Who were defensive fighters with good power?

[ChrisPontius]

If you look at defensive fighters, you will see that often they don't have that much power. Usually it's a stylistic thing: defensive fighters don't often plant their feet and fire a shot. Guys like Pep, Whitaker, Ali, Byrd, Young, Mayweather, Tunney, etc are all great at defense but lack a punch.

So which fighters had a very good defense but could also punch? I'm talking about a defensively, non-agressive styled boxer, by the way. So while Tyson had an excellent defense in his prime, he doesn't qualify because he fights like a puncher.

Anyway, my first pick would be Jersey Joe Walcott. He was not agressive and often on the backfoot, but his right hand carried some serious power. He put Louis on his ass multiple times, knocked Marciano down (the only time he seemed to be a bit hurt, contrary to Moore's flash knockdown) and of course he has a beautiful one-punch KO over Ezzard Charles.
Any others?

[Bummy Davis]

Walcott was one of the best and he fell short by fighting a still dangerous Louis #1 ATG and a young relentless Marciano # 2 ATG and he had Louis down 4 times and reallt won there 1st fight and had Rocky down in there Classic 1st fight....a prime Walcott would upset many past, present guys

[McGrain]

Burley had incredible power but tended towards defece as he was fighting above weight, usually.

Lennox Lewis may be the most powerful fighter to have ever lived, he had a wonderful defence, although it may be a stretch to call him defensive.

[bladerunner]

Roy Jones.

[mcvey]

If you look at defensive fighters, you will see that often they don't have that much power. Usually it's a stylistic thing: defensive fighters don't often plant their feet and fire a shot. Guys like Pep, Whitaker, Ali, Byrd, Young, Mayweather, Tunney, etc are all great at defense but lack a punch.

So which fighters had a very good defense but could also punch? I'm talking about a defensively, non-agressive styled boxer, by the way. So while Tyson had an excellent defense in his prime, he doesn't qualify because he fights like a puncher.

Anyway, my first pick would be Jersey Joe Walcott. He was not agressive and often on the backfoot, but his right hand carried some serious power. He put Louis on his ass multiple times, knocked Marciano down (the only time he seemed to be a bit hurt, contrary to Moore's flash knockdown) and of course he has a beautiful one-punch KO over Ezzard Charles.
Any others?
Harold Johnson comes to mind

[AREA 53]

Mike Spinks often fought defensively with Herky-Jerk Movement.......Until he was ready to unleash, then a marvelous predatory coheision kicked in

[ironchamp]

Spinks is a good choice.

Lennox Lewis? He had his Golota, Ruddock and Grant Moments but for the most part he usually fought somewhat defensively.

Joe Walcott is a great choice.

BTW ChrisPontius,

it was Walcotts left that dropped Charles and Marciano

[JohnThomas1]

Mike Spinks often fought defensively with Herky-Jerk Movement.......Until he was ready to unleash, then a marvelous predatory coheision kicked in

Interesting call. Lets say he fought pretty lazy or laid back a lot of the time at 175 until stung into action, especially against lesser opposition. I wouldn't label him defensive or say he fits classically into Chris' criteria, but he's a good shout in his own way. He certainly fought in the asked for vein vs Qawi.

Marlon Starling had good power and was a great defensive fighter. Mike McCallum was the consumate counter puncher with superb defense and excellent power.

Actually Eddie Mustafa Muhammad comes to mind, super slick counter puncher, great defense and absolutely chilling power, sometimes camofouged a bit by his lack of aggression. Eddie is the best modern day shout i can give i reckon, one punch KO power inside a reasonably non aggressive style.

[ChrisPontius]

BTW ChrisPontius,

it was Walcotts left that dropped Charles and Marciano

You are right. Sorry if i implied otherwise; i wasn't looking for power specifically in the right hand. Obviously Walcott could crack with both hands.



