104 BOXINi>
EVER SINCE THE
ROMANS CONQUERED
THE GREEKS AND
CHANGED BOX ING
FROM AN HONORED
MI LITARY DISC IPLINE
INTO A BLOOD
SPECTACLE FOR THE
ELITE, THE KNOCKOUT
HAS BEEN THE GOAL
OF THE SPORT. IT IS
ONE OF THE FEW
OCCAS IONS IN ANY
ATHLETIC CONTEST
WHERE SYMBOLIC
CONQUEST AND REAL
CONQUEST MERGE. IT IS
A KIND OF DEATH THAT
RARELY BECOMES REAl.
IT CAN BE SUDDEN
AND CATEGORICAL-
10 SECONDS IN
DREAMLAND FOR THE
LOSER. ABSOLUTE
VICTORY FOR
THE WINNER .
~ Mik~ Tyson. ~ famous
praCli tioner of the
kn ockout punch, plying
his trade on the Jaw 01
fellow heavyweight
Larry Holmes during the
founh 10uM of the
World Heavyw~ight
Championship in 1988.
It c.m .. 150 be dist urbing_
One thinks of 1'1ike Tyson's 1986 firs t-rou nd onsl.lUsh! ,18.1i051
1'4.1rvis Fr.uier. in which .. rapid-lire SE'quenc(' o f uppercut s h.ld
Frazier's sensell'ss h('.ld jerking and bob bing ('(>fUy .110p his
powerful framl'.". Or Ihe 1988 Tyson-Llrry Ho lmes Hna\l', whe re
th ~ once dominant form!.'T ch.:lmpio n was SnJ.ls h L-d into J. d.lzcd
stille before succu mbing to a punch tha, s n.lppcd his hC.ld back
vio lently and sen! him floppin g 10 the CJllvas like a lifeless doll.
BOIh of these cl imaxes ilIuSlr.lle im po ft.l n! biomcch.ln icill .ltld
medical points about the nature of Ih£l knocko ut itsl'lf- how.1
fighter loses consciousness, why some boxers arc bigger punchers
.hJ n othNS, what constitutes a g lass j.1W. and so on. l'lowe\'er, e ven
when it comes to Ihe brute fo rce of Ihe boxing ring. J kn o ckout
punch is:.o subtle olnd complex Iha t it no t IIn ly eludes our senses
bUI bolflles Ihc undcrsl,mding of sdcnlisls. The s(>·cJ lled SWl'Ct
science sliIl holds its mysw ries.
T H E MYS T ER Y OF BOXtr-G
Cerl,1 inly boxing. like mos t o tlu'r sports, can b(' apprecialed on
m,1ny I(' \'els, The firsH ime obS<.'n'er ,11 ringside will see a nd
,1ppredJII.· a much different p rizcfighll han iI \'ctc ran fJ n. or even
.m ex·boxer o r trJine r, Boxing insiders convincingly offer bils
of wisdom thJt chJlle nge the mOSI cd uC,1tcd conclus io ns of
physici.m s.
Ray Arcel. w ho trained twenty world chJmpio ns. fro m Barney
Ross .1Ild Tony u le 10 Roberto Duran ,lIld La rry Holmes. ~lieves
the kno ckout will a lwol)'s de fy ,lnal),sis. "I've seen guys go down
frolll .:a ligh t tap .:md nOI move," he SJYs. "Of course, ge nerally, there
has 10 be some power behind the blow, but it's not how h.ud you
8('\ hit, but where .md when you ge t hit. I don't think .1Ilybody C,1 n
c\'er expl.lin Ih.lt."
Arcel citl'S the ex.lmple of Jim Br.lddock, whom he trained to
defend his heavyweight title ag.l insl Joe l ouis in 19J7. "Braddock
we nt out in the first round and hit Louis o n the chin a nd puI him 011
his back.. No one could belie\"e it becauSt' he wasn't ':1 punc.her. BUI
he cuuld wkc it. He had been h it harder by guys with more power
.lnd he'd sUlVivcd. But then when Louis hit him, he we ill down."
 Arccl ,1150 recillls ,1 s lr.mgt' episode in Ihe c,nct'r of EZ7.•ud
Charh·s. ln Ih{' 1940s and 19S0s. Chilrlcs was a g r{',u boxt'r ilS a
heavyweighl chdmpion, and no one could knock him oul-not
cven Rocky t-'arciano, who foughl him 10 a bloody dei:ision, BUI
in the last round o f one 01 ChMlcs's four fighls with Jersey Joe
Wolkon, he gOI hil with ol punch. Arcel remembers, ~Ih..i l could\'c
knocked 01 WolU do\\'n. Cholrlcs lasled OUI Ihe round, but Iht! punch,
a Iell hook. It'll o1n imprcssion.~
The next time Ihe IWO figh ters mel, Ih{' unstopp.1ble C hoHlcs
WolS sloppt>d in Ihe se\'cnth round, lI,l\Iencd by.1 punch Ihal came
OUI of nowhere and which. Arcel belic\'es. was a carbon copy of
th(o punch he had earlier survived, "H{' jusl knew somcwh(ore in
his mind thM it should ho1\'C knockl'd him ou l,"

