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Top 10 Boxing Knockouts of 2023

Boxers brought the pain in jaw-dropping fashion this year, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the 10 best knockouts inside the squared circle in 2023.
Junto Nakatani

Boxers brought the pain in jaw-dropping fashion this year, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld as he selects the 10 best knockouts inside the squared circle in 2023.

There’s nothing as thrilling as a knockout. It’s the most emphatic way to win a sporting competition, leaving no doubt that one athlete is superior to another and sending a bolt of adrenaline through spectators.

Having looked back at the year that was in boxing, I give you my 10 best knockouts of 2023:  

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10: No Mercy

Unbeaten Oscar Collazo beat Mexico’s Yudel Reyes unmercifully in their WBO 105-pound title eliminator in January, dropping the Mexican on multiple occasions before finishing him off in the fifth round.

9: Statement Victory

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua needed to make a statement against Robert Helenius on home soil in August and sent the fans home happy with a spectacular one-punch knockout.

8: New Face of Boxing Revealed

In the biggest fight of the year between unbeaten prodigies and with the whole combat sports world watching, Gervonta Davis emerged as the new face of boxing when he stopped Ryan Garcia with a crippling body shot in the seventh.

7: Girl Power

There’s female empowerment and then there’s girl power. Julissa Alejandra Guzman proved she’s the poster girl for both when she blasted Ramla Ali with a savage short left hook in June to capture the IBF Inter-Continental and WBA Continental Americas super bantamweight titles.

6: Goodbye and Good night

YouTuber Jake Paul continued his boxing journey in 2023 and capped off the year with a stunning first-round knockout of Andre August in December. One shot is all it took as “The Problem Child” landed a beautiful uppercut to pack up his opponent.

5: One Hitter Quitter

Khalil Coe left Jimmy Quiter in a heap with an atomic bomb of an uppercut in April.

4: Day of Reckoning

This past weekend’s super card in Saudi Arabia featured some of the biggest names in boxing. Yet it was Jai Opetaia who scored the knockout of the night when he sent Ellis Zorro crashing into the ropes with a thunderous left in the first round.

3: Face-planted

Alexi Rocha started the year with a bang when he sent Ghana’s George Ashie face-first to the canvas with a vicious right hook in January to bolster his chances of getting a megafight.

2: Boom Goes the Dynamite

Eduardo Nunez displayed his tactical acumen and power when he subtly walked Jesus Martin Ceyca back onto the ropes and pierced his guard with an explosive right hand to leave him stiff as a board in their March meeting.

1: Left for Dead

Moving up to 115 pounds, former flyweight champion Junto Nakatani put the super in his WBO super flyweight championship triumph as he annihilated Andrew Moloney with a left hand from hell in May. A scary reminder of the dangers of boxing, Moloney was out and his legs trembling for what felt like an eternity before the Australian regained consciousness.

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Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.

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