most effective punch

[SuzieQ49]

NO HE WAS A GREATER FIGHTER WITH INCREDIBLE SPEED AND SKILLS AND FINISHING ABILITIY. however, he was not a puncher.

a puncher is a bob satterfield, and please don't spoit off about satterfields KO percentage.

[sleazyfellow]

realize that but the biggest thing when it comes to greatest punchers is POWER.
in the rings top 100 greatest punchers list, ali is not on it. he is not a power puncher.

speed also plays a factor in the knockout, throwing hard punches doesnt mean anything if the opponent knows its coming, knockouts r usually when the opponent doesnt see the punch and isnt prepared for whats coming

[butterfly1964]

NO HE WAS A GREATER FIGHTER WITH INCREDIBLE SPEED AND SKILLS AND FINISHING ABILITIY. however, he was not a puncher.

a puncher is a bob satterfield, and please don't spoit off about satterfields KO percentage.

but it stiil worked. ali is a pretty good puncher in my book.

[opethdrums]

i agree. ali could probably power punch better than some of the people on that 100 man list

[butterfly1964]

speed also plays a factor in the knockout, throwing hard punches doesnt mean anything if the opponent knows its coming, knockouts r usually when the opponent doesnt see the punch and isnt prepared for whats coming

yes, and ali used that to his advantage in a lot of his fights.

[Kid Achilles]

Ali was a good puncher. His power was nothing special but his handspeed and finishing instincts made him a dangerous person for anyone with a less than great chin to fight. He does not come close to hitting as hard as a Louis, Dempsey, Tyson, Marciano, Frazier, Johansson, Schmeling etc.

Still he was a GOOD puncher. Not great, and not even very good, but good.

[mokele]

no single best punch

I don't think that there is a single best punch, although I suppose that the majority of boxers rely on the straight right hand or the left hook to do their real damage.

I believe that the best punch depends on the fighter you're talking about and their style. Big punchers rely on power punches (obviously) and hence usually don't rely on their jab as much. There are exceptions though. George Foreman was a serious jabber. I'll list some fighters and the 1 or 2 punches (the most important with !) that characterized their style:

Larry Holmes: jab!, straight right
Muhammad Ali: jab!
Foreman: jab!, hooks to the body
Tyson: left hook, straight right
Julio Cesar Chavez: straight right, left hook to the body
Trinidad: left hook!, right hook
Hatton: hooks to the body
Corrales: left hook!
Razor Ruddock: left hook/uppercut!
Joe Frazier: left hook!, right to the body
Lennox Lewis: straight right!
Tommy Morrison: left hook!
Vernon Forrest: straight right!
Witherspoon: overhand right!
Ike Quartey: jab!
Winky Wright: jab!

That's enough for now. It's sort of fun to try and remember the punches that fighters are remembered for.

[mokele]

hammering a nail

Ali was a good puncher. His power was nothing special but his handspeed and finishing instincts made him a dangerous person for anyone with a less than great chin to fight. He does not come close to hitting as hard as a Louis, Dempsey, Tyson, Marciano, Frazier, Johansson, Schmeling etc.

Still he was a GOOD puncher. Not great, and not even very good, but good.

Punching power is a little like hammering a nail. Some like to take the hammer way back and really lay into the nail on each blow, whereas others like to use shorter, quicker blows. Both styles get the job done. Ali was like a guy with a hammer that used short, quick strokes. Shavers was like a guy who took the hammer way back and tried to bury the nail in the wood with 1 strike.