IIE:IIIND T il E: KNOCKOU T P U N C II
TC'chnical1}'. ,1 knockout punch is si mpl y 01 fo rm 01 cerebral
concussion. It resulls in eith{'r unconsciousness or " g rog8Y st:u e
tl1<1t makes it impossible for thC' boxer to rise Irom the c,lIwas or
continue. According 10 Dr, King Liu. a sports-medicine researcht>T
.11 Iht> University of 10\\',1 M t>dical School, "A concussion can be
defined aS,1 dr,1m.;lIic luss tlf consciousnt'ss caus{'d by a disruption
of the neurons in the f(·ticular formalinn in the br,1in stem .~
This meo1ns Ih011 when.1 blow is delivered to Ihe he'ld. it C.luses
,1 \'ari,lIion-wh,lI tiu calls.l high-pressure gr,ldien l-lx!IWC'en the
brain an d Iht> spinal cord. a tw isting .md leMing of lht> rcgul.uory
cells (neuro n s) th.1I results in a shutdown, In olh('r words. the
jawbone scnds a messo1ge 10 Ihe b rolin: go to slt>t>p,
Iio1rry D. Jordo1n, mL-dic011 director of thl' New York St,lIe Athletic
Commission, di\;dcd Ihe knockout into four caU!gori('s of se\·erity.
In Type> I. the boxe>r is dazed o1nd unable 10 dcfl'nd himself-oUi on
his fee l. This common ly resuhs in .1 technic011 knockout. Type 2 is
when Ihe box{'r is knocked to the canvas and cannol rise bt>lore
the count of ten, ye t remains conscious. In 1)'pc J, the lighter is
knocked unconsciousness but reco\'{'rs quickly, Type 4 involves 01
longer pl'riod of unconsciousllL'ss.

C AU S E Of T il E KO
jord'ln, who published original rcseMch on th e neurologico1l
;}specis of boxing, is.1 s tudent o f Ihe kn ockout. ~ B;l Sic;lll y, \\IhM
C.1US(,S the KO is a rOI<1l;on.11 acc('le r.uion, a s pinning o f th(' brain,"
he says. " Pict ure the brain as, say, a mushroom o r a cauliflO\\'t> r,
During a k.nockout, the stalk doesn't move. butlhe- spin al the- top
causes you 10 1051.' consciousness. That's why IW.ldgeo1r \\'on'l
prc\'ent KOs. It doesn't precludl' the dcCeler,1lion."

a ox IJ'n .. Copyrt hIed 11 ..."'" r

'"
.. A knockout punch can
begin at the ftet. ripple
through the t orso and
culmina te w ith a
complex interaction of
several muscle groups
In the arm.

Professional boxers c,m delivCf blows with such force to the

Illov,lble he,ld th,u the br.lin SIll<lcks .lgainst the skull, tearing ne rve
nbers, the meningeal sac that supports the brain .lnd blood \'essels.
The direction and power of Ihe blow determine the se\'erity o f this
learing.
There are t\\'o basic kinds of .lceeler.ulon : rol.lIionoll (o r ,1ngulolr)
,md linear (o r Irans loltionJI). The former lends to be c.lus('d by
roundho use punches or hooks. Ih(' 1,1II('r by s tra ig ht shots.
According 10 Dr. jord,lI\, lilH'.u accel('ralion. caus('d by a punch
that s('nds the head s traig ht b.lCk. is nOI as like ly 10 cause a KO.
But. olS he poinls out. HObvious ly, Ihl' rig ht amount of force cOI n
Coluse a KO: it depends upon whe re it is applied."
Re ferring 10 Ihe Tyson-I-Iolmes boul. lordoln obwr\'cs th.llthe
first kn ockdown. ol righllo I-Iolmes's lempl('-an eXolmple of lineolr
movem('n t-did cause accd e r.llio n. It leftlhe former ch.lmp
mbb('r·1('gged and uncoordinoll('d-.l Type I Sl,lle.
A groggy lighter who has lost control o f h Is necK musclcs, .IS
"Io hucs had, bccomcs C\'en more vulnerJblc to suddcn rol.u ional
olccelerollion. Thus, the final punch-maybe nOI as powerful.ls the
nrsl-a swee ping left uppercul to the poinl of Ihe chin. r,lpidly
swiveled Holmes's he.ld, res ulting in .1 Type J knocko ut. It's
imporl.lIlllo nOle Ih,lI Ihe severity o f the punch in 11ll' Tyson-
Holmes fight example is not the iss ue. The punch that flatten ed
I-Iohnes was hardly lhe kind of haymaker one associates wit h a
knockou t. The video replay indicaled a lighlning-quick po kc 10 the
chin. foll owed by I-Iolmes's head snapping, and,l somewhat
grolct'less coliolPse 10 the moll-re miniscent o f a f.1lling Ift.>t.'.
He re, il is worth menlioning Ih.lt even .1 strolighl punch CJUSeS
 PRE -IMPACT some degree of rot.ltion.llo'lccele r.lIio n. As Or. Jord.ln h<'ls wrillen,
~ In T{'ality, the distinct ion between <'I punch lh.ll C.1USt'S a pure ly
ro tational o r linear <'I ccell'Tation is mostly th(>ort'tical. bec.luse the
fo rce produced by Ih(- blow is usu,'lly some va ri.lble combi llJtion
of linear and rotationa l accelera t ion _~
The linear componellt and Ih e ro tational com ponent-
individ ually or in concert-are the root ca use o f th e knockout_And
when these two dyn"mic boxing elemeOlS merge .md mix, the
mystery Ollh(> knockout only deepens,

