Boxing is beloved by millions for its unpredictability.
A fight that looks to be going one way can be turned on its head in an instant by one big knockout blow.
And there is no weight class where this is more prevalent than the heavyweight division.
Boxing’s big men have served up several vicious stoppages over the years.
Here, talkSPORT.com runs down six of the best…
Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks – June 1988
Mike Tyson could, in his own right, fill this entire list.
The heavyweight boxing icon is, after all, no stranger to a knockout.
But the pick of the bunch in our opinion is his 91-second demolition job of Michael Spinks.
Moments before the fight, Spinks’ manager Butch Lewis claimed Tyson had punched holes in the wall of his changing room.
He then proceeded to flatten the former undisputed light heavyweight champion with a right uppercut that sent Spinks plummeting to the canvas.
In doing so, Tyson – then the undisputed heavyweight king – erased all doubt over who the true champion was in the glamour division by snatching the lineal and Ring Magazine belts from Spinks, who had won the titles by beating Larry Holmes in 1985.
7
Deontay Wilder vs Bermane Stiverne II – November 2017
Deontay Wilder is widely considered to be the hardest-hitting heavyweight of the modern era – and for good reason.
During a 48-fight career (43-4-1), which doesn’t appear to be over just yet, Wilder has finished 42 of his 43 wins inside the distance.
The only man to survive to see the final bell and lose to ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is Bermane Stiverne, who dropped the WBC title to Wilder via unanimous decision in 2015.
When they rematched two years later, however, it was an entirely different story.
Wilder decked Stiverne twice in the opening stanza before leaving his adversary slumped unconscious against the bottom rope after connecting with an atomic right hand.
7
Rocky Marciano vs Jersey Joe Walcott I – September 1952
Rocky Marciano was a small heavyweight, even by 1950s standards.
Standing 5ft 10ins tall, and weighing just shy of 190lbs, Marciano was often dwarfed by his opponents but he could always rely on ‘Suzie Q’ (his trademark right hand).
It was this very punch that he detonated on Jersey Joe Walcott’s chin in 1952 to become world heavyweight champion in the 13th round of a war of attrition.
Leading up to the eventual stoppage, Walcott dropped Marciano in the first round and was ahead on the scorecards.
However, the Brockton banger wore him down in the end.
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Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III – October 2021
It is a testament to Wilder’s tenacity that he makes it on this list on both sides of a brutal knockout.
The American was infuriated with his trainer Mark Breland for throwing in the towel during fight number two with Tyson Fury and informed his replacement Malik Scott to let him go out on his shield ahead of their trilogy bout if it came to it.
In the eleventh round of a gruelling contest that saw both men exchange five knockdowns between them, Wilder got his wish and went out swinging courtesy of a huge right hook.
7
David Tua vs John Ruiz – March 1996
David Tua’s lightning-quick stoppage of John Ruiz is one of the fastest KOs in boxing history and introduced the hard-hitting Samoan to the masses.
On a showcase card dubbed ‘The Night of the Young Heavyweights’, a 23-year-old Tua met future WBA champion Ruiz, then 24, in a battle between two rising prospects.
Tua, who had scooped a bronze medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, came out of his corner all guns blazing and closed the show in 19 seconds with a blistering flurry of hooks.
‘The Tuamantor’ would go on to score stoppage victories over several other future and former world champions including Hasim Rahman, Michael Moorer and Oleg Maskaev.
However, he never got his hands on a world title during his 59-fight (52-5-2) stint in the paid ranks.
7
Hasim Rahman vs Lennox Lewis I – April 2001
Hasim Rahman made several brave punters a lot of money when he blasted out Lennox Lewis in the fifth round of their 2001 WBC and IBF world title clash.
Rahman was a 20-1 underdog heading into fight night yet he proved the bookies wrong by switching off Lewis’ lights with a clubbing overhand right.
Lewis would return the favour in their rematch seven months later but the night Rahman shook up the world will live long in the annuals of boxing history.
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