At its roots, boxing toes the line between ornate physical dexterity and ferocious physical violence. It’s a combination of  the two that keep the hardcore fans entertained, but it’s the latter that brings new fans to the support.

The following is a multi-weight class assortment of some lesser known knockouts in an attempt to showcase this sports brilliance.

Thomas Hearns K02 Roberto Duran [06-15-1984]

Duran’s facade as a legendary fighter was already faded when he entered  the ring with Hearns. “The Hitman” carried a right hand that could sink a  tugboat, had a 6 inch height and 12 inch reach advantaged. All these points coupled with the fact that Duran was notorious for standing right in front of you all added up to a vicious knockout. One boxing writer famously said “Duran fell like a 154 pounds of pancake batter.”

Ike Ibeabuchi TKO5 Chris Byrd, 03-20-1999. Heavyweights 6:13 in video

In what would turn out to be Ibeabuchi’s last fight as a professional, he delivered one of the meanest punches ever landed on a human being. Throwing a combination of an uppercut and a hook he soaks the first row of the audience with Byrd’s sweat and spit. The best part of this knockdown is that Byrd get hits so hard that he believes that he was never knocked down. Jim Lampley shouts out the line “Come on Chris, you got busted!” while Byrd argues with the ref.

Joe Frazier KO2 Bob Foster [11-18-1970]

Late at night we often wonder if we would rather get hit on the chin by a prime Joe Frazier left hook or get shot in the same place. Before you answer, take a look at what it does to a really good fighter in Bob Foster. Maybe the gun wouldn’t be that bad? Frazier’s left hand is arguably the greatest of all time and led to countless victories and knockdowns throughout his career.

Nonito Donaire TKO2 Fernando Montiel  [02-19-11]

It wouldn’t be hard for Montiel to a get tattoo of Donaire’s hand. All the tattoo artist would have to do is follow the lines of bruising and swelling. It’s one of the more perfect counter punches in recent memory. Post knockdown is actually hard to watch even for a big boxing fan. Slow motion only adds to the beauty of that punch.

Julian Jackson KO4 Herol Graham [11-24-94]

Jackson is one the strongest punchers in the history of the sport and for some reason history has seemed to forget him.  We could have picked one of many  knockouts he had over the years, but this one stands out because Graham was dominating the fight and his British announcers are clearly saddened by the knockout. Graham is out before he hits the canvas. When Jackson hit his opponents full force very few remained on their feet.

Roy Jones Jr KO4 Virgil Hill [04-25-98]

The pain on Virgil Hill’s face says it all.  Body shots can be some of the most lethal punches in boxing. Ringside observers reported Hill was grunting in pain as soon as he was hit in the body.  When you have the talent that Jones Jr. did at the time , he was  extremely unpredictable. Hill never saw the body shoot coming and was probably peeing blood for weeks.

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