Which punching power better: Vitalys or Lewis'?

[Stinky gloves]

In terms of accomplishments Lewis smashed up much beter competition than Vitaly.
He TKO/KO Ruddock, Bruno, Morrison, Golota, Tyson, Grant, Briggs, Botha, Rahman, and .....
cut Vitaly. His record is 41-2-0 (32 KO).

Vitaly TKO/KO: Hidie, Bean, Norris, Johnson, Sanders, Williams, Donald.
He don't have monsters like Tyson (who bdw was way past his best
when he fought Lewis) on the list but his recod is highly impressive 35-2-0 (34KO).

So which punching power was bigger?

[Fat Tony]

Lewis, no doubt.

The better question would be: Wlad or Lennox?
I don't know this answer.

[Sakura]

Lewis

[Shaun Spensley]

i got vitali as a harder puncher me.. i think so. just casue lennox knockout better fighters dosnt mean shit really. lennox was a better fight with a fuck hard punch.. vitali was not as good but with a harder punch.

[Stimulant]

Vitali hits harder.. Lennox has better technique so he can land better.. but Vitali definately hits harder.. though Lennox's shots would be seen as more effective.

[paulfv]

I think this is a decent question, although like many have said, Vitali tends to arm punch more than Lewis. That said, his KO % is 90+%, isn't it. It might be the highest in HW history, or I think I heard it was once.

I think Lewis hits harder, just on an 'average thrown punch' power rating. If they both got their legs into it, not sure. Lennox's legs seem a little bigger (which is where most of the power comes from), but Vitali was a kickboxer, so I doubt he has weak legs.

I will say this: Because of Vitali's iron chin (never knocked down in the pros), he is much more aggressive than Lennox. That's why I think his KO % is higher. Not because Vitali throws harder. Vitali just hunts and destroys, but Lewis had to be a bit more careful (see Holyfield fights, as an example). Even against the lightning-quick and southpaw Sanders, Vitali just totally stalked him. Same as he did with Lewis.

But I do think, on average at least, Lewis hits harder.

[bhwbj]

Lewis has more force behind his big punches. IMO Lewis is clearly the harder puncher.

[dwilson]

I think Vitali had an amazing punch but what made Lewis was his ability to put it on someone in the right place.

[Dekkers]

Some people seriously think Vitali hit harder than this :huh

cuOzydfpv28

[paulfv]

Some people seriously think Vitali hit harder than this :huh

cuOzydfpv28
You know, looking at the video (I never get tired of seeing Rahman and Grant destroyed), 3 things stand out:

1. Lewis' hands are much faster than Vitali's. And force =
mass X acceleration (f=ma). Vitali and Lennox are about
the same weight, so if Lennox throws a lot faster
(which he does), he will, therefore, hit harder. Makes
sense.

2. Lennox gets much better hip swivel (power transfer) on
his punches than Vitali. He just incredibly loads up on
some of his shots, which means tons more power. Vitali
doesn't do that.

3. I still can't believe that Lennox couldn't hurt Vitali. You
look at that 'best shot of the fight' uppercut - a punch he
put a lot into, and all it did was stiffen Vitali's legs for a
quick moment. Less than a minute later, Vitali was once
again battering Lewis around the ring. No wonder Lewis
retired rather than rematch him. Lennox had to be
thinking something like:

"This guy's eye is totally torn up, he's bloody all over himself from his cut - which is the only time, before or since, that he's ever been cut in his pro boxing career, so you'd think he'd be a bit nervous/shaken up/off-his-game about it - and I still can't hurt him, even though he can't even see out of his eye to dodge my punches! What the f*ck do I have to do to this guy to stop him from coming forward and continually drilling me and hurting me badly?!? Oh, and by the way, this guy has wanted to kick my ass for years, and has been training (in general, he took this particular fight against me on very short notice but has wanted to fight me for forever) to challenge me, specifically, for years and clearly isn't going to stop in this or any other bout with me until he puts his fist through my chest like a Mortal Kombat 'fatality.' Screw this! I'm going to try to pick at his eye and rub my dreads in it and hopefully the ring doc will rescure my tapped-out butt. Lord, if you let me win this fight even though I'm: a) going to plop-down on my stool after this round like I'm completely shot, b) I'm trailing on all the scorecards, and c) I let everything I have left hang out and he had me hanging on at the end of the round, I SWEAR I'll never fight again. Please, Lord! If you let me win, I will recognize your sign that I have - just this once - won the 'cut lottery.' What's that? You say if you do let me win, I have to act like a bizitch in the post-fight interview with Merchant, grab the mic out of his hand and dodge all of his legitimate questions? Deal, Lord, deal. Helllllllllllp!!!!"

