My frame-by-frame punch power analysis tells a "new" story
TL;DR:
To punch hard, no need to be a genetic freak. Start with actually trying to punch hard, be okay with being ugly (form wise), move your torso as much as possible, exaggerate your body shapes and pump your chest, hit when your opponent's body is unprepared, hit at the right places, be scary, have aura.
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Hi guys,
I have always been suspicious with the idea that "power punchers are born".
As often in life, there are too many factors to reduce everything to a few chromosomes. I feel like if power was all about genetics and fast twitch fibers, we would see more beginners able to knockout seasoned fighters, less knockouts among women, and "pillow hands" fighters would not be able to knockout anyone at all.
It turns out that my frame-by-frame observations tend to support my intuition.
I analyzed around 50 sequences, mostly knockouts, but also sequences of fighters considered as "soft punchers". Here are my theories (it is still hypothetical if not bro science at this point, more studies to come):
Theory 1 - Timing and precision are the most determining factors
Conor had it right, but according to what I saw, power IS timing and precision. In 70-90% of the sequences I analyzed, the knocked-out fighter was...
- Either in a bad position, body misaligned, recovering from another shot, retracting his own shot, catching his balance, on the back foot, catching his breath, confused, etc.
- Either receiving the ending hit at one of the worst places possible like the tip of the chin, the temp or the side of the chin
Generally, the knockouts happened due to a combination of both.
On the contrary, I saw that some fighters rarely get knockouts because their were hitting on prepared opponents, aligned bodies, or on "strong" spots like the forehead or more generally the upper part of the skull, when not half-missing their shots.
The word "aim" is never employed for a fighter, but it should: the football (soccer) player who can put the ball in the goal is in fact more decisive that the one who can shoot very hard but always outside of the goal or right on the goal keeper. The metaphor works with firearms, but I'm European and don't know anything about weapons, just imagine an example with a shitty gun brand in the hands of a guy who can aim, and vice versa.
Theory 2 - Hitting hard is mostly a choice, a style or part of a gameplan
I tried to study a few fighters that are not famous for their knockouts, I was trying to see what made them "weaker", and I have been very frustrated with them because it took me more time to find sequences where they actually try to hurt their opponent or get a finish.
Then it struck me: they simply don't want to, most of the time. It's not part of their game plan to try to take off the head of their opponents at every second. They are either more patient, either focusing on touching more, etc. So at the end of the day, they have less knockouts, but we could argue that they also have less knockout attempts so statistically it makes sense.
Strickland for example is often considered as a "pillow hands fighter", but maybe 90% of his punches are jabs, and jabs are essentially soft punches so it is not about Strickland skills nor inherent strength. Even when he throws a rear hand, he doesn't really intend to hurt with it (compare his frame-set with the other ones)
Same for Cyril Gane who emphasizes on getting in and out, scoring as much as possible in a short time span, never taking the time to sit on his punches because he needs to escape fast, and collect small cumulative damage for later in the fight. His "rear end punches" start their motion at his chest, they are almost like rear end jabs.
Theory 3 - Upper torso plays a huge part in punching power
Try this small experience at home: put yourself in the standard boxing guard, then pull an imaginary bowstring, or throw an imaginary ball as far as possible. You will see that you won't be able to throw the arrow/ball very far if you stay in that boxing position.
You will quickly realize that to throw something as fast/far as possible, you will need to puff out your chest, arch your back and bring the shoulder blades together, maybe even open both your arms, then perform an exaggerated motion to throw it far.
Well, all other things being equal, it turns out that the fighters who generate the most power are often those who "inflate" their chest then "deflate it" into their punches, while opening both their arm and executing the following sequence in a wheeling/tourniquet motion:
driving non-hitting arm --> puffed out chest --> driving hip + punch.
Often, last thing their opponents see before falling unconscious is very similar to a Super Sayan qi-charging stance
Also, a lot of knockouts happened when the upper body was moving into wide, curved, exaggerated shapes... But lower body: not so much. The textbook engaged hip + rotating bowl of the back foot position was not there for most knockouts I studied. For many of them, the feet/hips placement was the exact same at the beginning and at the end of the punch motion, for others the rear foot was off the ground which would make a lot of coaches angry.
Bonus observation: the non-punching hand was almost always down, and never close to the face. Not sure if it plays a role in power or if it's just a mistake from the fighters, but I can see how having your non-hitting arm down helps with directing your bodyweight.
Unsure theory - Aura and mental dominance
I'm really not sure for this one, but hey we are here to discuss and explore new ideas right? This is something I noticed when replaying image-by-image sequences: right before the ending punch, some guys looked totally demoralized if not TERRIFIED. You can see it in a few pictures I posted (cf. pictures of Herbert vs Topuria and Figgy's opponent).
Maybe it's just me tho, but I feel like being in that fearful demeanor makes them easier to knockout, hence makes their opponent stronger.
The genetic part: what the frames tell us
According to me, the only physical factor for punching power is the ability to move as much as possible, as fast as possible, since it is all about kinetic energy which only depends on mass and speed: K.E. = 1/2 m v^2.
"Power punchers are born" would mean that these punchers are born with more body motion speed.
Yet, I have generally not seen tons of differences between fighters, regardless of if they are powerful or not.
I have decomposed their punches into youtube-frames, each frame lasts 0,04 seconds.
Most fighters I analyzed could complete a punching motion in 12-16 frames, so between 0.36 and 0.48 seconds.
I did saw a few fighters outclassing the others in terms of speed all other things equal, I would say Mike Tyson, Josh Emmett and Deontay Wilder for example, maybe Ngannou comparatively to his size: they even manage to knockout guarded opponents. But I really have the intuition that most "powerful" fighters don't have such a speed advantage and rely on a combination of the three theories, more than on their genetically-induced speed.
I'm pretty sure that O'Malley for example owes his knockouts to a great timing and to him capitalizing on unprepared opponents, cocking his fist and comitting his whole body in his ending punches. Nothing supports that he hits faster than Holloway at this point
I will try to confirm this hypothesis with more serious analysis and calculations tho.