The reason Manny Pacquiao’s spectacular destruction of Ricky Hatton caught everybody’s attention last month is simple: it re-introduced them to boxing’s most fascinating, mesmerizing, chilling moment: the one-punch knockout.
Here is a personal top 10 from the past few years and their YouTube links: # 12. Mike Tyson KO 5 Francois Botha (1999): Botha actually was giving Tyson a go when one ferocious right hand put him down and out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TkCpzmkdlQ. # 11. Mike Weaver KO 15 John Tate (1980): Tate was so far ahead on points going into the last round that Weaver needed a KO. “Hercules” got it with 45 seconds left in the fight, cracking Tate with a left hook that left “Big John” face down and motionless.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la41LzOJXcU. # 10. Michael Nunn KO 1 Sumbu Kalambay (1989): Nunn belongs on this list about as much as HectorCamacho. But the left hand he nailed Kalambay with was a once-in-a-career beauty.?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhcwSsDxYIg. # 9. Julian Jackson KO 4 Herol Graham (1990): For more than three rounds, Jackson was getting outboxed and punished. But whenGraham emerged from anexchange with his hands down, Jackson exploded with a lethal right hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhVi7cH-LaQ. # 8. Mike McCallum KO 5 Donald Curry (1987): This was supposedly Curry’sreturn to greatness after agiant hiccup. And for 4? rounds, he indeed looked like the star everyone thought he was. Then Advertisement the “Cobra” exited an exchange with low gloves. Bang! A sweeping left hook caught Curry on the chin and flattened him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFYKe0CxmqA&feature=PlayList&p=7DB7136C6C8126EB&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=39. # 7. Thomas Hearns KO 2 Pipino Cuevas (1980): One of the most picturesque KOs of all time.?The coup de grace came in Round 2, as Hearns first wobbled Cuevas with a right hand, then dropped him with the followup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SS_AQK2idU8. # 6. Kermit Cintron KO 2 Walter Matthyse (2007):After Cintron dropped Matthyse in Round 1 and the beginning of Round 2, Matthyse was a sitting duck for the “Killer’s” power shots. A sickening left-right combination sent Matthyse crashing to the canvas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJPEVGlJ7wQ. # 5. Julian Jackson KO 5 Buster Drayton (1988): Jackson may have been the hardest puncher of his generation. Watch the look on Drayton’s face as he sails toward the canvas from a right hand. Like he was hit by a bolt of lightning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgzPNvEc1rQ # 4. Tim Witherspoon KO 1 Anders Eklund (1991): The way Eklund’s face contorts after fielding a massiveWitherspoon right hand is grotesque.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqlFxKWZyyk. # 3. Donald Curry KO 2 Milton McCrory (1985): Curry’s left hook that produced the first knockdown is textbook-gorgeous. The followup right hand ain’t bad, either.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agq2txcLJqU&NR=1. # 2. Thomas Hearns KO 2 Roberto Duran (1984): Duran possessed perhaps the single-greatest chin of all time. He had never been close to being knocked out. The finishing right hand that the “Hitman” drills Duran with is scary. Maybe the greatest KO ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-Ipn_Y3iNM. # 1. Vincent Pettway KO 6 Simon Brown (1996): With Brown attacking, Pettway unleashes a vicious left hook that catches Brown on the chin. Brown goes down on his back and, while he lies on the canvas unconscious, he continues to throw punches out of pure instinct.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at [email protected]