Actually Eddie Mustafa Muhammad comes to mind, super slick counter puncher, great defense and absolutely chilling power, sometimes camofouged a bit by his lack of aggression. Eddie is the best modern day shout i can give i reckon, one punch KO power inside a reasonably non aggressive style.


Good call. What are your favorite fights of his?

[AREA 53]

A couple of Afterthoughts ..what about

Naseem Hamed, (the Earlier Model was mobile, lent away from shots at crazy angles, then would counter with very heavy shots, )

Could Victor Galindez creep onto this List ?
(Built like a Tank, it was often strange to see Victor Back Off...Go to the Ropes Block and sway off the Ropes, of course Victor was playing possum, trying to Lure his opponent in, but when he let fly he could be mighty impressive and very Dangerous, Victor was very crafty indeed )

John Conteh (was an excellant Boxer with very good power)

Salvador Sanchez ?? perhaps simply just an excellany boxer.

[jimmie]

Duran had pretty dam good defense and hit like a mule.

[Senya13]

Joe Gans. RJJ.

[Drew101]

Harold Johnson comes to mind

Harold Johnson was a sharp puncher, but I think it would be a strecth to say he was a big puncher.

[Drew101]

Ricardo Lopez
Archie Moore

[Shareef]

James Toney deserves a mention he had great defesense and often fought as a counter puncher. His ko's of Michael Nunn and Prince Charles Williams are good testaments to his power.

[JohnThomas1]

Good call. What are your favorite fights of his?

I love his dismantling of the ever dangerous Marvin Johnson. His body work was superb and his power plenty eveident. He alsi impressed me vs Martin who had been fighting well prior, may have stopped him sooner but overall some superb moments. This also showed Eddie's primary weakness, he was simply too laid back much of the time. With a bit more urgency allied to his power, defense and chin he would have been up there with almost anyone ever.

[red cobra]

My favorite fight of Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and his best, in my opinion, was his title winning fight against Marvin Johnson. He won by tko in 10 I believe, and for some reason, I was fascinated by his style in this fight. Eddie approached this fight like an artist almost, like he was putting on a display of equal skill and power against Johnson. He skillfully avoided Johnson's best shots, while being especially dangerous and effective with a left hook counter to the body. In the 3rd, a left to the body hurt Marvin and a follow up right scored a kd for Eddie. Surprisingly, it was the only knockdown of the fight, but the beating Eddie laid on Johnson was slow and steady. It seemed that Eddie was pulling his shots a little bit to gain more accuracy, and he boxed and punished Johnson masterfully. He looked really great that night, and who knows, maybe if Eddie was a little more aggressive, and let his hands go more during his career, maybe he would have been an all time great, and you would n't have had Spinks beat him.

[jowcol]

My favorite fight of Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and his best, in my opinion, was his title winning fight against Marvin Johnson. He won by tko in 10 I believe, and for some reason, I was fascinated by his style in this fight. Eddie approached this fight like an artist almost, like he was putting on a display of equal skill and power against Johnson. He skillfully avoided Johnson's best shots, while being especially dangerous and effective with a left hook counter to the body. In the 3rd, a left to the body hurt Marvin and a follow up right scored a kd for Eddie. Surprisingly, it was the only knockdown of the fight, but the beating Eddie laid on Johnson was slow and steady. It seemed that Eddie was pulling his shots a little bit to gain more accuracy, and he boxed and punished Johnson masterfully. He looked really great that night, and who knows, maybe if Eddie was a little more aggressive, and let his hands go more during his career, maybe he would have been an all time great, and you would n't have had Spinks beat him.

