KOed a guy twice in one fight? Ayala? Fleaman basically summed up my thoughts, only in a different manner than I would. The OP layed out his thinking in concise and provocative terms. However, the question "what makes a KO artist" has no concrete answer because there are many different "types" of KO artists, and something of a mystery shrouds the entire subject. Let me see if I can name a few contrasting examples. Argeullo/Lopez: Both tall, skinny KO artists. You could watch Arguello and expect such beautiful form and precision to produce knock outs. You simply can't say that about Danny. He just sort of tumbled around the ring until he landed something flush, and then it was usually over. Hearns/Haglar: Two ATGs with very different physiques and styles who knocked people sensless with frightening regularity. Frazier/Foreman: Both these guys stopped George freaking Chuvalo!!! And they're are about as different as different gets. Fast forward to the current scene, and it's obvious nothing has changed: Pavlik, Abraham, Bute, Mosely, and Cotto: Five different styles, five different physiques, five guys who leave the majority of their opponents slumped on the canvass. Like I said; Something of a mystery shrouds the entire subject.
Red Rooster, your summation of Lopez is freakin hilarious! Mainly because it's so true. Says something about Sal Sanchez that he beat Lopez twice. people say, 'Sanchez only beat Nelson and Gomez' and often omit the two fantastic victories over Lopez. The first for instance, was a fantastic fight and the near-to-the end overhand right that Sanchez lands with a feign to the left is a thing of beauty. Again, Mexican punchers? Does accumulation make you any less of a puncher??? IMO no, if you're stopping very good opponents with one punch, or a combination, or just wearing them down, it makes you a very good puncher. Maybe not 'K.O artist per se' I guess. Still, is an accumulation puncher still a 'big puncher'? For example, is Julio Cesar Chavez a 'K.O artist' even though he took his opponents into the trenches to get them out of there? I often hate it how people say Foreman wasn't a massive puncher because it took him six attempts to keep Frazier down :rofl
yeh KOd Ayala twice but the referee mucked up big time happened awell when Cinton fought Martinez recently.
I personally rate Sanchez's win over Lopez higher than the one over Gomez. Danny was THE MAN at 126. Sanchez was a green kid who was suppose to be a routine title defense. Sal not only stopped THE MAN, he also stoppped a fighter whose reputation said, "If you knock him down or hurt him, he's gonna come roarin' back and put your lights out."
It's not like Lopez was completely un-skilled outside of his power. He was a very sound boxer fundamentally, he just wasn't very varied in his approach. Then again with that kind of power you're always a threat to land the big blow at some point anyway, regardless of what is happening in the fight up to that point, so it doesn't really matter. He made the most of his tools, and I'd only favor the very best technicians over a prime Lopez at the weight, or else fighters who held distinct advantages in other categories.
I agree with most of what you said here, but I'd alter it a bit. Lopez had good offensive fundamentals, and contray to what some might think, he could even fight off the back foot a bit. However, he was not hard to hit. His defense was not fundamentally solid. All in all the formula here seems to be: Good offensive fundamentals + great power in both hands + double tough + the balls of a rhinocerous = KO Artist.