistic and annoying is the way you have done the stats with an obvious wlad bias while claiming to be neutral..your not.
the tablei refere to is the kos against undefeated non bums, where the fighters i mentioned above got 2/3 kos in your table which is 66%.. but when you click on the button to optimise they sink to the bottom and suprise suprise it shows wlad on top with ..66% with rocky second…
very strange..
Anyway ive said enough already what i want to say, i have learned some stuff though, like earnie shavers lacks ko technique (not power) against larger opponents
That wlad has a decent record against same weight (not size) opponents as well as a top ko ratio.
That supisingly mike tyson comes out higher thn i expected him to in your ko stats..
And also there is a myth about heavyweight boxers weights form years gone by, they were in rockys/gene tunneys era very light inderd and wlad would be too big for a small rocky.
But in the end it is interesting but proves that you cant rreally compre eras.
I wont be commenting anymore.
very strange..
That's because I exclude % calculations when there are 3 or less fights. I do it throughout the blog. Otherwise guys with 1 KO in 1 fight would always be listed at the top with "100%".
3 fights are way too unrepresentative to make any % calculations. Even 4 is borderline.
Additionally I don't hide anything, the values are still listed, just not included in the sorting.
Hey I'm doing an assignment on Mike Tyson, I need someone from the boxing community (Boxer, coach…) to please give some opinions on his previous convictions, whether your opinions are good or bad, I'd appreciate anything. Just email me at [email protected]
Thanks.
I don't want to seem like I'm disagreeing with you just because I do not like Wlad, I don't mind him. But this whole thing seems like a massive, time consuming attempt to make Klitschko the highest on the list.
Albeit your logics cannot be argued with, you come off as a ranting Wlad fan that is annoyed that everyone hates him.
I agree that looking at his opponents he's took out many good ones _BUT_ I will stick to my guns and my standard and usual argument on this subject.
YOU CANNOT JUDGE THIS! There are far to many variables in one fight alone to ever manage to work this out. Unless you take every boxer that has ever existed and put them (in their prime) and measure their punch power using the right equipment. This is the only way.
No. This the WRONG way.
I am pretty sure that Wlad would be at the top of some punch measure machine, but that's still the WRONG way. It doesn't consider reach, speed, stamina etc… Boxing is not a punchometer contest.
Punch power, in prime, you cannot argue that Tyson would top that. Besides this is dedicated to something which is absolutely pointless. It's a hell of a lot of work for something that is trivial.
Only (in my book) people who don't appreciate other aspects of boxing care about KO ratio.
Don't believe me? Go search for a list with as much effort as this one based on speed, stamina and ability to use reach (your 3 suggestions).
Tyson would be at the top (in his prime)
I agree, that it's not a punchometer contest. That's why I find this list idiotic and insulting to boxing.
I find only people who do not appreciate all aspects of boxing seem to care about KO ratio.
Don't believe me? Go and find a list that has half as much effort put into it dedicated to speed, stamina or reach. (Your 3 suggestions)
I never saw "speed" on the score cards. At heavyweight it's completely irrelevant that you have been faster… if you lie KOed on the floor.
That's why KOratio is far more important than "speed", "stamina" or "reach".
Additionally there are no "speed divisions", "reach divisions" nor "stamina divisions". There are weight divisions because weight predicts most reliably the KO probability, thus weight divisions approximate "KO divisions".
Hence, stamina lists are useless, as are speed lists. KOperformance lists on the other hand are highly valuable.
Your "bum/non-bum" designation skews in favor of fighters who fight less often and box during a time when the sport overall is less competitive. These stats whether intentional or not appear to be worked backward from a starting point where Klitschko is ranked highest then manipulated to express this by using the false delimiter "bum/non-bum" to express what the statistician believes to be true. Present them again without your "bum/non-bum" designation.
I believe he has worked his stats as much as he can to portray Wlad as best as he possibly can without providing false information. He is as much a one-eyed fan as the one-eyed Ali fans he combats against with this site. When he must defend against valid arguments though he will use his stats any way possible to skew them in his favour.