- - -

That was probably the scariest night of Lennox's career.
I've done a lot of sparring, and nothing is worse than the
guy you can't hurt or discourage. That just totally takes
your will away. If the doc doesn't stop that fight, Vitali
would have left Lennox like Rahman did in their first fight.
Vitali was on a mission, and Lewis wisely walked away from
the fight game.

[Mendoza]

In terms of accomplishments Lewis smashed up much beter competition than Vitaly.
He TKO/KO Ruddock, Bruno, Morrison, Golota, Tyson, Grant, Briggs, Botha, Rahman, and .....
cut Vitaly. His record is 41-2-0 (32 KO).

Vitaly TKO/KO: Hidie, Bean, Norris, Johnson, Sanders, Williams, Donald.
He don't have monsters like Tyson (who bdw was way past his best
when he fought Lewis) on the list but his recod is highly impressive 35-2-0 (34KO).

So which punching power was bigger?

Early in his career, Vitlai hit harder than Wlad. However a back, knee, and shoulder injury took some snap off of Vitlai’s punching. I think Lewis hits a bit harder, though Vitali is a bit more active and aggressive in the ring, which is why he could stop fighters late, and Lewis never scored a TKO past round 8.

[Dekkers]

:lol: Paul I think Lewis took the last two rounds against Vitali, that said i think the fact Vitali hadn't been in with a puncher as hard as Lennox in his career (aside from Hide, but Herbie only got in a few good shots in the first) is more the reason he'd never been cut before, Lewis opened up a few cuts on Vitali.

That said Lewis did the smart thing, he looked like shit but still managed to squeak out the win. He's lucky he was fighting Vitali though, guy is terribly overrated because of this fight, the same Lennox wouldn't have beaten Ibeabuchi or Wlad (punchers chance against Wlad, but frankly he was very flat and his reflexes were crap that night).

[blistering]

Lennox hits way harder than Vitali when talking about average punch power.

Vitali would have KO'd Lewis otherwise when they fought and he landed several flush right hands that didn't really even seriously wobble Lewis.

Lewis by the end of the fight was walking through whatever Vitali thew.

Vitali though is good with wearing down opponents leading to TKOs and KOs - with accumulation of punches rather than single shot power.

[zulander]

lewis hurt vitali he was holding on for dear life after that uppercut

[Bummy Davis]

Lewis was the harder hitter early in the fight,because of his Ko's over Botha, Golota and Grant (not to say Vitali could not have matched the feat) although Vitali blasted out Kirk and a few early but Vitali had the late power also and Lennox never ko'd a man past the 8th round, so over 12 rounds I give Vitali the edge, over 8 Lennox

[barneyrub]

In terms of accomplishments Lewis smashed up much beter competition than Vitaly.
He TKO/KO Ruddock, Bruno, Morrison, Golota, Tyson, Grant, Briggs, Botha, Rahman, and .....
cut Vitaly. His record is 41-2-0 (32 KO).

Vitaly TKO/KO: Hidie, Bean, Norris, Johnson, Sanders, Williams, Donald.
He don't have monsters like Tyson (who bdw was way past his best
when he fought Lewis) on the list but his recod is highly impressive 35-2-0 (34KO).

So which punching power was bigger?lewis was way past his best when he fought tyson. 36 years old, less than 4 rds between the tyson fight and getting knocked out. Slow hand speed compared to the days of ruddock etc. in fact people talk about tysons weight compared to his prime, lewis was 22 pounds heavier against tyson at 249 than when he beat Ruddock at 227!!!! Thats the perspective you need to add on to your comment about tyson being past his best ok.

