Who are the greatest
middleweight KO artists?

Watch our ‘Top 5 Middleweight Knockout Reel’ video below…

Knockouts are the undisputed entertainment factor of boxing. They play a massive part in why fans flock to the sport as nobody, for so long, has been putting on gloves and technically, yet instinctively hammering away at each other over-scheduled three-minute rounds like boxers have been. There are many who have stepped inside the squared circle and consequently dropped some jaws by hitting others. Only a few have done this fight in fight out though and accumulated a plethora of stunning knockouts that fans have grown to enjoy after being hardwired over the years to find beauty in the viciousness of a knockout. In the third instalment of this BoxingGuru series that will range from the big to small hitters, we rank the boxers who possess the greatest knockout reels to date and next up is the middleweight division!

CHECK OUT THE GREATEST HEAVYWEIGHT KNOCKOUT REELS EVER!

5) Gennadiy Golovkin

We start with the most recent boxer in our list, and possibly the best Middleweight of recent time. Gennadiy Golovkin’s only misfortune in the sport was not facing elite opposition every time he put his undisputed titles on the line. This isn’t necessarily Triple G’s fault either, as somewhere between his debut and 2018 he was the most feared and avoided champion out of everyone who held a world title in the sport.

Although the Kazakh hasn’t consistently fought the best, he has been in quality fights with quality opponents. The epitome of this being the two bouts against Saul Alvarez where, in the rematch, he controversially tasted defeat for the first time as a professional. Only 5 of his 40 victories have been decided by the judges, totalling a knockout percentage of 89.7% telling you just how monstrous this man is.

Gennadiy Golovkin takes the saying “the best defence is a good offence” very literally as he presses against his opponent while they are throwing shots before unloading his thunderous hooks. He is a master of controlling the centre of the ring and his jab allows him to direct his opponent which has been on the ropes and eventually the canvas most of the time. Now nearing his late 30’s, Gennadiy Golovkin is still a world champion and a walkover for absolutely nobody, his power has not left him with age and has been a natural, bludgeoning weapon that puts him at fifth on our list.

4) Gerald McClellan

Similar to our third-ranked light-heavyweight knockout artist Michael Spinks, McClellan’s career is defined by his one and only devastating loss that ended up being his final fight. But when you look beyond this layer you find greatness and a tragedy that prevented his dominance of the middleweight division.

McClellan is a knockout artist who paints his pictures quickly, putting 20 of his 34 opponents’ bodies on the canvas in the first round. He threw his right hand as if he was pitching a baseball at 100mph. There was violent conviction behind each, and every shot of the ‘G-man’ and he would have debilitated middleweights from any era.

He stopped the hardest puncher in middleweight history with the knockout of that year to become a two-time world champion within two years of winning his first world title. McClellan defended his WBC belt three times before the infamous encounter with Nigel Benn that tragically stripped him of his future as a champion quicker than the IBF did with Tyson Fury in 2015.

The Ring ranked the Illinois resident as a top-30 hardest puncher of all time despite his career lasting only seven years and entering its heyday when it was cut short. Imagine the damage he could have done if it prospered for another 10 years. He is one of boxing’s biggest misfortunes, not solely because of his heart-wrenching health deterioration, but because fans also couldn’t watch this hard-hitter thrive at the top for longer.

CHECK OUT THE BEST PUNCH TRACKERS ON THE MARKET

3) Marvin Hagler

An aggressive soldier, Marvin Hagler would enter the ring and make it a battlefield after he’s been to war. A middleweight with a very respectable record, avenging two out of his three career losses. ‘Marvellous’ Marvin reigned as champion for almost seven years, teetering upon the record of our upcoming honourable mention. Speaking of, he had a ten-round tear-up in 1978 with our other listed honourable mention.

Hagler’s first chance at world honours didn’t go his way as rival Vito Antuofermo got through by the skin of his teeth from a draw, so he wasn’t letting it go to the judges a year later when he got his second shot. He beat Alan Minter, knocking out his gumshield but not his consciousness as the referee stepped in before he could get to that point.

From then on Hagler went on a tear as the champ. He stopped every opponent inside the distance apart from Roberto Duran as if to exert seven years of frustration from his title shot being so prolonged. He made up one-quarter of the 80’s ‘fabulous four’ and beat two out of the other three. one of which was the aforementioned victory against Duran and other being one of the most famous three rounds in the sport’s history in a KO win over Tommy Hearns. He couldn’t complete the job though, controversially losing to Sugar Ray Leonard, his only unavenged loss, and a small taint on what was an incredible career.

A prime Marvin Hagler was a scary spectacle. Only having the average reach, he fought in a style which he excelled with which was the head to chest tear-up style. This favoured him massively when fighting the taller opponent which was quite often for the 5’9 southpaw. His lopping lead right hook is what would open the door to the inside for him, his excellent defence allowed him to stay there and his powerful body to head combinations is what would see him win his fights. Hagler fought as if he had perfected the art of pugilism and left a legacy behind that convinces you he has.

CHECK OUT THE GREATEST LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT KO REELS EVER!