I've talked about this before but I truely believe a motivated, in shape, more aggressive Eddie without some head/attitude issues and not having to fight his oft weight problems late in his career, would have truely been a top 10 ATG (and I'm talking fly thru heavy) The old historian pro John Garfield talked about them marveling about the young welter amateur Gregory in New York in the late 60's early 70's taking everyone apart with ease, Antefermo and others. After the clinic he put on Marvin he inexplicably balloons up to 200+ lbs. and fights Snipes??? Then has to go to the steam room at the last minute to make weight for his Spinks defense. Despite entering the ring looking like a shriveled pear, he dominated the first half of the Spinks fight before running out of steam and even after Spinks dropped him with that Sunday sledgehammer right hand late in the fight, Eddie rose and fought on. I truely believe he was impossible to knockout. A rematch was in the offing but I'm not sure what sent that down the tubes.
THE complete fighter in my book: great defense, great right, great left, great chin what more could you ask for. If he'd only kept his head on straight, been a little more aggressive, and watched all that weight fluctuation, he may have been able to ice virtually any Lt. Hvy in history save perhaps that short list of forties and fifties monsters, Ezz, etc...I still think Spinks would have been unable to defeat Eddie if he was ready to go. (Surprisingly the Assoc. Press scored Eddie-Spinks a 146-146 draw!) A focused prime Eddie-Bob Foster would have been a doozy!
IMHO when potential ATG's are mentioned Gregory always seems to fly under the radar of discussion but, to be fair, he brought a lot of that on himself.
Young fighters should look at some of his best efforts as an example of a prototype total boxing execution technician...
My $0.02

[Vantage_West]

Mike Spinks often fought defensively with Herky-Jerk Movement.......Until he was ready to unleash, then a marvelous predatory coheision kicked inthat overhand right that hit cooney was :shock:ing

[Duodenum]

My favorite fight by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was one of his lesser known performances, against Lotte Mwale. Eddie squandered away some rounds against Marvin Johnson, and I felt he should have taken Johnson out immediately after flooring him. The most motivated and inspired showing I watched him produce was when he took Mwale apart. Fired up at the possibility of a rematch with Spinks, he made the LHW limit with ease, and went right after Mwale with his easy picking jab.

I don't remember Eddie as much of a combination puncher, although he did slam away with heavy multiple bodyshots the few times he caught Snipes on the ropes. (Although his effort against Mr. Snipes was lackluster, his rare body attack on Renaldo was a beautiful demonstration of his refined balance and way of generating tremendous leverage from the center of his body.)

Mwale had good speed, and flashed good looking combinations at Eddie, but Mustafa Muhammad slipped his punches effortlessly, never blinking as he did so. It would be superb for somebody who has this bout to post it on-line for the benefit of younger boxers and fight fans.

After disposing of Mwale, he had a title rematch set up with Spinks, but once again failed to make weight. (Aaaaagggghhhhh!) Then, their scheduled match was briefly changed to a nontitle ten rounder. However, Mike and Butch Lewis then decided "not to dignify Eddie" for his failure and refusal to make the LHW limit, and withdrew from the rematch. A raucus press conference ensued, where Butch Lewis shed tears of frustration over the situation, while Mike looked downcast and demoralized.

Following a bit of a fracas, Dwight Qawi stole the circus. He brought a long-eared animal headband to the party, and after things calmed down, he went to the microphones and announced, "These are for Michael, because he ran like a rabbit when we fought, and for Butch, because he's an ass." (I forget what disparaging remarks Ike made about Eddie, but a Qawi/Mustafa Muhammad matchup would have been an intriguing display.)

Speaking of Mike Spinks, he had his back to the ropes when he unleashed the shotgun blast right uppercut which nearly sent Jerry Celestine's head flying into orbit, and he also had his back to the ropes when his left hook knocked Marvin Johnson out cold for several minutes. (He was still unconscious while the PA system tastelessy played Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." Crass, crass, crass!)

Roberto Elizondo attacked Alexis Arguello as aggressively as any of Alex's opponents ever did (including Ganigan and Pryor). Arguello proved how deadly he was countering off the ropes as he fractured Elizondo's jaw with his lethally uncanny precision placement. This ability was something he rarely had the opportunity to show, but Elizondo obliged him, giving Arguello the chance to prove he was no Benitez when it came to defensive power punching.