[barneyrub]

Lewis was the harder hitter early in the fight,because of his Ko's over Botha, Golota and Grant (not to say Vitali could not have matched the feat) although Vitali blasted out Kirk and a few early but Vitali had the late power also and Lennox never ko'd a man past the 8th round, so over 12 rounds I give Vitali the edge, over 8 Lennoxkirk johnson really quit, he wasnt sparke dout he just went down to escape, he was a disgrace in the shape and desire he came with.

[Ilesey]

Lewis is by far the harder puncher of the two.

[paulfv]

Dekkers, blistering, zulander -

Please tell me you're kidding. As I said, go back and watch the rest of the round. Lewis was holding on for the last minute of the round. There is no evidence - none - that Lewis would have lasted even 2 more rounds. If by 'walking through' Vitali's shots, you mean hanging on for dear life, yes, Lewis was walking through Vitali's shots at the end of the fight.

Lewis, before the fight, said he wanted 2-3 more fights after Vitali.

Lewis told Vitali immediately after the fight that he would rematch him.

Despite both of these, and other statements, Lewis soon after winning the 'cut lottery,' retired.

Them's the facts, gents. As is the fact that Lewis was trailing on the scorecards and felt the need to take the mike out of Merchant's hand in the post-fight interview because he didn't like the questions. Lewis knew he got lucky, and so did everyone else, including Merchant.

Lewis was a fine fighter who came along at the right time.

Vitali was a destroyer, a totally dominant force. Never trailed on the scorecards in any fight, insanely high KO %, never KO'd, never KD'd.

The most fortunate thing for Lewis and the other HW's was that Vitali kickboxed and got hurt from doing it. Other than that, Vitali would be undefeated and still reigning today, if he wasn't too bored and wanted Wlad to have a chance.

Lewis has shown he can be 1-punch KO'd, let alone just KO'd, period. Vitali can't even be knocked down, let alone out.

Lenny got lucky. Good for him. But all other evidence points out that Lewis was looking to get stopped, and stopped soon, in his fight with Vitali. His prayers were answered, as were those of his trembling fans.

Had the cut gods not been appeased, things would have ended like this:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

or this:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Fortunately for an out-gunned Lenny, the cut gods saved him.

There aren't any pictures like that of Vitali. Because, at least as a pro (there's a story about him getting KO'd in amateurs by Maskaev, but I think he might have been injured, not sure), he doesn't get knocked out. Or knocked down. Lenny does, and does. And he was well on his way to doing both again.

That's what happens when the bully meets a bigger bully.

He retires.

I understand if you want to go against all the relevant historical information, the scoring of the fight, etc.

Just don't expect me to do that. I'm going to stay closer to the facts.

Fact: Lewis trailed the entire fight

Fact: Lewis had been KO'd before, and 1-punch KO'd

Fact: Lewis was hanging on at the end of the 6th, dog-tired

Fact: Lewis plopped down with no control on his stool after
the 6th round ended. He was very, very gassed and
appeared to be looking dejected that his heaviest shots
weren't doing jack to Vitali

Fact: Vitali was leading in the fight

Fact: Vitali had never been knocked down, never knocked out,
and never one-punch knocked out. He still hasn't had
any of those 3 things happen to him since

Fact: Vitali had Lewis hanging onto him at the end of the
6th round, after surviving the 'amazing' offensive
rally of LL

Fact: A very pissed-off-that-the-fight-had-been-stopped Vitali
asked LL after the fight, immediately, for a rematch.
LL said yes. There was no rematch, nor did LL ever
fight again, despite saying before the fight he wanted
several more fights after fighting Vitali

Fact: Vitali KO's people; that's what he does. And he usually
does it by systematically beating them down, as he was
doing Lewis. That's why his KO % is > 90%, higher
than any other HW in history, I believe. He is like a HW
Julian Jackson (without the weak chin) or a HW Gerald
McClellan - he destroys people. That's what all the
evidence shows from his record.

