how on earth did george foreman punch so hard, when the speed of his punches were so slow?

Answer 1

It is about technique, not just speed!

Answer 2

George Foreman was unquestionably one of the most devastating punchers of all time, and also had the ability to take his knockout power deep into a fight.

At times he was ponderous and his punches telegraphed which would negate their effect against good technicians like Ali or Young.

And there were noticeable knockout victories where he had to repeatedly club the opponent to the canvas rather than knock them unconcious in the way that Louis or Tyson did. Joe Frazier an obvious example.

Speed of delivery is an important factor when contemplating power of punch, because it should be possible to generate an equation for power given the tangibles of distance, velocity, trajectory and weight are all available. However, to boil down boxing in such a manner is to deprive the sport of its mystery, it's beauty and its important to remember, "that boxing", to quote Big George himself, "is the sport to which all others aspire."

George Foreman just had lead in his fists, he was simply a heavy handed puncher - not dynamite in the way say Hamed or Tyson were but an overwhelming weight of punch delivered usually from above his opponent that proved impossible to survive for most of his foes.

A great fighter. And what the sport wouldn't give to unearth a new George Foreman.

Answer 3

Which hurts worse.... being hit by a feather at 50 mph.... or a Mack truck at 15 mph? George Foreman had (has) a vicious jab. A punch that most boxers use just to "set up" a flurry of other punches. So.... you're trained to block he "hard" punches and not to worry about the jab because they aren't devistating.

Answer 4

It's generally said that "speed equals power" in boxing, but I think that goes only so far.
Paul Spadafora has fast hands, but no knockdown power. I boxed a bit as a kid, and still have pretty quick hands, but no power.
My oldest brother hand slow fists, but when he did connect, he'd knock you thru the wall. George Foreman is the same way - like a truck as opposed to a sports car. The truck, although moving slower, will cause more damage.

Answer 5

Leverage is a key factor. If you look at great punchers they drive their whole body into a punch. The weight shifts, the hips shift and the whole force of the body goes into the fist. There are alot of guys that hit really hard Marciano, Frazier, Gomez, Mugabi that were not extra fast. They just used great leverage, commited fully to the punch and punched through an opponent.

Answer 6

Most huge punchers are not particularly fast, just like most fast fighters are not particularly huge punchers. Huge punchers like Foreman and Earnie Shavers had a lot of weight and natural power behind their shots, while smaller punchers like Tommy Hearns and Diego Corrales used good technique in delivering the shots. One of the things that made Mike Tyson lethal in his prime was that he had a combination of speed and power. Rocky Marciano was not particularly fast either, but he got lots of power on his punches with good technique and leverage. A slower, heavier punch will always do more damage if it lands flush than a quick, snappy punch will.

Answer 7

His Follow Through for the most part watch George throw a punch as opposed to Ali. Ali punches at his opponents George Punches through his opponents.

Answer 8

I think you should thank God foreman's punch are slow cause if its lightning fast like Ali he would have killed every boxer he fought including Ali.

To answer the question you should consider the weight behind his punch and upper body strength.

Answer 9

Where did you get the idea Foreman was slow?
Ali said that the reason he went to the rope-a-dope was because when he tried to engage Foreman in the center of the ring, he was shocked at how quick he was.

Answer 10

Simple..George was naturally heavy handed and so he would hurt you with the weight of his punches. George was the 2nd hardest puncher in boxing history, behind another slow but even heavier handed Earnie Shavers....Muhhamad Ali and Larry Holmes both said that Shavers hit them hader than anyone else. Check out Shavers' ko record on boxrec.com

Answer 11

Take into account the weight behind the punch (Power to Weight ratio).

6 stone weed punches you and you laugh (unless you are also a 6 stone weed)

20 stone outhouse hits you - it hurts!!

Speed doesn't come into it!