Most Consecutive Knockouts LaMar Clark (44^, 7 straight in round 1) Billy Fox (43^, 4 straight in round 1) Don Steele (42, 3 straight in round 1) George Gunther (40^, 2^ straight in round 1) Bob Allotey (33^, 5 straight in round 1) Rodolfo Gonzalez (33, 2 straight in round 1) Deontay Wilder (32, 8 straight in round 1) Wilfredo Gomez (32, 2 straight in round 1) Jimmy Adamick (30, 2 straight in round 1) Jose Manuel Urtain (30^, 2 straight in round 1) Alfonso Zamora (29, 2 straight in round 1) Acelino Freitas (29, 2 straight in round 1) Jesus Pimentel (28, 3 straight in round 1) %Carlos Zarate (28, nothing consecutive in round 1) Charley Parham / Charlie Parnam (28^, ? straight in round 1) Edwin Valero (27, first 18 in round 1) Miguel Julio (27, 5 straight in round 1) Earnie Shavers (27, 3 straight in round 1) Feliciano Dario Azuaga (27, 3 straight in round 1) Henry Armstrong (27, nothing consecutive in round 1) Vitali Klitschko (27, nothing consecutive in round 1) *William Fernando Souza Bezerra (26, 4 straight in round 1 [within a different streak]) Michael Moorer (26, 3 straight in round 1) Leonilo Miranda (26, 2 straight in round 1) Aaron Pryor (26, nothing consecutive in round 1) In-Chul Baek (26, nothing consecutive in round 1) Victor Oganov (26, nothing consecutive in round 1) Ali Raymi (25, first 21 in round 1) David Quinonero (25, 4 straight in round 1) John Mugabi (25, 2 straight in round 1) Earl Hargrove (24, 5 straight in round 1) Scott Daley (24, 4 straight in round 1) Alex Stewart (24, 3 straight in round 1) %Ruben Olivares (24, 2 straight in round 1) %George Foreman (24, 2 straight in round 1) Mac Foster (24, 2 straight in round 1) George Foster (24^, ? straight in round 1) Jaime Garza (23, 3 straight in round 1) %Carlos Zarate (23, nothing consecutive in round 1) Alexander Munoz (23, nothing consecutive in round 1) Atilio Natalio Caraune (23, nothing consecutive in round 1) Jorge Monsalvo (23, nothing consecutive in round 1) Nigel Benn (22, 3 straight in round 1) Alejandro Garcia (22, 3 straight in round 1) Herbie Hide (22, 3 straight in round 1) John Collins (22, 3 straight in round 1) Phil Jackson (22, 2 straight in round 1) Jose Bruno (22, 2 straight in round 1) Julian Jackson (22, nothing consecutive in round 1) Randall Bailey (21, 6 straight in round 1) Most Consecutive First Round Knockouts Ali Raymi (21) Tyrone Brunson (19) Edwin Valero (18) One-Round Hogan (18^) Young Otto (16^) Tye Fields (14) David Rodriguez (13) Most Knockouts Billy Bird (138, 5 in round 1) Archie Moore (131, 16 in round 1) Young Stribling (129, 16 in round 1) Sam Langford (128, 17 in round 1) Buck Smith (120, 20 in round 1) George Odwell (114^, 10 in round 1) Kid Azteca (114, 4 in round 1) Sugar Ray Robinson (110^, 21^ in round 1) Alabama Kid (108, 15 in round 1) Peter Maher (107, 50 in round 1) Sandy Saddler (103, 17 in round 1) Henry Armstrong (101, 7 in round 1) Joe Gans (100, 5 in round 1) Jimmy Wilde (99, 3 in round 1) Most First Round Knockouts Peter Maher (50) Young Otto (42^) *Shannon Briggs (36) *Bronco Billy Wright (30) Tiger Jack Fox (30^) LaMar Clark (28) Buddy Baer (26) Tye Fields (26) Feliciano Dario Azuaga (26) Jack Dempsey (26^) Sean O’Grady (25) David Rodriguez (24) Mike Tyson (22) Roberto Duran (21) Ali Raymi (21) Sugar Ray Robinson (21^) Gerald McClellan (20) *Tyrone Brunson (20) Buck Smith (20) Thoughts?
A lot of gaps... Particularly in the 'most knockouts' category. Sure Bird was an amazing journeyman with almost impossible stats and indeed does have the most known stoppage wins, but I doubt if we had all the information available he would be in the top twenty, let alone #1!
10 Consecutive title defenses And again the vast majority will say he was a journeyman; champion on paper.
Someone with a more historical knowledge of the British game back then would be a better source of info on the subject of Billy Bird. But I remember a piece done many years ago on Bird in Boxing News by Ron Olver and it didn't seem he was ever noted for having heavy hands in any way. I recall the piece had a quote from Billy's brother, who was also a pro. In it he stated, "If Billy had a punch like mine or if I had his skill, there would have been a world champ in the Bird family." So it seems his high KO record could be attributed more to his skill and ability to find openings, not to mention the amount of fights he had as well.