There is none - zero - factual basis from which to think LL would have either won or survived the fight. Even if you think
Lewis won the last two rounds, he still trailed. He still would have had to have won two more rounds just to tie Vitali. Forget about beating him. He was two in the hole just to try to look for a draw. Through half the fight, Vitali led by two rounds.

Now, you can make the fanboy leap and say "Oh, Lenny was coming on, he was on his way." Ok, despite that he was hanging on the last minute of the 6th round after his 'incredible' uppercut. Lenny shot his wad, and he was about to go out. Vitali was in full control at the end of the fight. Could Lenny have gotten one more 'second-wind?' Sure he could have. But there's nothing - absolutely nothing - to suggest he could have even hurt Vitali, let alone take him out. Vitali does not go down or out. That's a fact.

Ok, so that means Lenny would have had to try to get a decision win. He was down two rounds, hanging on for as hard as he could at the end of the 6th after his last stand offense, and he plopped down with no muscle control at the end of the round. He was being manhandled and muscled around the ring. How much longer, logically, do you think a guy like that has left? A guy that has been twice 1-punched KO'd, remember. Right. Not much.

Vitali, conversely, was fine when he was in his corner. He wasn't even breathing hard. He was fine, and only mildly annoyed that the doc was looking at his cut. As another poster mentioned, Vitali KO's guys later in a fight. Lewis doesn't. Vitali was just fighting his fight, feeling good. Despite that he took the fight on like 2-weeks notice and that his skin was tore open and blood was in his eye. He was ready to do whatever it took to defeat Lewis.

And that's it. Those are the facts. Sure, you can hold onto the 'fairy-tale' ending theory, and think Lenny would have overcome his fatigue, the scorecards, and the monster in front of him. Real life usually doesn't follow such a script.

And Rocky was the heavyweight champ, too.

Lewis retired. That's all you need to know. He knew, and he
knew that Vitali knew, too. Once you know you can't win, you
better walk away, or you're just going to get hurt in the next
fight.

So Lenny walked away. For good.

[Shaun Spensley]

Yeah I really don't see how some think Vitali actually hit harder than that. I've never seen the elder Klitschko land right hand bombs like that before on anyone, and Lennox had multiple memorable right hand KO's in his career. Vitali's power doesn't even compare IMO.


well when they fought lennox was hurt on more than once.. vitali was never hurt. ovoiusly vitali could take a punch better than lewis, but i still think lewis had a good chin too.. when he saw the punch coming of course. but i still think vitali could punch harder, he is also bigger than lennox witch u have to take to acount

[Dekkers]

You're trying WAY too hard Paul :D

[paulfv]

You forgot to mention: "And succeeding."

Logic and facts always beat fanboy hopes. That's why I never make picks based on my heart anymore. Hopes = lost $$$. Gotta think clearly and unbiasedly, or else the sport will punish you, whether as a fighter, bettor or writer.

[paulfv]

I agree he writes way too much. Take a chill pill Paulie.
Shaddup, Rey. You take your own chill pill, if you want. I'm a writer, this is what I do. I'm not a fanboy as you obviously are. Sorry if it was too much for you to read. Not my problem.

[Dekkers]

You forgot to mention: "And succeeding."

Logic and facts always beat fanboy hopes. That's why I never make picks based on my heart anymore. Hopes = lost $$$. Gotta think clearly and unbiasedly, or else the sport will punish you, whether as a fighter, bettor or writer.
Alright then a few facts,

Fact; Lewis had won the last two rounds, the round before that was close.

Fact; Vitali had terrible facial damage as a result of Lewis' punches, Lewis' punches were making that damge more extensive as the fight wore on. Vitalis' vision quite frankly was becomming obscured, this can only be huge disadvantage if a fight goes on.

Fact; You and fellow writer Blocky will get on like house on fire.

Fact; Lewis TKO 6 :yep

Fact; Vitali has that great KO record you mentioned, against a pretty average resume.

Fact; Plenty of other guys who'll argue this stuff with you, you must be new here otherwise the thought of yet another thread dedicated to this crap would be making you wretch.

