By James Slater: Everyone loves a big puncher. We boxing fans may appreciate a super-stylish boxer, but a huge, all-out aggression minded banger is something we can admire in an altogether different way. There is nothing like a spectacular KO, the site of one man completely and utterly mastering another by way of a single, crushing blow. It can happen any second at all when two brave gladiators are in the ring, and both they and us know this all too well. Yet when a recognised puncher, a man known for his ability at landing lots of lethal punches throughout his career is in the ring, this possibility is much more likely. That’s why, as a general rule of thumb, history’s big punchers have been the biggest money earners/fan favourites. We simply love to see knockouts!
In this article, I give my eight choices for the best punchers in the game today. Why eight choices? Because, in a little touch of daydreaming, I’m going back in time to when there were only eight weight classes in the sport. In other words, the good – non alphabet organisation, multi-title, ultra-confusing – old days. From heavyweight to flyweight. Here are my choices for today’s hardest hitters. (Note, just because a fighter is rated as the hardest puncher in his weight class, this does not necessarily mean he is the best fighter at his weight)
Heavyweight: Wladimir Klitschko: KO’s Scored In career: 51. Most eye-catching KO : KO 12 “Fast” Eddie Chambers
Light-heavyweight: (A really tough division to rate at present, look and see: there is not one notable 175-pound banger operating at world level today!) Tavoris Cloud: KO’s scored in career: 19. Most eye-catching KO: TKO10 Julio Cesar Gonzalez
Middleweight: Sergio Martinez: KO’s scored In career: 28. Most Eye-catching KO: KO2 Paul Williams
Welterweight: Randall Bailey: KO’s Scored In career: 37. Most eye-catching KO: KO11 Mike Jones
Lightweight: Ji-Hoon Kim: KO’s Scored In career: 18. Most eye-catching KO: TKO1 Ammeth Diaz
Featherweight: Yuriorkis Gamboa: KO’s Scored In Career: 16. Most eye-catching KO: KO1 Al Seeger
Bantamweight: Hugo Ruiz: KO’s Scored In Career: 28. Most Eye-catching KO: TKO4 Francisco Arce
Flyweight: Hernan Marquez: KO’s Scored In Career: 25. Most Eye-catching KO: TKO1 Luis Concepcion