As much as Wesley makes a fool of himself sometimes he's managed to stay mostly factual here for once. You (admin) most CERTAINLY are a Wlad fan nobody in their right mind could read this and decide otherwise as sure as Wlad would KO Floyd Patterson within 10seconds lol. There isn't anything wrong with being a fan of a particular boxer or set of fighters it's cool, doesn't mean you can't be objective anyway. But I too have wondered whether you doctor the stats with your rules to nudge Wladimir on top of lots of the tables. I mean Wlad is one of the greatest there can be no doubt about that. But h2h performance wise Vitali and Lennox Lewis are right along side. I mean they are approx. same size, similar styled and by watching them fight you couldn't clearly tell which one was better. You can CLEARLY see that Foreman is not as good and CLEARLY see that Ali would be a lamb to the slaughter by comparison buy these guys are pretty even so using the stats to boost Wlad so much does beg the question Wesley asks. I think you've been pretty fair but you must know you will be open to this interpretation.
Anyhow the statistics line up fairly closely with how I would have called it without them anyhow in terms of KO's. For instance the fella above claiming Mike was hardest puncher ever is based on KOing some pretty bad bums and pretty light cruisers, when he met good/big opposition he wasn't quite the KO artist then.
However I'm open to the argument that out of the four biggest punchers (Wladimir, Vitali, Lennox and Tyson), that Tyson being the smallest may not have had quite as powerful straight punches as the other 3 but may have had more powerful hooks and uppercuts as a result of his tight compact core and lower centre of gravity and shorter arms etc, more proportionally muscular legs etc. He could have been able to generate greater rotational power than his tall competitiors who would have a more difficult balance and ungainly leverage to overcome. Of course he must be able to get in and spend a lot of time inside to be able to exercise this power and pull off a KO win! :)
I also believe Tommy Morrison may have had the hardest punch of all time, harder than Lennox/Klitschko's/Tyson or Foreman but the stats wont reflect that.
But then Tommo you have to admit that good old George had pretty damn good chin because he took some bombs from Tommy :). Anyway I still think that George, Lewis, Wladimir are three comparable punchers (probably the hardest). They are closely folowed by Tommy Morrison, Riddick Bowe, Mike Tyson, Hasim Rahman, david Haye and then maybe Vitali.
If they were tested and found to be the case as you've listed I wouldn't be surprised. But I would be surprised not to find Morrison at or very near the top of this stat. Oh no doubt George had a great chin, along with his punch power it was necessary to possess one in order to fight contenders as he did at his age. Even in his prime his match with Ron Lyle was also testament to the fact he could take a punch and 1 KO loss in entire career, undeniably gas related, proved he could give and take. Morrison on the other hand only liked to dish out the punishment not being on the receiving end. In fact I'm struggling to think of a fight where I've seen a boxer lose in more embarrassing fashion, esp when he was winning (Tommy/Ray).
Morrison on the other hand only liked to dish out the punishment not being on the receiving end.
W?adimir admitted this too (I think it was in interview before Mormeck fight). They are both great punchers who do not like to be hit too often. Vitali is not much different. That is why I prefer other boxers. Even Haye was more active in fight with Chisora (not as careful as Vitali). I like that you mentioned Lyle/George fight. That was one of the best fights of the 70s. Actually I first cheer for Mercer that he just turned the fight like that but than I felt sorry for Tommy (he was truly punished) especially because re. shut stop that earlier. When I watched that match last time my father was listening to music. It was song When blind man cry from Deep purple so I had this song as soundtrack for Tommy/Mercer fight. Again thank you for good talk Tommo. But tell me where the hell is admin? Maybe he is working on article you mentioned above: Wlad is not only better boxer than Muhammad. He is better lover. :)
Well the Russians will hate me for saying this but whether you're a supporter of Klitschko or not, you have to be honest. The Corrie Sanders knock out was quite amusing lol :) I like the analogy someone else used on here saying he looked "startled like a deer in the headlights" lol gotta laugh!! Let me tell you that they will retire with their brains intact, like Lennox before them. Wladimir most of all because (apart from his upsets) of his reluctance to engage in bloody battles. I don't blame him at all. If I could conquer the heavyweight division in world professional boxing without exposing myself to cruel punishment I would as well. I think anyone would if they were capable. He still must have heart to be able to do that (perhaps not as much as my mate Evander and others who have faced more adversity). However it is that very thing that takes away the excitement. Everybody loves a battle!! :) Yes that ref was pretty bad lol poor Tommy. Anytime mate!! =P Yeah I was going to say same thing about admin. He's been updating the random quotes I noticed because new ones have been added but nothing on comments or articles. Wake up admin ;) Klitschko needs you haha!!
That is good thing they will live their live well (Vitali, Wlad and Lennox) and I personally think that they are such good technicians (not including their physical gifts) because they are always smarter then their oponents. All three are well educated and I think that is good point because maybe they can thinking better.
