Players talking about Kocur's Power

[battleship25]

Originally Posted by Churla22

Actually, around a dozen guys went the distance with him....and 68 KOs in 74 wins

Of course I should 've mentioned "Shavers winning a decision " by going the distance ..in his prime only 2 winning decisions . True others went the distance ( winning ) . The point being if he was hitting you ...you were usually out. ..and you would almost never get outpointed by Shavers. Only later in his career did he get some more winning decisions. Both Ali and Holmes were some of the few that tasted Shavers power and survived..due to unbelievable chin and courage. The Homes right in the second fight was the most devastating punch ever thrown..Shavers himself said "I don't ever wanna hit someone that hard again"....miraculously , Holmes got up..not sure what planet he was on but managed to survive and stay away from trouble the rest of the fight.

As far as JK, yes forgot about the Brash "fights" ..another one that looked like he pooped himself..good thing he had dark pants.

BBBB, in a hockey fight ..it's much easier to stay alive in a fight..against JK, many guys just fell to the ice , or smartly tied up his right. Before a fight ..if the idea is in your head to swing freely , because you're mad ...that sometimes is negated by who's in front of you. I can tell you one thing..if more guys went t2t with JK - he'd a had a ton of tko's and KO's. Yes he fought a lot of tomato cans (esp. early) but how many times did you see very destructive guys like TT, or Semenko, etc..that fight stiffs and are unable to get the KO , or even a tko...because they're in survival mode. BBBB, don't know how many hockey fights you've had, but if the other guy is worried about getting hurt- and wants to survive...it'll be hard to really get to him with anything meaningful . This is what happened with JK and TT ...guys were trying to survive . I'm sure you know this, but thought I'd remind you.
Now , when I knew JK ...I argued that the problem with swinging for the fences is playing Russian Roulette ...it's difficult to find a dance partner. So ..the end result is ..cowering (TT, Ray , Brash) ..or seat belting (Berube) ..not great fights. The other problem is that when that swing misses it leaves you open , or you fall off balance (Richter) and the fight is over. I argued that he should've shortened his punches which would've made for many more openings, much better fights, and less chance of a tko (Coxe). He did very well on his own, but it was good to see that he changed his style -using his left and more technical strategies) and not just load up on the right and hope for the best.

But interestingly out of his 250+ fights only a handful actually slugged it out with JK :

Gaetz (1-0-1)
Eagles (KO win)
Jackson (KO win)
Coxe (tko loss)
McGill (2-2 ? tko loss)
Raglan (KO loss)
Kyte ( 1-2-1 KO win )
Gill 3-3 ???

off the top of my head ...

but this shows you how dangerous Russian Roulette is ... Kyte and Jackson were never the same. I'll have to go through his card but that's not a great record ironically enough. In just those fights his record is about .500, BUT... the guys he did hurt he hurt bad, whereas tko losses just knocked him off his feet and he was fine ( except possibly Raglan ..he was down for a bit).

[I like Boobs]

Found the source for the Gaetz quotes -

Q: Who were the hardest punchers you faced who may have even stunned you during a fight?

Link: Joey Kocur and Tony Twist, if either one of them caught you with a good shot you're going down.

Q: Can you tell us your thoughts on Joe Kocur? You two had a couple of serious bouts when you first broke in with Minnesota. Can you tell us? About those fights? Your thoughts on Joe Kocur, his reputation and how you performed in those fights?

Link: One thing that stands out about him is his incredible strength. He got the better of me in the second fight, but I think I did OK. He was a very very hard puncher. His reputation speeds for itself.

Source is an interview Gaetz did with NHL Fightclub.

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

Originally Posted by battleship25

Of course I should 've mentioned "Shavers winning a decision " by going the distance ..in his prime only 2 winning decisions . True others went the distance ( winning ) . The point being if he was hitting you ...you were usually out. ..and you would almost never get outpointed by Shavers. Only later in his career did he get some more winning decisions. Both Ali and Holmes were some of the few that tasted Shavers power and survived..due to unbelievable chin and courage. The Homes right in the second fight was the most devastating punch ever thrown..Shavers himself said "I don't ever wanna hit someone that hard again"....miraculously , Holmes got up..not sure what planet he was on but managed to survive and stay away from trouble the rest of the fight.

As far as JK, yes forgot about the Brash "fights" ..another one that looked like he pooped himself..good thing he had dark pants.

