In a mouthwatering clash of styles, power-punching destroyer Artur Beterbiev – the only reigning world champion with a 100-percent knockout ratio – will take on boxing savant and rival light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol in an undisputed championship fight on October 12 in Riyadh.
While Bivol brings the movement, the jab, and the quick-fisted attacks to this battle of pound-for-pound entrants, it’s Beterbiev who harnesses maximum violence and back-breaking power. For most of those picking the IBF, WBC and WBO champion to win, the expectation is that he wins by brutal knockout.
Some of the most popular fighters in boxing history have been authentic knockout artists. The great Manny Pacquiao took his fame and following to new heights when he knocked Ricky Hatton out cold with one perfectly timed left hand in 2009. Nothing provides more electricity for fight fans than a decisive knockout triumph.
WATCH: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, exclusively on ESPN+
While Pacquiao has now retired from the sport – we hope – it’s interesting to take a look at the generations of heavy hitters who have followed. While we’ll never see another Pacquiao, some of his power-punching successors have carved out unique legacies of their own over the past quarter of a century. But who reigns supreme in 2024? Is Artur Beterbiev the No.1 hitter?
The criteria for entry is that the fighter must have turned professional after 1999 and held a world championship. Natural heavyweights are not included. Among the factors considered for a ranking were knockout streaks, longevity, quality of opposition and the eye test.
The Sporting News revisits the careers of the eight hardest pound-for-pound punchers this century.
8. Nonito Donaire
- Active: 2001 – Present
- Record: 42-8 (28 KOs)
While Donaire doesn’t have the eye-popping knockout percentage of other champions on this list, he more than deserves his spot.
For many years, “The Filipino Flash” operated above his natural weight class, taking on some of the best fighters in the world. However, Donaire’s power between flyweight and bantamweight was no joke.
Besides Canelo Alvarez, Donaire is the only fighter in the past 20 years to win two Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year awards (2007 TKO 5 Vic Darchinyan and 2011 TKO 2 Fernando Montiel).
Blessed with a lethal left hand, this four-weight world titleholder is a future Hall of Famer and one of the finest fighters of his generation. As well as all that, Donaire was a consummate knockout artist.
Among his other knockout victims are Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez and Jorge Arce.
7. David Haye
- Active: 2002 – 2018
- Record: 28-4 (26 KOs)
While younger fans might only recognize Haye for the ignominious ending to his heavyweight career, it would be remiss to ignore his cruiserweight run. The charismatic Englishman had stunning one-punch power with 20 of his 28 KOs coming in three rounds or less.
“The Hayemaker” won the European cruiserweight crown with a first-round knockout over Alexander Gurov before moving on to world level. In 2007, he got off the canvas to score a spectacular stoppage of the excellent Jean-Marc Mormeck to win the unified championship on away soil. And for an encore, Haye blasted his way through WBO counterpart Enzo Maccarinelli in two pain-packed rounds.
Even though Haye went 7-3 as a heavyweight, he did manage to win a world title and score six stoppages over naturally bigger men. At his best, he was a devastating puncher.
6. Adonis Stevenson
- Active: 2006 – 2018
- Record: 29-2-1 (24 KOs)
Stevenson, known as “Superman,” flew up the light heavyweight ranks in relative obscurity but when his moment came he made the most of it.
Perhaps no fighter over the past quarter century has annexed a world title more spectacularly than Stevenson did against Chad Dawson in June 2013. With just over a minute gone in round one, the Canadian southpaw bounced a crushing – and fight-ending – left hand off his opponent’s skull to win WBC and Ring Magazine championships.
Over the next five years, Stevenson made six successful title defenses and scored four knockouts. He was fortunate to get a draw against Badou Jack in 2018 and his career was cut short when he suffered life-changing injuries in a TKO loss to Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
But despite the tragic ending, Stevenson’s quality as a champion and a puncher is undeniable.
5. Gervonta Davis
- Active: 2013 – Present
- Record: 30-0 (28 KOs)
One of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today, “Tank” Davis is also one of the sport’s most feared one-punch hitters.
