Is the 'thousand pound' punch real?

Science and technology develop, training develops, pushing human limits to unimaginable levels. One of the most concerned topics is the limit of punching power.

Boxer Ngannou (left) is famous for his thousand-pound punch - Photo: UFC

We often say "thousand pound punch". Of course that is just an exaggeration. So how strong is the punch of the strongest people on the planet?

First of all, it is necessary to distinguish between force and kinetic energy. Research in sports medicine shows that an average boxer throws a punch with a force of about 250-400kgf (equivalent to 2,500-4,000 newtons).

For professional boxers, this number can be far greater. According to a 2010 study by the American Institute of Sports Medicine, a knockout punch typically requires around 300-400kgf, meaning the impact force is many times greater than the victim's body weight.

In boxing, legendary boxers have set the standard for human strength. Mike Tyson - the "Iron Boxer" of the 1980s - was famous for punching opponents in just a few seconds.

Some unofficial tests showed that Tyson's punch force reached more than 1,500-1,800 newtons, enough to cause severe concussion to the brain.

But the most notable record belongs to Francis Ngannou, a Cameroonian MMA fighter. In 2017, Ngannou was recorded on the UFC Performance Institute's power testing machine with a punch measuring 129,161 units of the PowerKube device, which experts converted to the equivalent of about 96,000 newtons of force and more than 1,000 joules of impact energy.

To put it in perspective, that's the same amount of energy as a 1-ton 4-seater car traveling at nearly 5km/h.

So what does this force actually break? Studies of traumatic brain injuries show that the human skull can withstand about 1,100 joules of force before fracturing.

A punch from a top fighter like Ngannou can, in theory, approach or exceed that threshold if it lands in a vital spot.

Therefore, many deaths have been recorded in boxing or other martial arts due to brain injuries and broken bones.

“A super-sized punch is like a low-speed road traffic collision,” says Dr Ed Smith, a sports physiologist at University College London. “The difference is that it concentrates the energy into a very small area, causing more damage to tissue and bone.”

Over time, from Jack Dempsey and Rocky Marciano in the 20th century to Tyson, Deontay Wilder and Ngannou in the 21st century, human punching power has reached a threshold approaching biological capacity.

Current sports science research shows that despite training and technical improvement, the human body still has limits in terms of muscles, ligaments and speed of movement.

According to estimates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the maximum energy a human can generate in a punch hardly exceeds 1,500 joules.

Mike Tyson is also famous for his steel punch - Photo: BN

However, what makes a punch dangerous is not just the sheer number, but also how the energy is delivered.

Easy comparison: a Tyson punch can be as strong as using a 6kg sledgehammer to hit a block of wood, while a Ngannou punch is closer to a car lightly hitting an object.

At this level, the punch can not only break the jaw and ribs, but also cause internal concussion and serious brain injury.

In retrospect, human punching power is both a reflection of biological strength and a testament to the progress of sports training science.

“A thousand pound punch” is an understatement. A Ngannou or Mike “Iron” punch is roughly the equivalent of ramming a thousand pound car into your body, or taking a few pound hammer to your body. And either way, it’s likely to be deadly.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cu-dam-ngan-can-lieu-co-that-20250923132816079.htm