Boxing Physics

A couple of weeks ago I was watching the Manny Pacquiao fight with Oscar De La Hoya.  I noticed the great impact physics had in the fight.  Pacquiao, the smaller man, was able to cause much more damage with his punches than De La Hoya did with his. Causing damage with a punch is really a simple physics concept.  the concept behind this is the transfer of momentum from the puncher to his opponent. Due to the conservation of momentum,the more momentum the punch has, the more damage inflicted to his opponent.  This would leave one to believe that the only two variables, mass and speed, in determining a punch's power.  If this were true then the bigger man, De La Hoya, would have a significant advantage in the mass department.  But then why so much power from the smaller Pacquiao? To answer that question one must see that it is not only pure velocity but rather the change in velocity that indicates a punch's power.  This increases the force of the blow because it reduces the time the punch is in contact with the opponents face.  This also explains the difference in Pacquiao's and De La Hoya's punching power.  Pacquiao snapped his punches all night making sure they quickly rebounded, while De La Hoya just threw his arms out there hoping to catch his elusive opponent.  This slight difference in punching technique gave Pacquiao a decisive knockout and catapulted him to the status of world's number one pound for pound fighter.