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6. Bob Foster
Foster was a monster puncher at Light heavyweight, and one of the division’s best champions. Foster was a tall and rangy fighter with superb technique and incredible knockout power. Foster was not successful in his attempts to fight heavyweights, but his achievements at Light heavyweight were nothing short of phenomenal. His one punch knockout of Dick Tiger and Mike Quarry will go down as two of the best in history.
7. Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao has been a knock out artist in 7 weight categories ranging from 110lbs to 147lbs, an astounding feat given most fighters inability carry their punch up with them. Pacquiao’s deadly combination of speed, balance and explosive muscle fiber has felled 68% of his opponents, and most frighteningly, he seems to be getting better. His left hand is perhaps the most feared weapon in boxing today, and his right has been so well developed by his trainer Freddie Roach that it too ranks up there with the best. Never was Pacquiao’s power more evident than when he challenged Ricky Hatton for the Ring 140lb belt, knocking the Brit down twice in the first round, then once and for all in the 2nd with an over hand left that rendered Hatton unconscious before he hit the floor. It was one of the most devastating knockouts in history, and it seems to have put Hatton out of action for good.
8. Roberto Duran
‘Hands of Stone’ had just that, hands of stone. Duran was an absolute beast at Lightweight with one of the best body assaults in history. Although his punch did not go up with him when he moved up in weight, the Panamanian tough man managed to compete with the very best all the way up to middleweight, a testament to how physically strong he was. The savage beating he gave Davey Moore was one of the worst in history, the punishing body shots physically lifting Moore off of the canvas from the force.
9. Rocky Marciano
It is important to remember that Marciano was not a heavyweight by today’s standard, so his stature as a puncher rises given his weight. Marciano was no more than 189lbs at the height of his professional career, but wielded one of the hardest punches the heavyweight division has ever seen. And for that reason, he deserves to go down as one of the best punchers pound for pound ever. Marciano bludgeoned his way through his opponents with a fierce determination and toughness rivalled by none. His power came from his tree trunk legs, thick torso and superb leverage. Joe Louis said of Marciano: “It hurt to bump into him….He hits harder than Max Schmeling…this kid is tough enough to beat anyone.”
10. Joe Louis
Again. Louis would have probably been a cruiserweight by today’s standards so it is only fair that he ranks above some of the biggest Heavyweight punchers in terms of power pound for pound. Louis had an amazing ability to knock people out from close range. Louis could torque his body like no one else, putting his entire body weight behind his punches. Louis’s left hook was bone shattering, and his right would simply put people to sleep. The punches that knocked out Max Schmeling in 1938 were some of the hardest seen in a heavyweight ring, with Louis hitting the German with a series of right hands that would have felled an ox. One of Joe Louis spar mates, Seal Harris said : “As he comes toward you, he seems to get smaller the closer he comes and then, he explodes at you. When he hits you, you think you been shot, and if he hits you right, you think you are dead.”
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