Mike Tyson Power Punch Explained By Veteran Boxing Coach

A veteran boxing coach explained how to throw a power punch like Mike Tyson.

Brandon Krause is a veteran boxing coach who also owns the Outlaws boxing gym in Tarzana, Los Angeles, CA. He has been teaching unique boxing skills and strategies for years and one of his recent tutorials was how to throw an overhand punch like Tyson.

Before demonstrating, Krause was asked who has the hardest overhand right punch in history of boxing. According to Krause, it’s hard to tell but former heavyweight champs like Lennox Lewis and Tyson were two of the best boxers to do it.

“The best is such a subjective thing. (But) Lennox Lewis had a good overhand right, Mike Tyson had a good overhand right,” Krause told EsNews.

Krause further explained that the overhand punch is considered the “7^th angle” in throwing a punch. As per the veteran coach, the left and right jabs are the 1^st and 2nd, the left and right hook are 3^rd and 4th and the left and right uppercut are the 5^th and 6^th. The overhand right that comes from the top of the head apparently is the 7^th.

Contrary to what many believed about the overhand punch, Krause explained that the punch itself may look like the power depends on how hard a boxer swings his arm. But in reality, throwing the body downwards followed by the overhand swing is what makes the punch powerful.

“The arc really comes because you throw your body down which basically makes the arc of your fist look a lot more,” Krause explained.

“So what’s happening is, I’m throwing my upper body ahead of my fist. My fist actually trail behind me,” Krause said after demonstrating the punch.

Another thing Krause clarified in the overhand punch is that it creates an “illusion” that the puncher looks like he’s hitting the top of the head but when done right, it actually the level of the opponent’s chin.

“My body goes down but my fist stays in that angle
(the same level of the opponent’s chin) where it was,” Krause pointed out.

Tristar Gym head coach Firas Zahabi , a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt most known for training accomplished MMA students such as George St-Pierre, has a different take about Tyson’s power.

According to Zahabi, Tyson was “genetically gifted” with tremendous power and so as UFC star Conor McGregor.

“I think it’s partly genetic,” Zahabi said about McGregor’s power on the "JRE MMA Show."

“He’s got that left hand, it’s the touch of death. That touch of death comes at a cost. Where does power come from? Number one on the list, is where your muscle is attached to the bone. It’s genetic. So, Mike Tyson, he has a powerful left hook not because his coach taught him how to hit a left hook. He could have hit a left hook like that if he had a mediocre trainer,” Zahabi continued.