2) Sugar Ray Robinson

Arguably the greatest boxer to ever live, Sugar Ray Robinson not only embodied the sweet science with his ring IQ and technicality but displayed the brutality that occurs in the sport with an emphatic 109 knockouts on his record.

He is known for many things, his 91-fight winning streak and the St Valentine’s day massacre with Jake LaMotta but the standout achievement for me was how he made the media create a pound-for-pound ranking system. Think how dominant a fighter must be to convince sportswriters that they would be the best among every single boxer in the world if weight wasn’t a decisive factor in the sport. The pound-for-pound list was also prompted due to Robinson being one of the few boxers in the mid-1900s to traverse successfully through many weight divisions. ‘Sugar’ moved from Lightweight to Light Heavyweight capturing the Welterweight and Middleweight titles in-between.

Since he called quits to a 25-year long career in 1965, we have seen many combine technique with power, but none do it in the style and abundance that Ray Robinson did it in. His knockout victory against Gene Fullmer in their second encounter is a great example of this, thus was labelled the perfect left hook.

Although he ranks second on our knockout list, this phenom was ranked number 1 on The Ring’s ‘The 100 Greatest Boxers of all time’ list in 1984. It’s hard to argue with it as the man inspired many others who left a legacy in the sport, such as Muhammad Ali by style and Sugar Ray Leonard by name.

*Honourable mention* – Bennie Briscoe

A fan favourite for his knockout ability, Benny Briscoe had a fearless fighting style that is reflected in his 66-24-5 record. He lacked the skillset to take him as far as other boxers on the list however a result is always unpredictable when a man contains such power that ‘Bad Bennie’ did.

Even Hagler had trouble putting this durable fighter away hence their scrap going the distance. In fact, all of Briscoe’s losses did bar one, his natural grit was admirable as it took him to deep waters with the best in the world. There was always a sense of danger when the Philadelphian fought, spelling trouble for anyone if he could find his rhythm and rattle off body combinations that usually finished with a followed-through cross upstairs.

Despite having high profile fights, with two uncapitalized title shots in his career, the late middleweight always kept himself at the heart of his Philly community working in trash disposal throughout his career. His toughness, unrivalled and his power, detrimental. This has led fans to believe that ‘Bad’ Bennie Briscoe may have been the best middleweight to have never won a title.

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*Honourable mention*- Carlos Monzon

Every few decades, Argentina birth an incredible athlete who takes their respective sport by storm and becomes a serial winner. Carlos Monzon shares similarities with other boxers, he had to wait seven years for a title shot like Marvin Hagler and was convicted of killing his wife like Edwin Valero, but what he achieved in the ring as a middleweight was unique.

He won his undisputed world title fight on his 80^th professional contest, something unheard of in the modern-day. Monzon’s success in the ring resulted in a lifestyle he led with a superstar status that would rival Floyd Mayweather’s. His resume and ability were just as impressive fighting world champions such as Emile Griffith and Rodrigo Valdez. It is also worth noting that fellow honourable mention Briscoe took him the distance and he narrowly retained his titles.

In his first year as a professional, ‘Escopeta’ lost three times. He later avenged these losses which were a sign of things to come as he went undefeated from there on out and reigned as champion for seven years, one of the greatest middleweights in history and a rank lower than our fifth-placed Golovkin.

The Argentine was a simple fighter who had mastered the basics whilst being gifted with shocking power, what took him far was coupling his brutality with his fundamentals and being able to change how and when he used his tools in accordance to what type of boxer opposed him.

The national idol shocked his South American country though when he was convicted of killing his wife in 1989. What made matters worse for Monzon was that this wasn’t a black and white case and he plead his innocence despite confessing his violent tendencies outside the ring would ensue with his partner. He died six years later in a freak car accident which was a horrific ending to a celebrated career of someone who’s hands did the talking, becoming globally praised all the while having fought just once in the boxing hotspot of America.

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1) Julian Jackson

Heavyweight knockout artist Deontay Wilder was once famed for his use of the phrase ‘to this day’ and his words can be applied here because, to this day, we have not seen a scarier knockout puncher in the middleweight division since Julian Jackson.

The reasoning to him taking this number one spot over Robinson is the same reason I ranked Earnie Shavers over Mike Tyson in our ‘Heavyweight KO reel list’, sheer natural power. It is a thing to behold, and fans watched it happen plenty of times when Jackson stepped between the ropes.

A two-time WBC middleweight Champion, ‘The Hawk’ captured it for the first time against Herol Graham with a career-defining knockout victory. ‘Bomber’ Graham was out punching his opponent all the way up until Jackson unleashed a right hand that knocked the Brit unconscious for five whole minutes.

The U.S Virgin Islands native ended up losing this title to none other than the fourth-ranked Gerald McLellan whose career was tragically cut short, allowing Jackson to retire with 20 more stoppage victories than ‘The G-Man’. JJ was a fearless boxer whose power gave him the confidence to trade toe-to-toe with any man who opposed him. His short hooks on the inside was where he found his success and finished his adversaries off in devastating fashion which made for one of boxing’s best knockout reels.

Watch the greatest middleweight knockout reel below….