OTHER "0 FACTORS

Tlwre is one laSt type of a ccel(>ration, or r.ltheT d eceleration, to be
cunside rt.'d . This is nut caus ed by punchl.'s but by the imp.lct of th (-
ligh te r's head o n Ihe canvas. The collision be twee n the brain ,md
the s kull on rapid decelerollion only aggr,W.ltes ttlt' effects of
.. The brain. meninges,
rotJtion of th e br.l in with in the sk ull, .lnd C.l n le.ld 10 bruises on
and attendant blood
ves~ls reside within the br.lin's lobes.
the protetlive shell of Knoc kouts h':l\'e also been kno wn to result fro m inju r ies to Ih (-
the skull. carotid, the ch ief artery pJssing up the neck to the brain-us ually
from.l \-e ry powerful b low to .he neck, which cumpresses th e
CJTOlid sinus, deprh'es the brain of oxygen -c.uryi ng blood, Jnd
c.UIses s h ock .1nd injury to Ihe cerebrum.
And Ihen there J re body punches. As Arcel observes, HJ've seen
boxers who cou ld o'Ibsorb.1 terrific amoun t o f punishmen l ge t
t.,pped in Ihe solar plexus and go facedown ."
MID -IMPAC T
f'UNCIIING rOWER
So wh.ll makes.l Louis o r .1 Tyson so dev;)stJling 0'1 puncher?
Il10.011 ..... M oreon-r, whJt mJkes 0'1 physically unimposing boxer a knockout
(o>!"""
$lft'll,," arlisl? And what molkes one fighter beller .lb le 10 Wilhs lJnd.l b ig
blow tholn the next guy? Is there s uch a th ing ",S.l glolSS j.1W?
As is well known to o'In)'One who's had his f.lir s h,ITe o f fights.
the re are guys built like Arnold Schwarzenegger who couldn 't KO
a d.lndelion, a nd Iher£! .lre scrawny dudes who C.ll1 flatten 0'1 truck
with olle shot. The myStery of punching power is e lusive.
As J.lckie Cr.lham, former d e puly commissioner of Ihe New
Yo rk Stolte Athle tic Comm ission. points out, George Forem.lIl and
Ge rry Cooney a re both kn own as.H1ll punc hers, fighters who
d o n't m.lXimize .he force of Ihe blow by us ing th eir bodies for
leverage, Yel both sOnl(>how s ucceed('d in knocking out most of
.. A blow 10 Ihe head their op ponents-Jnd quickly. Foreman and Cooney belie Ihe
begins a rapid rotation
of the s~u ll , bruising the no tion tha I punching power m ust be truly fo rceful to J chieve 0'1
brain and meningeal knockout_ While 0'1 Joe Fra..:ier or a Mike l ) rson C.l n .lccomplis h
(overing. knockouts by pl.,nting thei r fee t an d rot.lt ing the ir ent ire bodies