Edwin Rosario saved his title against Howard Davis Jr. with a defensive power punch in the final seconds. He was on the ropes, slipping Howard's lightning fast combinations, and uncorked a countershot which decked his challenger. El Chapo was also against the ropes when he nearly dislocated Edwin Viruet's jaw with a fight ending blow.

[mr. magoo]

Ross Purity

[JohnThomas1]

I've talked about this before but I truely believe a motivated, in shape, more aggressive Eddie without some head/attitude issues and not having to fight his oft weight problems late in his career, would have truely been a top 10 ATG (and I'm talking fly thru heavy) The old historian pro John Garfield talked about them marveling about the young welter amateur Gregory in New York in the late 60's early 70's taking everyone apart with ease, Antefermo and others. After the clinic he put on Marvin he inexplicably balloons up to 200+ lbs. and fights Snipes??? Then has to go to the steam room at the last minute to make weight for his Spinks defense. Despite entering the ring looking like a shriveled pear, he dominated the first half of the Spinks fight before running out of steam and even after Spinks dropped him with that Sunday sledgehammer right hand late in the fight, Eddie rose and fought on. I truely believe he was impossible to knockout. A rematch was in the offing but I'm not sure what sent that down the tubes.
THE complete fighter in my book: great defense, great right, great left, great chin what more could you ask for. If he'd only kept his head on straight, been a little more aggressive, and watched all that weight fluctuation, he may have been able to ice virtually any Lt. Hvy in history save perhaps that short list of forties and fifties monsters, Ezz, etc...I still think Spinks would have been unable to defeat Eddie if he was ready to go. (Surprisingly the Assoc. Press scored Eddie-Spinks a 146-146 draw!) A focused prime Eddie-Bob Foster would have been a doozy!
IMHO when potential ATG's are mentioned Gregory always seems to fly under the radar of discussion but, to be fair, he brought a lot of that on himself.
Young fighters should look at some of his best efforts as an example of a prototype total boxing execution technician...
My $0.02

Nice posts guys. As for the rematch, Eddie came in a few pounds overweight and claimed the scales were rigged. He refused to sweat off the weight after memories of the first fight. Spinks agreed to a 10 round non title affair, but then backed out, which was certainly in his rights. I was actually tipping a Mustafa win. It would have been interesting.

[JohnThomas1]

My favorite fight by Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was one of his lesser known performances, against Lotte Mwale. Eddie squandered away some rounds against Marvin Johnson, and I felt he should have taken Johnson out immediately after flooring him. The most motivated and inspired showing I watched him produce was when he took Mwale apart. Fired up at the possibility of a rematch with Spinks, he made the LHW limit with ease, and went right after Mwale with his easy picking jab.

I don't remember Eddie as much of a combination puncher, although he did slam away with heavy multiple bodyshots the few times he caught Snipes on the ropes. (Although his effort against Mr. Snipes was lackluster, his rare body attack on Renaldo was a beautiful demonstration of his refined balance and way of generating tremendous leverage from the center of his body.)

Mwale had good speed, and flashed good looking combinations at Eddie, but Mustafa Muhammad slipped his punches effortlessly, never blinking as he did so. It would be superb for somebody who has this bout to post it on-line for the benefit of younger boxers and fight fans.

After disposing of Mwale, he had a title rematch set up with Spinks, but once again failed to make weight. (Aaaaagggghhhhh!) Then, their scheduled match was briefly changed to a nontitle ten rounder. However, Mike and Butch Lewis then decided "not to dignify Eddie" for his failure and refusal to make the LHW limit, and withdrew from the rematch. A raucus press conference ensued, where Butch Lewis shed tears of frustration over the situation, while Mike looked downcast and demoralized.

Following a bit of a fracas, Dwight Qawi stole the circus. He brought a long-eared animal headband to the party, and after things calmed down, he went to the microphones and announced, "These are for Michael, because he ran like a rabbit when we fought, and for Butch, because he's an ass." (I forget what disparaging remarks Ike made about Eddie, but a Qawi/Mustafa Muhammad matchup would have been an intriguing display.)

