Could Louis demolish Trevor Berbick

[uncle ben]

Louis was taught to look for weakness by applying pressure in spurts, but never totally letting off the gas pedal. A great Thai champion once remarked that a devistating punch does not need to be thrown hard, so much as accurately. Louis was a professional and did not try to throw punches hard, instead he threw them with perfect form.

I don't think it can be disputed that Louis had ATG HW punching power.

[billeau2]

I don't think it can be disputed that Louis had ATG HW punching power.

Lets dig deeper, and look at the subtle as well as the obvious. Louis never looked like he was trying to punch hard. He looked fluid and efficient, the punches came out of nowhere, untelegraphed and very very quick. Quickness is the refinement of speed. Again, when someoene tries to punch fast they lose power. When the mechanics are second nature, untelegraphed, and relaxed, the weight carries with the punch and we have quickness.

Louis was trained to throw combinations to learn how to sit down on the punches while delivering them at a great rate of speed. If we look at Dempsey, he was a little different in that he figured that learning how to punch properly would enable the individual to put punches together properly. But BlackBurn had Louis train in repeatative drills with specific combos until these combos were second nature to Louis.

So Louis' great punching was more than just powerful. His mechanics made his punches efficient and enabled him to work at a pace for which he is often critisized. But I would ask that people try to work in a ring and settle your weight onto a punch. It takes a lot of understanding that involve more than just power. You have to be seamless, find your man, weight ready, and punch produced... all while the other guy can avoid you and the punch.

This is also what made Liston so great. His crow step, punch was a way for a big man to settle into the opponent with his weight on the jab and subsequent punches. Most heavyweights just sacrifice power and waltz in and use the arm and some dynamics, but do not settle all the elements that make a punch so powerful.

[Mrsantiago]

Are you saying tha Berbick may have stopped prime Louis??

Who knows that’s why they’d have to fight the fight but what I do know is Joe had been dropped by multiple fighters great ones as well as some in the “bum of the month club”.

[QueensburyRules]

- -The laid back Joe carved up Ali for deriding his bum of the month club with,

"I'd make you one of my bums too!"

Topic is asinine as is the OP whose never been the same since that little granny slapped him silly.

[Dynamite76]

Prime Louis could, any other version would go to a decision.