In fact I'm struggling to think of a fight where I've seen a boxer lose in more embarrassing fashion, esp when he was winning (Tommy/Ray).
I thnk Tommys most embarrassing loss was in Rocky V to Sly Stallone. :)
Yeah you know why, he forgot to throw the left hook ;) lol
I have read in 3 diferent places that Ali won the gld medal for light heavyweights in Rome 1960. I have read in this blog that Ali never received a gold medal. What is your source for this?
Of course Ali got a gold medal.
ADMIN!! :) Please write more! I'll subscribe! lol
RIP Tommy Morrison, an old favourite. Very fitting for a tribute to be in the hardest hitters section!!
I didn't read all of your page. The data is skewed. Hardest hitting? Earnie Shavers hit like a train. Ali felt it, Holmes knew, Norton got some, too. I was a Tyson fan way back when, and I have mad respect for Lennox Lewis. Lewis is a beast. You can't quantify power with statistics…at least not how you were showing it. I admire your attempt to do so, but just 'cuz you don't knock out George Foreman (just an example) don't mean you don't have power, and it don't mean you don't have more power than someone who won with a knockout. To quantify "hardest hitters" with ko's and wins…well, it just doesn't work. That said, props for doing the math.
Another dumb ass reaches the site.
For dub 100 IQ fans there's Boxing Scene.
For sub 80 there's Boxing24.
Shaver's was a superheavyweight featherfist, as demonstrated. I would like to add he never once fought what would today be regarded as a decent opponent.
Tyson and Lewis WERE among the hardest punchers of all time as shown clearly in the stats, o what are you arguing?
Muhammad Ali, feather fist, DID knock out Foreman. It's clearly added to Ali's stats here because Foreman was 218lbs (a real HW), had plenty enough fights, won al of his fights previous, and was finished before 12 rounds. So again, there's no problem.
The math speaks volumes.
You have exposed yourself as a complete fool!
Also let me make another point. Vitali fought Shannon Briggs 13 years after Foreman fought him when Briggs was in horrible shape. Punched away and couldn't stop him. Foreman fought the younger and lighter Briggs and made him run from his power. Foreman was pushing 50 then. Logic would dictate Foreman was way weaker and a weaker puncher then yet still caused Briggs to flee.
This guy has to be one of the biggest morons ever. Clearly he is a Klistchko fan boy. Today's heavyweights are usually out of shape, Look at guys like Sam Peter and Chris Areola. You didn't see fat fighters back then.
Also Vitali admitted to be juiced in his prime. So why wouldn't Wlad be juiced? So 2 juiced fighters who still couldn't even punch harder than a 50 year old Foreman.
George Foreman who fought Briggs was 260 something bloody lbs!
And the Shannon Briggs he fought was ONLY 220 something!
Vitali Klitschko who fought Briggs was 245 and it was then BRIGGS who was around 260!
You absolute fool! lol
Today's HW's are almost ALWAYS in shape! Chris Arreola is back in shape now, a little chubby still, but it's HW, there's no law against fat. Arreola makes your point completely ridiculous because he can fight at a cracking pace for 12 rounds and not gas (with the power I might add also to knock almost every ATG in history into next week).
Samuel Peter did get fat, but for some of his Klitschko fights he was sporting a f*cking ripped 6 pack!
Why not look at fattie old fighters like Frazier and MAthis and compare THEM to chubby boxers today and THEN compare the "athletic" boxers of yesterday to the "athletic" boxers of TODAY.
You wont do that because David Haye, the Klitschko's, Wilder, Joshua, Jennings etc etc are 100x more athletic than ANY boxer who ever existed in nostalgic times.
AS IF The Klitschko's couldn't hit as hard as Foreman! Ok, so Foreman's wild wound up shots might have contained more force than Vitali's straight arrow shots, maybe, but you can't penalise Vitali for actually KNOWING HOW TO BOX and fighting DECENT OPPONENTS, unlike George who could get away with those punches! Same punch for same punch, I say VK hits harder.
Obviously Wladimir hits much harder than Foreman, only a retard would claim otherwise!
Who cares if they are juiced today, today almost every professional boxer is on PED's because they HAVE to be to compete at top level. It's irrelevant for the discussion.
AS IF The Klitschko's couldn't hit as hard as Foreman! Ok, so Foreman's wild wound up shots might have contained more force than Vitali's straight arrow shots, maybe, but you can't penalise Vitali for actually KNOWING HOW TO BOX and fighting DECENT OPPONENTS, unlike George who could get away with those punches! Same punch for same punch, I say VK hits harder.