BBBB, in a hockey fight ..it's much easier to stay alive in a fight..against JK, many guys just fell to the ice , or smartly tied up his right. Before a fight ..if the idea is in your head to swing freely , because you're mad ...that sometimes is negated by who's in front of you. I can tell you one thing..if more guys went t2t with JK - he'd a had a ton of tko's and KO's. Yes he fought a lot of tomato cans (esp. early) but how many times did you see very destructive guys like TT, or Semenko, etc..that fight stiffs and are unable to get the KO , or even a tko...because they're in survival mode. BBBB, don't know how many hockey fights you've had, but if the other guy is worried about getting hurt- and wants to survive...it'll be hard to really get to him with anything meaningful . This is what happened with JK and TT ...guys were trying to survive . I'm sure you know this, but thought I'd remind you.
Now , when I knew JK ...I argued that the problem with swinging for the fences is playing Russian Roulette ...it's difficult to find a dance partner. So ..the end result is ..cowering (TT, Ray , Brash) ..or seat belting (Berube) ..not great fights. The other problem is that when that swing misses it leaves you open , or you fall off balance (Richter) and the fight is over. I argued that he should've shortened his punches which would've made for many more openings, much better fights, and less chance of a tko (Coxe). He did very well on his own, but it was good to see that he changed his style -using his left and more technical strategies) and not just load up on the right and hope for the best.

But interestingly out of his 250+ fights only a handful actually slugged it out with JK :

Gaetz (1-0-1)
Eagles (KO win)
Jackson (KO win)
Coxe (tko loss)
McGill (2-2 ? tko loss)
Raglan (KO loss)
Kyte ( 1-2-1 KO win )
Gill 3-3 ???

off the top of my head ...

but this shows you how dangerous Russian Roulette is ... Kyte and Jackson were never the same. I'll have to go through his card but that's not a great record ironically enough. In just those fights his record is about .500, BUT... the guys he did hurt he hurt bad, whereas tko losses just knocked him off his feet and he was fine ( except possibly Raglan ..he was down for a bit).

Got it! Amazing KO ratio for Shavers. Good points. As far as JK, yes, amazing one-punch power. If you turn things upside down however, meaning, you look at the 250+ fights he had where nobody got hurt, his trail of ruin as a percentage is not like Shavers, albeit, Shavers was not throwin bombs on Skates on a slippery surface - Peace out!

[ROZZY]

Have watched lot hockey fights in my life. Kocur had power no doubt about that but he wasnt TKOing people or KOing people with ease like the stories make it out to be. If I'm wrong please post the 20 or more fights that he has putting people out cold and they had to be helped off the ice!

[rondo]

This is the stuff that make legends grow. No disrepect to KOcur because he was argubaly the hardest puncher to ever play the game. But how do you compare him to a Derek Boogaard. Kocur was 6"0 220 and Boogey was 6'7 270.

In twenty years from now their will be old newspapers talking about Boogaard and the destruction he laid out in his brief NHL career. Broken noses, orbitals and im sure a few helmets along the way.

Take nothing from KOcur he threw a punch with his body/core as well as anyone on skates ever has. If it landed flush you weren't staying upright. Same could be said for guys like Twist and Boogaard.

Kocurs 2 fights with Geatz were two that impressed me the most. Geatz was an upcoming possible champ and Kocur handled him in both and Geatz knew it.

one man's opinion:

Orr is/was closest thing i've seen to Kocur.

McSorely may be the most underrated tough guy I can think of. He squarely and fairly beat Kocur...

[srehm1]

Originally Posted by I like Boobs

Fair points - but that's why I put a guy like Brashear in there, the guy is legitimately top 5 all time (I have him at 3), and he was literally terrified of his power. I haven't been able to find a source to confirm this as third party, but I remember Gaetz saying that Kocur hit hardest and Rob Ray also said Kocur as well - and Twist broke his face! I know my buddy Turk Gallant said that many many guys were terrified of him hurting them - and it shows in how opponents fought him. After he cracked Neely's helmet, Neely was done... Dave Manson as tough a defenseman as their was in that era got dropped badly. Broke Terry Carkner's nose and jaw with a bomb... Gary Nylund was revenged when Kocur caught him. Troy Loney wasn't a world beater but he went down as well... There were very very few that ever tried him wide open. Most held on.

The only guy that really fought him wide open every time was Todd Gill, and Gill was a beauty.

Like I said in my post -I thought Kocur had scary power. the kind of guy that was a legitemate KO puncher. No doubt about it. I do think it's interesting to see that the VAST majority of his KO/TKO's were against no names and lower tier fighters. it's unusual that a guy with his kind of incredible reputation as a power puncher never dropped a single top flight HW. In his entire career. And guys that aren't considered to be in JK's stratosphere for punching power have.

[BaddaBing Badda Boom]

Originally Posted by ROZZY

Have watched lot hockey fights in my life. Kocur had power no doubt about that but he wasnt TKOing people or KOing people with ease like the stories make it out to be. If I'm wrong please post the 20 or more fights that he has putting people out cold and they had to be helped off the ice!

Rozzy - this is the second time I have posted to your remarks as I am being childishly monitored and censored. Anyway, amen to your statement. This Godzilla like charachterization is so overstated IMHO