The Boulder-Throwing Boxer: Stanley Ketchel’s Old-School Punching Power
- Mark Hatmaker
- May 5
- 4 min read
Stanley Ketchel, aka “The Michigan Assassin,” was one of the greatest middleweight boxing champs of all time. He was noted for tremendous power in both hands, which he threw often.
Most of the descriptions of Ketchel’s punching power penned by sportswriters of the time echo this one from Bert Randolph Sugar:
“Like Dempsey, Ketchel’s defense was his offense. A murderous puncher with death at the end of each arm, Ketchel kept exploding six-inch shells in five-ounce gloves until something happened.”
Ketchel always fought with murderous intent, whether it was in his unofficial 250-plus barroom fights or while wading through the middleweight division until his untimely death at age 24. He was so confident of his power and conditioning that on five occasions, he fought two men in the same day. Once, he outscored six opponents in one six-round match, taking a fresh fighter for each round.