So George did not fight decent oponents? How about Moorer, Morrison, Holy, Briggs, Schultz, Quawi?
Wladimir punching power is not overrated. Vitalis is.
And dont call me retard Carl.
This article leads us to believe that heavier is better, and previous boxers from past eras would not stand a chance is modern times. It also leads us to believe that as heavyweight boxers keep on getting bigger (heavier) in the future, there will be on chance of a lighter guy like say Ali, Patterson and Tyson raising through the ranks to be champion in modern times. So could a light heavyweight like Ali, Patterson and Tyson hold a championship belt again. I am going to address this question, and i think it would be good to starts with the question who is the bigger puncher Deontay Wilder, or Wladimir Kiltschko?
Deontay Wilder is a lighter heavyweight comparable to Tyson, Ali, Foreman, Norton, Liston and Clevland Williams. Though Deontay Wilder is taller at 6'7, as this site points out boxing is not separated by height categorize, it is separated by weight categorize. Deontay Wilder is the undefeated newly crowned WBC champion with a record of 34-0 with 33KO's.
Deontay Wilder 97% KO rate
Lowest weight 207 pounds
Heaviest weight 229 pounds (never been in a 230×2 fight)
Average weight 213 pounds
Average weight of opponent 243 pounds
Heaviest weight of opponent KO'd 398 pounds (Deontay was 215 pounds himself)
Deontay KO rate of below average weight of opponents, and above (243 pounds)
sub 243 pounds 243+ pounds
20/21 13/13
95% 100%
Non bum KO rate 13/14 93%
KO's in championship fights 1/2 50%
Deontay is outweighed in 27/34 of his fights 79%.
As you can see from these stats Deontay is outweighed in the majority of his fights(79%), but has no problem fighting and KO'ing opponents much more massive than himself. Pointing out the weight of modern heavyweights(235 pounds average) and concluding from that, that past champions had no chance against modern heavyweights is simply untrue. Deontay has never fought in a 230×2 fight, but as these stats show it does not mean Deontay would have any trouble at all KO'ing opponents well above that weight. Also if Deontay stayed below 215 pounds it does not mean he would have any trouble with opponents in a fantasy 215+,230+ or 250+ pound weight category.
Wladimir Kiltschko 79% KO rate
Lowest weight 220 pounds
Heaviest weight 249 pounds
average weight 239 pounds
average weight of opponent 230 pounds
Heaviest weight of opponent KO'd 287 pounds (Wladimir's weight 242 pounds)
Wladimir KO rate of below average weight of Deontay's opponents, and above (243 pounds)
sub 243 pounds 243+ pounds
37/45 15/20
82% 75%
Non bum KO rate 37/43 86%
KO's in championship fights 19/27 70% KO rate
Wladimir outweighs 57% of his opponents.
As you an see by these stats Deontay has a far harder punch than Wladimir, and beats Wladimir in all but the championship fight KO stat. Deontay also does this in spite of being a lighter heavyweight(213 pounds average) and fighting heavier opponents than Wladimir (Deontay 243 pound on average vs Wladimir's 230 pound). As this example of a smaller heavyweight shows fighters like Ali, Foreman, Liston etc still have a chance of being heavyweight champion in the modern era. Just because you have never had the chance to fight heavier modern heavyweights does not mean you could not beat them, or even KO them.
If your still not convinced remember the fact that past Cruiserweight, and blown up middleweights have already been world heavyweight champions in the modern era.
David Haye who is small and very light at 6'3 and 210 pounds fought and beat the the largest heavyweight champion of all time Nikolay Valuev 7'0 and 310 pounds, and won the WBA belt. David Haye also beat former champion John Ruiz by KO in the 9th round.
A blown up middleweight Roy Jones jr also won the WBA heavyweight belt from John Ruiz in a points victory. Roy Jones 5'11 fought at 193 pounds (a cruiserweight) and beat a John Ruiz 6'3 226 pounds. So that means two things a guy shorter than Joe Frazier can still be heavyweight world champion, and a guy that is lighter than Floyd Patterson, and shorter(Floyd Patterson 194 pounds 6ft against Liston) can be heavyweight world champion in the modern era. Yes i realize neither Roy, or David Haye beat the recognised best heavyweight of the era, but what they did prove is you should not discard a boxer, or say he is not good enough just because of his weight.
By the way i do love this site, even though i do disagree with it sometimes. It has made me look at boxers in a objective way, and made me appreciate modern boxers more than i did previously.