108 lux NG
FUll ".""!; behind the force of a blow, .-arm punchers seem to knock out thei r
oppon('nls with fealhery quickness.
Grdhilm remembers Lew Jenkins. a grl',ll lightweight champion
of the 19105: ~He hold hands the size of a little girl's .1nd pipesl('m
arms. and he was drunk h,lll the lime. Yet he could punch like a
mule. It has 10 do with accuracy, dirt'ction, le\'eragt', and whtl
knows what else. As for durability, take my brother. Billy Graham.
Hl' fought 120 fights-and hl' was in wi th Sugar Ray Robinson,
C.'rmen B.lsi!io.)oey Gi.udello-.md he W,1S neve r ewn knocked
down!H

r OWE R r R INClrlE5
N('w rtheless, cert,lin cI.lssic principles apply. As Dr. Jord.lIt h.ls
written in the Arrh;\'t's of Neur%9y. NThe concussh'e properties
01 a boxer's punch rel.l te to the manner in which the punch is
... Rotation of the brain d l'Hvered and how the mech,mic,11 forces are tr.l nsferre<! ,lnd
relative to the brain
stem and the collision "bsorbed thro ugh the interer,lni,11 cavity " .The force tr,lIlsmilled
of the brain with by a punch is directly proportiotiallO thl' mass of the glow and
the skull result In the velocity of thl' swing, ,md is inversely proportional to the total
a knockout. mass opposing tht' punch. H
In essence, Ih('se are Newton's SI."Cond and third laws. AI the
mOSI basic level, the force of the punch is compu tt'd by s ize o r
mass 01 the gloved fist times ils spce<l (fo rce" mdSS X .,cceler.lIion).
But sincl' we are discussing tWO bodies in motion, we must ,'lso
considl'r th,lI thl' (olel' of thl' glo\'{' on thl' he,ld is equal and
opposite to the force of thl' head on the glove. This rl's is tance.- of
the head and neck to the efft.'<1 of rotatiOIl must be considl'red
when c']lculdting the ability of a boxer 10 tdke a punch.
Newton's third 1,]\\· (:omes into play most in triguingly in the
technique known as rolling wilh the punch. ''-'Iany clever boxcrs.
notably l\1uh,'mmdd Ali, diminish the imp.1cl of the blow by
.lbrup(1), pulling back their head ,lt the inst,lnt of collision-rolling
with it, so 10 speak. In this m.1nner, skull and br,lin accelerdle
more ill unison, thus diifusillg the damagl' olthe blow.
It is easy to sce, tlwrdo re.-, th.at a sudden. unexpecl«d punch that
catches a lighter unprep.1Tt'd, his jaw hung like a I.mll-'rn. can
result in .1 tremendous ilcceler,lIion ol the he.ld. The soft br.lin,
which does nOI mo\'e .1S !.lst as the skull ilSdf, is deformed. with
result.mt stress 10, and even Ic.Hing 01, nen'es Jnd blood vcssels in
thc brdin's pro tectivc mcninges.
An additional biomcchanic,l l factor is tht' duration of cont,lel.
According to Dr. Liu, ~Rl'lativl'ly low· magnitude.- blows with a long
con t.let period C,ln do the S.lme job as " more forcef ul punch. A
good ,ll1<l10gy is found in k.1Tdte. [n tryins to br("lk.1 st.l ck of bricks
 wilh 01 blow of you r h.lnd, you mighl discover Ih.ll in Ihe split
second Ihe force olppliro r('olChes.1 cerlolin level olnd Ihe polin in
your hand is int('nse, you wo uld wilhdr.lw, but.1 k..UJt(' m.1Sll'f
lIIainl.lins contact unlillh(' bricks MI.' broken. A good boxer, in th£'
s.aml.' Sl'nsl', follows through."
As 10 why some fighters COIn olbsorb morl.' punis hment than
Olhl.'rs. SilyS Dr. Liu, " Individual \'ariations in Ihe way brolins olre
conSlructro cn,lble some people to sustain .1 higher brain pressure
g ra dien t-or rOI.' lionoll .1CCl.'lcf.lIion-lho1n others. It's simply pan of
the \'Jrio1 tion in all of ndIUfl'."
Do soml' boxl'rs suffer from thl' so-colU('d "gIJSS jawW? Ray Arcl'l
contl.'nd s Ihat the tcnll is nothing more than " .I neWSpapl'T
expressiun ...
"We never used it," Arccl expl.lins. "Ccrt.lin .lTeo1S, certain nerve
centers, in some individu.1 Is, l11.ly be more susceptible to .I punch.
10 my own cxpl.'ri('nce, c('Tt.1io guys were Ill.ldc o f Merne r stull
th.10 others. Lei'S f;lce it. Tl1(.· hunMn body W.1S ne\'er made to b('
punched."
True. But since the .ldvent of lhis primordial sport, the hum;ln
body has absor bed .md delivered countleSs blows. Perfecting the
knockout punch has been and always will bl.' Ih" ultimate gOill in il
compe tition mixing s kill and to ug hness with Wh.lt professional
bOllcrs know as oln innl.'r, indclin.1ble li re.

BOXING
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