[Mrboogie23]

Lewis

[paulfv]

Alright then a few facts,


Fact; Plenty of other guys who'll argue this stuff with you, you must be new here otherwise the thought of yet another thread dedicated to this crap would be making you wretch.

I've been here forever.

But the Lewis TKO 6 was funny. :)

Rey - It's been a long night. Can I have that pill? :)

[Stimulant]

paulfv is my american Idol :)

[Stimulant]

Alright then a few facts,

Fact; Lewis had won the last two rounds, the round before that was close.

Fact; Vitali had terrible facial damage as a result of Lewis' punches, Lewis' punches were making that damge more extensive as the fight wore on. Vitalis' vision quite frankly was becomming obscured, this can only be huge disadvantage if a fight goes on.

Fact; You and fellow writer Blocky will get on like house on fire.

Fact; Lewis TKO 6 :yep

Fact; Vitali has that great KO record you mentioned, against a pretty average resume.

Fact; Plenty of other guys who'll argue this stuff with you, you must be new here otherwise the thought of yet another thread dedicated to this crap would be making you wretch.

P.S Nice Avatar fag. :deal

[SugarShane_24]

i'd say lennox is ahead on this category. he KO'd better opposition and when lewis is on the mood to KO someone, it usually takes just one to end matters.

Let's just put it this way, Lennox has better power, but Vitaly seems to have a more accumulative effect.

[Stinky gloves]

i'd say lennox is ahead on this category. he KO'd better opposition and when lewis is on the mood to KO someone, it usually takes just one to end matters.

Let's just put it this way, Lennox has better power, but Vitaly seems to have a more accumulative effect.
If you can look in defferent way, Lennox didn't KO a few opponetns
(some of them were great like Holyfield but some of them simply average).

Vitaly KO almost everybody he faced.

[blistering]

Hey Paul, the subject of the thread is not who was a better fighter or who was going to get KO'd. The subject is who hits harder. And that would be Lewis in terms of single shot power.

I don't care about the rest of your post. There are plenty of threads devoted to that topic already.

[brooklyn1550]

Lennox Lewis

[PIRA]

Dekkers, blistering, zulander -

Please tell me you're kidding. As I said, go back and watch the rest of the round. Lewis was holding on for the last minute of the round. There is no evidence - none - that Lewis would have lasted even 2 more rounds. If by 'walking through' Vitali's shots, you mean hanging on for dear life, yes, Lewis was walking through Vitali's shots at the end of the fight.

Lewis, before the fight, said he wanted 2-3 more fights after Vitali.

Lewis told Vitali immediately after the fight that he would rematch him.

Despite both of these, and other statements, Lewis soon after winning the 'cut lottery,' retired.

Them's the facts, gents. As is the fact that Lewis was trailing on the scorecards and felt the need to take the mike out of Merchant's hand in the post-fight interview because he didn't like the questions. Lewis knew he got lucky, and so did everyone else, including Merchant.

Lewis was a fine fighter who came along at the right time.

Vitali was a destroyer, a totally dominant force. Never trailed on the scorecards in any fight, insanely high KO %, never KO'd, never KD'd.

The most fortunate thing for Lewis and the other HW's was that Vitali kickboxed and got hurt from doing it. Other than that, Vitali would be undefeated and still reigning today, if he wasn't too bored and wanted Wlad to have a chance.

Lewis has shown he can be 1-punch KO'd, let alone just KO'd, period. Vitali can't even be knocked down, let alone out.

Lenny got lucky. Good for him. But all other evidence points out that Lewis was looking to get stopped, and stopped soon, in his fight with Vitali. His prayers were answered, as were those of his trembling fans.

Had the cut gods not been appeased, things would have ended like this:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

or this:

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Fortunately for an out-gunned Lenny, the cut gods saved him.

There aren't any pictures like that of Vitali. Because, at least as a pro (there's a story about him getting KO'd in amateurs by Maskaev, but I think he might have been injured, not sure), he doesn't get knocked out. Or knocked down. Lenny does, and does. And he was well on his way to doing both again.