The Baltimore-based superstar has TNT in both hands and dispenses that power with world-class precision. He knocked out Ryan Garcia with a single body punch, Frank Martin lost his “0” after being nailed by a ferocious two-piece, and Rolly Romero was finished off with one spectacular left-hand shot.
Davis has been a world champion for over seven years, capturing title belts in three weight classes. He’s only been taken the distance once in the past decade and, in his most recent bouts, has knocked out four previously unbeaten contenders in succession.
Hitting power to one side, the 29-year-old southpaw is also armed with speed, sharp reflexes and criminally underrated ring IQ.
4. Artur Beterbiev
- Active: 2013 – Present
- Record: 20-0 (20 KOs)
If Beterbiev is finding the target with regularity, then lasting the distance against him is almost impossible. The unified light heavyweight champ may not have the crunching one-punch power of Tank Davis, but the accumulative effect of his output is devastating.
This isn’t a one-trick pony like Deontay Wilder at heavyweight. Thanks largely to an incredible amateur pedigree, Beterbiev knows how to set up his power by forcing the opposition to make mistakes.
Signature wins have come against Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Joe Smith Jr., Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.
Even at the age of 39 years old, the Russian destroyer has yet to show significant decline and Dmitry Bivol is in for the fight of his life.
3. Edwin Valero
- Active: 2002 – 2010
- Record: 27-0 (27 KOs)
Before Artur Beterbiev, there was the ill-fated Edwin Valero.
An irresistible knockout machine, Valero never heard a scorecard while he was a professional. The enigmatic Venezuelan splattered 27 opponents in succession, eight of them in world title fights across two weight classes.
Notable victories came against Antonio Pitalua, Hector Velazquez and Antonio DeMarco.
Before reaching world level, southpaw Valero knocked out his first 18 opponents in the opening round. However, despite his exciting style and terrific power, he remained a hardcore fan favorite whose career was foreshortened amid horrific circumstances.
In April 2010, the then-WBC lightweight champ was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife. The following day, he committed suicide in his jail cell.
2. Gennadiy Golovkin
- Active: 2006 – Present
- Record: 42-2-1 (37 KOs)
Even though GGG has been on a slow fade in recent years, no fight fan will forget his reign of terror in the middleweight division during his prime.
An Olympic silver medalist at the Athens Games in 2004, the power-punching destroyer from Kazakhstan turned professional under the tutelage of acclaimed coach Abel Sanchez.
Golovkin notched up a string of devastating early knockouts before claiming the WBA “regular” title at 160 pounds and then the problems began. No one wanted to face him.
Over time, GGG would claim every belt available except the Ring championship. However, he was robbed of his moment of glory following an infamous draw with Canelo Alvarez and never quite reached the same heights thereafter.
Hyperbole to one side, Golovkin was one of the best offensive fighters in modern boxing history. His record in title fights is an astonishing 22-2-1 (20 KOs).
1. Naoya Inoue
- Active: 2012 – Present
- Record: 28-0 (25 KOs)
What can’t Naoya Inoue do? A four-weight world champion (including double undisputed), “The Monster” has been a pound-for-pound player for years.
It would be remiss to pigeonhole the Japanese warrior as a puncher because his speed, skills and technique are near-flawless. However, Inoue’s ability to score chilling knockouts has made him an unmissable attraction.
Hardcore fans have had an eye on Inoue since his days as a flyweight, but it was his path of destruction in the bantamweight World Boxing Super Series tournament that brought him to the attention of the masses.
He’s done everything you could ask of a puncher: early knockouts, late knockouts, one-punch knockouts, combination knockouts, body shot knockouts, you name it. In May of this year, he got off the canvas against Luis Nery to win by – you guessed it – a knockout.
Other signature triumphs have come against Ryoichi Taguchi, Omar Narvaez, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Nonito Donaire, Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales.
As far as pound-for-pound power goes – Inoue is The King.
Honorable mentions: Vic Darchinyan, Sergey Kovalev, Marcos Maidana, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Kelly Pavlik, JuanMa Lopez, Junto Nakatani
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