Speaking of Mike Spinks, he had his back to the ropes when he unleashed the shotgun blast right uppercut which nearly sent Jerry Celestine's head flying into orbit, and he also had his back to the ropes when his left hook knocked Marvin Johnson out cold for several minutes. (He was still unconscious while the PA system tastelessy played Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust." Crass, crass, crass!)

Roberto Elizondo attacked Alexis Arguello as aggressively as any of Alex's opponents ever did (including Ganigan and Pryor). Arguello proved how deadly he was countering off the ropes as he fractured Elizondo's jaw with his lethally uncanny precision placement. This ability was something he rarely had the opportunity to show, but Elizondo obliged him, giving Arguello the chance to prove he was no Benitez when it came to defensive power punching.

Edwin Rosario saved his title against Howard Davis Jr. with a defensive power punch in the final seconds. He was on the ropes, slipping Howard's lightning fast combinations, and uncorked a countershot which decked his challenger. El Chapo was also against the ropes when he nearly dislocated Edwin Viruet's jaw with a fight ending blow.

Great post. Don't forget the bikers or whatever to at the press conference, didn't they turn up with Qawi? Qawi and EMM had words there too.

[Duodenum]

Great post. Don't forget the bikers or whatever to at the press conference, didn't they turn up with Qawi? Qawi and EMM had words there too.Ahhhh yes JT, thank you, that's RIGHT! How could I omit that retinue of Ike's? That sideshow was more entertaining than either of the bouts between the three of them.

[pijo]

Lennox Lewis

[JohnThomas1]

Ahhhh yes JT, thank you, that's RIGHT! How could I omit that retinue of Ike's? That sideshow was more entertaining than either of the bouts between the three of them.

How do you think the rematch would have gone all things being equal?

[mcvey]

If you look at defensive fighters, you will see that often they don't have that much power. Usually it's a stylistic thing: defensive fighters don't often plant their feet and fire a shot. Guys like Pep, Whitaker, Ali, Byrd, Young, Mayweather, Tunney, etc are all great at defense but lack a punch.

So which fighters had a very good defense but could also punch? I'm talking about a defensively, non-agressive styled boxer, by the way. So while Tyson had an excellent defense in his prime, he doesn't qualify because he fights like a puncher.

Anyway, my first pick would be Jersey Joe Walcott. He was not agressive and often on the backfoot, but his right hand carried some serious power. He put Louis on his ass multiple times, knocked Marciano down (the only time he seemed to be a bit hurt, contrary to Moore's flash knockdown) and of course he has a beautiful one-punch KO over Ezzard Charles.
Any others?
Benny Leonard had a potent right hand.Jack Johnson could stop a man with his right uppercut.

[ChrisPontius]

Some great reads here, particularly about Muhammad's.

[Azania]

Yeah...Great boxing class this fellas.I did'nt have the skinny on Eddie.Always just assumed The Jinx was ducking the remetch.What a fight the re would have been.

Great thread.

[The Kurgan]

Benny Leonard had a potent right hand.Jack Johnson could stop a man with his right uppercut.

Jack Johnson is a pick so obvious that he gets totally overlooked. He's exactly what fits the bill: skilled defensively and defensively orientated, but capable of banging hard when he needed to.

I'd also add Herbie Hide, who wasn't great defensively, but fought on the back foot in his prime yet was one of the hardest hitters of his day.

[Duodenum]

How do you think the rematch would have gone all things being equal?I honestly don't know, as this was the classic situation in which a rematch would be merited. However, I'll try to offer you my best guess.

Before Mike beat Eddie for that title, he predicted in a pre-fight interview that it would probably be a boring contest, with both of them being counterpunchers, In response to Mike's speculation, Eddie said that this wouldn't be true, as he was planning to force the action himself. (Mustafa Muhammad could do this when he chose to, as demonstrated against Snipes and Mwale.)

