Boxing star makes an impact

A team of engineers have shown that boxing star Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton really lives up to his name.

Boxers can land punches with up to half a tonne of force, ten times more than the average person.

The undefeated Light-Welterweight and Welterweight World Champion has been put through his paces at the University of Manchester by a team of impact engineers from the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering (MACE).

Impact expert Dr Qingming Li said: “The level of force he generated was quite astonishing. It was certainly a very different project from the type we usually work on, but it does demonstrate the expertise and versatility we have within the department.”

Following a request from ITN Sport, who wanted to know just how hard the Hitman hits, the team led by Dr Li worked with biomechanics equipment specialists Biosense Medical to gauge the strength and speed of Hatton’s best shots.

The results will give little comfort to Ricky’s future opponents. Data collected in Manchester suggests Hatton is capable of landing a right-handed punch with around 400Kg - nearly half a tonne - of instantaneous force behind it. That is ten times more instantaneous force than an average person with no boxing expertise is capable of generating.

The team attached a force sensor to a 30Kg Lonsdale punch bag. The sensor was then wired to a laptop containing software to measure and analyse the incoming data. However, Ricky’s first punch was landed with such force that it caused the senor to malfunction – meaning the team had to use alternative data. The team also calculated that Ricky’s gloves fly towards an opponent at an average top speed of 25mph - giving them a reaction time of less than one tenth of second.

Ricky, 28, who hails from Greater Manchester, said: “It was great working with the experts and the technology, and for me it was really interesting to see just how fast and hard I can hit.”