Boxing’s Biggest Hitters – Five Choices of Some of The Very Best!
Let’s face it, boxing may be called the sweet science, but the reason why many fall in love with the sport is the sheer ability of its participants to land hurtful punches. You may be a fan of defense and names such as Floyd Mayweather, JR. or Willie Pep represent the sweet science just as well as a puncher such as Earnie Shavers, but who doesn’t appreciate watching a fighter who has the capability to finish a fight with just one hammer like blow. Names such as Mike Tyson brought in more fans to boxing with his aggressive big hitting punching than a defensive genius of the same era ie Pernell Whitaker.
So, let’s take a look at some of the greatest punchers in boxing history. The list is not one of the hardest punchers, else it would undoubtedly be filled with heavyweight boxers such as George Foreman, Earnie Shavers, Mike Tyson, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston. We’ll take a look at names outside of the heavyweight division to find boxers who fists struck terror in the hearts of their opponents.
5. Bob Foster
It’s a shame that the two fights Foster is arguably most remembered for, were against two of the greatest heavyweights ever, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. In an era, which lacked a cruiserweight division, Bob Foster hit so hard at light heavyweight, he had to fight at heavyweight and battle with boxers who outweighed him by as much as 40lbs. An all-time great at light heavyweight, Foster possessed a fast and hard jab as well as a lethal left hook. Foster hit so hard that Ali described it as like being hit by a mule. The left hook was so vicious it provided some of the scariest knockouts ever when he felled Dick Tiger to win the light heavyweight title in 1968. Adding to his fright night list of knockouts was Mike Quarry, whom he hit so hard that people were genuinely worried for Quarry’s life as he hit the deck. Foster knocked out 46 opponents in the professional ranks out of 56 wins and is also said to have knocked out 89 of his amateur opponents in 94 victories.
4. Wilfredo Gomez
When you end up with a nickname like “Bazooka”, that tells you all you need to know about how good a puncher the Puerto Rican boxer Wilfredo Gomez was. Gomez was such a good puncher that he won 17 consecutive title defenses by knockout, when you’re a champion there are no easy fights, to beat all of these opponents by knockout is astounding. Gomez won his first fight on the scorecards and then reeled off 32 knockouts in a row.
It took moving up a division and facing one of the all time greats in Salvador Sanchez to snap his KO streak. Gomez also participated in a battle of the knock out kings when he came out on top against Carlos Zarate who was at the time 55-0, 54 KOs, arguably the most memorable moment of his career. Gomez finished his career with 42 knockouts in his 44 wins in a career which saw him conquer three weight classes.
3. Archie Moore
Archie Moore was the knock out king, in the history of boxing, no man can claim to have knocked out more opponents than Archie Moore. The number of men who had fallen to the canvas at the hands of Moore is a staggering 132. They say power is the last trait which leaves a boxer, Moore kept on boxing across four decades in a career spanning from 1935 to 1963 and proved this to be true, he won his first fight by KO and then his last fight by TKO. Moore was one of the greatest fighters of all time and arguably the greatest light heavyweight in history, his epic battle with Yvon Durelle in which Moore himself was knocked down multiple times, but came back to win by KO in round 11 will go down as one of the greatest title fights in history.
2. Julian Jackson
Julian Jackson was a light middleweight and middleweight champion who fought between 1981 and 1998 and had 49 knockouts in his 55 wins. Jackson provided a highlight reel of one punch knock outs and there are still many who view him pound for pound as the most concussive one punch hitter in history. In boxing sometimes, you need a get out of jail card, and there is no better card than having the power to turn a fight upside down in a single moment.
This was best demonstrated by Jackson against Herol “Bomber” Graham. Graham was a slippery fighter out of the famous Ingle Gym in Sheffield, England which would later go on to produce world champion names such as Naseem Hamed, Johnny Nelson and Kell Brook. In typical fashion Graham was slipping and moving, beating Jackson to the punch, but in an instant, with defeat beckoning, Jackson unleashed one of his famous bombs and connected with a huge right hand which had Graham unconscious before he had even hit the canvas.
1. Thomas “Hitman” Hearns
When Hearns was making a name for himself in the amateur ranks no one would have guessed he would go on to become one of the most feared punchers in history. Under the tutelage of legendary trainer Manny Steward, Hearns turned into a ferocious puncher. Standing at 6’1 his tall and lanky frame provided the leverage for explosive punching power as he terrorized the welterweight division. His height and punching power allowed him to move up in weight and still possess a punch scary enough to worry the bigger men he was gradually going up against. Hearns finished his career as a cruiserweight, showing just how skillful and hard a hitter he was. His knockout of the great Roberto Duran was his signature knockout in a sterling career which featured 48 knockouts in his 61 victories.
Just missing the list, but honorable mentions go to Edwin Valero who knocked out everyone of his 27 opponents, Gerald McClellan who knocked out 29 men in his 31 wins (including two over Julian Jackson) and Marcos Maidana, whose punch forever shook Adrien Broner’s world.
Check out Fayz’s available books for download on Amazon. He also runs his own Personal Training site and blog over at Fayz Fitness.
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