For a return go, and assuming Eddie was in top condition (as Mike always was), I suspect that the Jinx would take a page out of Renaldo's book, and replicate some of his own approach against Qawi. Spinks would have utilized continual lateral movement, and simply outmaneuver Eddie over 15 rounds.

As much as I admire Eddie's abilities, they were not sufficient for him to catch up to Snipes. In decisioning Qawi, Michael outboxed the performer with the best counterjab of his era, and the champion arguably most skilled at cutting off the ring since Foreman's heyday. My supposition is that Spinks would stay the hell away from Eddie, and use his height, reach and mobility to outscore Mustafa Muhammad, but it would be no cinch. I'd want to review the Spinks/Qawi unification bout again before committing to that position. Boxing experts at the time felt that Michael could scarcely improve on his showing against Ike.

The only thing I'd put money on is that a rematch would have once again gone the 15 round distance, with Eddie in shape.

[JohnThomas1]

I honestly don't know, as this was the classic situation in which a rematch would be merited. However, I'll try to offer you my best guess.

Before Mike beat Eddie for that title, he predicted in a pre-fight interview that it would probably be a boring contest, with both of them being counterpunchers, In response to Mike's speculation, Eddie said that this wouldn't be true, as he was planning to force the action himself. (Mustafa Muhammad could do this when he chose to, as demonstrated against Snipes and Mwale.)

For a return go, and assuming Eddie was in top condition (as Mike always was), I suspect that the Jinx would take a page out of Renaldo's book, and replicate some of his own approach against Qawi. Spinks would have utilized continual lateral movement, and simply outmaneuver Eddie over 15 rounds.

As much as I admire Eddie's abilities, they were not sufficient for him to catch up to Snipes. In decisioning Qawi, Michael outboxed the performer with the best counterjab of his era, and the champion arguably most skilled at cutting off the ring since Foreman's heyday. My supposition is that Spinks would stay the hell away from Eddie, and use his height, reach and mobility to outscore Mustafa Muhammad, but it would be no cinch. I'd want to review the Spinks/Qawi unification bout again before committing to that position. Boxing experts at the time felt that Michael could scarcely improve on his showing against Ike.

The only thing I'd put money on is that a rematch would have once again gone the 15 round distance, with Eddie in shape.

I'll add two things.

1. At 201 3/4 pounds Eddie would have been lucky to catch me, let alone a world class heavyweight. The man was a walking pear that night.

2. Before getting tired (due to huge weight loss) Mustafa was outboxing Spinks with aplomb. Some of his smoothest boxing ever. Granted Spinks had improved but i don't see him running and outpointing an in form Mustafa that easily. Eddie's jab was prominent in the first 1/3 of their bout.

[Duodenum]

I'll add two things.

1. At 201 3/4 pounds Eddie would have been lucky to catch me, let alone a world class heavyweight. The man was a walking pear that night.He certainly leaped into position to deliver that final crushing hook on Mwale with substantial speed. (For those of you who didn't see it, Mustafa Muhammad sent across a straight right which sent Lotte's mouthpiece flying out of the ring, and scrambled his senses. Mwale turned his back on Eddie, and feeling his mouth with his glove, turned his back on Mustafa Muhammad, and began walking in the direction it went flying out to go looking for it. Eddie bounded to his left, from behind Mwale to beside him, and planted himself to nailed Lotte's unprotected jaw with a devastating hook.) Even in the best of condition, Eddie was hardly a world class physical specimen. One thing we can be sure of is that he wasn't weakened against Snipes by trying to make weight!2. Before getting tired (due to huge weight loss) Mustafa was outboxing Spinks with aplomb. Some of his smoothest boxing ever. Granted Spinks had improved but i don't see him running and outpointing an in form Mustafa that easily. Eddie's jab was prominent in the first 1/3 of their bout.At the very least, I thought the scoring was absurdly slanted in favor of Michael, leading me to wonder if Eddie would have had to knock him out to win. (Duane Ford's card of 146-138 in favor of Spinks especially smacks of questionable intent. Ford's scoring wasn't exactly exemplary during Holmes/Cooney either, although he was generally a reasonably competent judge for other matches he scored which I viewed.)

