In The Punch, Howard distinguishes a true knockout punch from a merely heavy blow. He argues that knockout power depends on coordinated whole-body movement that releases with a sudden snap rather than a shove.

Howard discusses Bob Fitzsimmons, Peter Maher and Jack Dempsey as notable examples of fighters with genuine knockout power. He contrasts them with James J. Jeffries, whose blows he describes as tremendously heavy but lacking the same snap. He also discusses the “whip-lash” punch associated with fighters such as Jim Corbett, Jack Dempsey the Nonpareil, Kid McCoy and Charlie Mitchell, treating it as a different technique that wears an opponent down through cutting and cumulative damage.