I don’t have an answer as I’m still learning as well, I’ve been trying to figure out how to bend the knees for natural movement. Have you tried making a blend of the two animations? Pretty sure you have as your animations seem more complex than mine currently, but I thought I’d ask.
Otherwise hopefully this response will move this thread up and garner attention from someone with more experience that can help.
Edit: Also I think that backwards “retreat” from the punch looks weird because it’s barely too fast. It almost look like it skips. Pretty sure that whenever I reach out with my hand whether or not I’m punching, my torso ends up rotating with my hand for more distance before pulling back.