I wonder how his contest against Snipes would have gone if he'd hired on Mackie Shilstone as his conditioning coach (as Michael did before his challenge of Holmes). My preference would be to agree with you regarding Eddie's chances in a rematch, but he may have been the most frustrating talent of his generation to follow. Ahhh, what might have been!

[red cobra]

I maintain that a motivated Eddie Mustafa Muhammad who would have punched more, in other words, let his hands go more, would have beaten Michael Spinks, as well as Victor Galindez when they met. Eddie was a superb boxer-puncher who beat Marvin Johnson with style as well as power.

[JohnThomas1]

He certainly leaped into position to deliver that final crushing hook on Mwale with substantial speed. (For those of you who didn't see it, Mustafa Muhammad sent across a straight right which sent Lotte's mouthpiece flying out of the ring, and scrambled his senses. Mwale turned his back on Eddie, and feeling his mouth with his glove, turned his back on Mustafa Muhammad, and began walking in the direction it went flying out to go looking for it. Eddie bounded to his left, from behind Mwale to beside him, and planted himself to nailed Lotte's unprotected jaw with a devastating hook.)

Welllll he didn't actually lol. He threw another right hand after the initial one (that put put the mouthpiece into orbit) which missed, but the followthru left him in perfect position for the stated left hook to the totally unprotected Mwale. Goodnight Irene.

:dead

[Duodenum]

Welllll he didn't actually lol. He threw another right hand after the initial one (that put put the mouthpiece into orbit) which missed, but the followthru left him in perfect position for the stated left hook to the totally unprotected Mwale. Goodnight Irene.

:deadOkay JT, thanks for the clarification. (I'll take you at your word for that, as I don't recall a second follow-up right to the mouthpiece launcher. As I recall it, Lotte's back was turned to Eddie as soon as it went flying out, to feel his mouth for it and go after it.)

[JohnThomas1]

Okay JT, thanks for the clarification. (I'll take you at your word for that, as I don't recall a second follow-up right to the mouthpiece launcher. As I recall it, Lotte's back was turned to Eddie as soon as it went flying out, to feel his mouth for it and go after it.)

He turned right away for sure, Eddie's follow up right narrowly missed to the side then BAM. Rather big left hook. No chance he saw it either. Great KO.

[JohnThomas1]

Eddie actually beat Spinks a time or two for hardest punching light heavyweight in the world, he had some stupendous power which was a bit camoflouged and under used due to his laid back style.

[radianttwilight]

PBF deserves a nod....he may be somewhat featherfisted, but you'd expect a guy with his defense to have pillows for gloves. PBF at least has enough pop to score some late TKOs.

[teeto]

If you look at defensive fighters, you will see that often they don't have that much power. Usually it's a stylistic thing: defensive fighters don't often plant their feet and fire a shot. Guys like Pep, Whitaker, Ali, Byrd, Young, Mayweather, Tunney, etc are all great at defense but lack a punch.

So which fighters had a very good defense but could also punch? I'm talking about a defensively, non-agressive styled boxer, by the way. So while Tyson had an excellent defense in his prime, he doesn't qualify because he fights like a puncher.

Anyway, my first pick would be Jersey Joe Walcott. He was not agressive and often on the backfoot, but his right hand carried some serious power. He put Louis on his ass multiple times, knocked Marciano down (the only time he seemed to be a bit hurt, contrary to Moore's flash knockdown) and of course he has a beautiful one-punch KO over Ezzard Charles.
Any others?
Tunney had power, he can't be mentioned with Sweetpea as a defensive fighter without power. Roy Jones is a good choice and Robinson, Spinks aswell. But seen as though the question was who were defensive fighters with good POWER , then I pick Naz everytime. I f the question was 'who were powerful fighters with good defense?' then I'd pick Duran.