Who ya got? Since I could only fit 10 I eliminated some of the poor stoppages, like a rib injury so they throw in the towel, or the ref stops it prematurely to protect a fighter.
Walters easy. Donaire never even been knocked down, Axeman pulverized a notoriously iron chin. You left out some good KOs tho man. Mansours sickening KO of Kassi is right up there
My 3 faves from this year aren't on this list Kongfah CP Freshmart (vs Sangthong Chor Pakdee) Loreto (Vs Joyi) Sonsona (Vs Shimoda)
Lee over Jackson was a sickening KO. Hard to watch. The only knock there is that Jackson was a nobody. KO of the Year should always factor in quality of opponent.
I went w/ Walters-Donaire. Donaire was an elite fighter, was ironed-chinned, never been dropped, never been stopped.
Everything on the list has an asterisk except Froch/Groves and Lee/Korobov. Crawford/Gamboa: KO was good but Gamboa was coming off a massive layoff and moving up like 2 weight classes. Golovkin/Rubio: It was impressive in the sense that it was an overhand left hook to the top of the head, so it must have had massive power behind it. But Rubio just isn't on that level. TBH I was much more impressed with GGG KO Geale. Lemieux/Rosado: Impressive showing but it's not exactly the first time Rosado was stopped on his feet because he doesn't seem to care that his opponent is slowly whittling his post-boxing vocabulary down to the single digits. Lemieux vs. Guerrero was FAR better. Walters/Donaire: Donaire just doesn't seem to have it any more, and the KO wasn't really picturesque anyway. Porter/Malignaggi: Malignaggi was kind of past it and way smaller. Kovalev/Capparello: It would have been more notable if Kovalev hadn't knocked him out. Cotto/Martinez: I don't care what everybody else says, that would never have happened if Sergio had two legs to stand on. Cotto gets way too much credit for this win, and it's far from a KO of the year. None of the knockdowns were clean, and the fight ended between rounds. I usually lean toward the stoppages that end with the opponent in a heap as opposed to out on their feet, so I go with Froch KO Groves. That was very impressive, especially given the overall event and the history/buildup between the two. Plus it was picture-perfect and Groves folded up like a lawn chair. Definitely the most significant big KO of the year for my money. Honorable Mentions: Sonsona KO Shimoda: That was beautiful. Wlad KO Pulev: Multiple knockdowns with the same punch vs arguably the most credible opponent available. Povetkin KO Charr: Brutal, savage, all of that good stuff. Right down to the look on Povetkin's face as he goes in for the final shot. Centeno KO De la Rosa: Always like a faceplant KO, and that was a really, really nice punch. If we're going purely on aesthetics and including brutal destructions of nobodies by consensus divisional champs, Garcia-Salka has to be the winner. That one had it all.