That's what happens when the bully meets a bigger bully.

He retires.

I understand if you want to go against all the relevant historical information, the scoring of the fight, etc.

Just don't expect me to do that. I'm going to stay closer to the facts.

Fact: Lewis trailed the entire fight

Fact: Lewis had been KO'd before, and 1-punch KO'd

Fact: Lewis was hanging on at the end of the 6th, dog-tired

Fact: Lewis plopped down with no control on his stool after
the 6th round ended. He was very, very gassed and
appeared to be looking dejected that his heaviest shots
weren't doing jack to Vitali

Fact: Vitali was leading in the fight

Fact: Vitali had never been knocked down, never knocked out,
and never one-punch knocked out. He still hasn't had
any of those 3 things happen to him since

Fact: Vitali had Lewis hanging onto him at the end of the
6th round, after surviving the 'amazing' offensive
rally of LL

Fact: A very pissed-off-that-the-fight-had-been-stopped Vitali
asked LL after the fight, immediately, for a rematch.
LL said yes. There was no rematch, nor did LL ever
fight again, despite saying before the fight he wanted
several more fights after fighting Vitali

Fact: Vitali KO's people; that's what he does. And he usually
does it by systematically beating them down, as he was
doing Lewis. That's why his KO % is > 90%, higher
than any other HW in history, I believe. He is like a HW
Julian Jackson (without the weak chin) or a HW Gerald
McClellan - he destroys people. That's what all the
evidence shows from his record.

There is none - zero - factual basis from which to think LL would have either won or survived the fight. Even if you think
Lewis won the last two rounds, he still trailed. He still would have had to have won two more rounds just to tie Vitali. Forget about beating him. He was two in the hole just to try to look for a draw. Through half the fight, Vitali led by two rounds.

Now, you can make the fanboy leap and say "Oh, Lenny was coming on, he was on his way." Ok, despite that he was hanging on the last minute of the 6th round after his 'incredible' uppercut. Lenny shot his wad, and he was about to go out. Vitali was in full control at the end of the fight. Could Lenny have gotten one more 'second-wind?' Sure he could have. But there's nothing - absolutely nothing - to suggest he could have even hurt Vitali, let alone take him out. Vitali does not go down or out. That's a fact.

Ok, so that means Lenny would have had to try to get a decision win. He was down two rounds, hanging on for as hard as he could at the end of the 6th after his last stand offense, and he plopped down with no muscle control at the end of the round. He was being manhandled and muscled around the ring. How much longer, logically, do you think a guy like that has left? A guy that has been twice 1-punched KO'd, remember. Right. Not much.

Vitali, conversely, was fine when he was in his corner. He wasn't even breathing hard. He was fine, and only mildly annoyed that the doc was looking at his cut. As another poster mentioned, Vitali KO's guys later in a fight. Lewis doesn't. Vitali was just fighting his fight, feeling good. Despite that he took the fight on like 2-weeks notice and that his skin was tore open and blood was in his eye. He was ready to do whatever it took to defeat Lewis.

And that's it. Those are the facts. Sure, you can hold onto the 'fairy-tale' ending theory, and think Lenny would have overcome his fatigue, the scorecards, and the monster in front of him. Real life usually doesn't follow such a script.

And Rocky was the heavyweight champ, too.

Lewis retired. That's all you need to know. He knew, and he
knew that Vitali knew, too. Once you know you can't win, you
better walk away, or you're just going to get hurt in the next
fight.

So Lenny walked away. For good.

You are definetely a writer and no fighter - this reads like a fairytale. "The monster in front of him" ..... hilarious. If that was a monster than he well and truly got fucked hey - how many stitches did he get again? Two more rounds and Vitaly would never have fought again - those cuts were dangerous and rapidly getting worse. Only someone with no actual involvement in managing fighters cuts could dismiss them so easily.

Of course once LL had left the sport he had dominated VK picked that mantle right up and ran with it.....didn't he? Oh that's right he bitched out on Rahman. Some fuckin' monster. Your post has more starch than Vitlay.