It’ll be bombs away in London on Saturday when former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua squares off against IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium. The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will be broadcast by DAZN.
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois, live on DAZN
Both Joshua and Dubois are known as two of the hardest punchers in boxing’s glamour division. Between them, they combine for a concussive 45 knockouts in 49 wins, and both men can end a fight with a single shot.
The ultimate goal in boxing is the knockout and there’s more chance of seeing one when the big men are letting their fists fly. When discussing the biggest punchers in heavyweight history, the first names you’ll come across are former champs Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Sonny Liston.
But who are the biggest punchers in 2024? Do Joshua and Dubois occupy the top spots? And who else is on the list? The criteria for deciding the order were results, eye-test, knockout ratio, amount of first-round knockouts, and opposition faced.
It may come as a surprise that neither new undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, nor the man he conquered on May 18, Tyson Fury, made the list. But while that only goes to prove that you need more than a big punch to have success in a boxing ring, there’s nothing more exciting or dramatic than a knockout finish.
The Sporting News presents the Top 7 punchers in heavyweight boxing today:
- Record: 28-3 (25 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 89.2%
- First-round knockouts: 5
Joshua has a little bit of everything. A natural athlete, “AJ” benefitted from a solid learning curve at Team GB and he continues to hone his craft at the age of 34.
The jab is an awesome weapon for the former champ and it sets up a versatile array of power punching. No one weapon is more spectacular than the other because Joshua can hurt an opponent with anything he throws. His right-hand knockout of Francis Ngannou in March was devastating.
Reinvigorated under the tutelage of trainer Ben Davison, Joshua remains a formidable heavyweight force and his power is one of the reasons for that.
Signature knockouts: Dillian Whyte (KO 7), Wladimir Klitschko (TKO 11), Alexander Povetkin (TKO 7), Otto Wallin (TKO 5)
MORE: SN’s Top 12 best heavyweight boxers
.jpg.webp.webp "Zhilei Zhang")
- Record: 27-2-1 (22 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 81.5%
- First-round knockouts: 12
You may say that Chinese heavyweights don’t grow on trees. However, when the 6-6, 290-pound Zhang lands flush, opponents are left feeling like they’ve been hit by a tree. Just ask Joe Joyce and Deontay Wilder.
An Olympic bronze medallist at Beijing 2008, Zhang is 41 years old now, but he remains one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world. He has a very low work rate, but his accuracy and judgement of distance from the southpaw stance make him very effective.
Career setbacks have come in close decision losses to Filip Hrgovic and Joseph Parker. However, his complete annihilation of Wilder in June proved that “Big Bang” remains a very dangerous proposition for anyone in the division.
Signature knockouts: Deontay Wilder (TKO 5), Joe Joyce (TKO 6, KO 3), Scott Alexander (KO 1)
.jpg.webp.webp "Daniel Dubois")
- Record: 21-2 (20 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 95.2%
- First round knockouts: 5
For the first three years of his professional career, there were lofty expectations that Daniel Dubois could be the heir apparent to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the U.K. And then he ran into “The Juggernaut” — Joe Joyce.
Joyce brought Dubois crashing back down to earth in 2020, but the bashful Londoner fought his way back into contention. His upset win over Croatian star Filip Hrgovic in June won him the interim IBF championship and he was upgraded to full champion when Uysk relinquished the belt.
Like Joshua, Dubois sets up state-of-the-art weaponry behind a powerful left jab. The right hand is a lethal punch, but anything “Dynamite” fires has gunpowder on it.
Signature knockouts: Nathan Gorman (KO 5), Kevin Lerena (TKO 3), Jarrell Miller (TKO 10), Filip Hrgovic (TKO 8)
- Record: 21-1 (16 KOs)
- Knockout Ratio: 76.2%
- First-round knockouts: 7
Bakole looked devastating through the first 11 fights of his professional career before being upended by talented American Michael Hunter. He suffered an injured right shoulder in that bout, but a 10th-round TKO defeat damaged his reputation.
However, having rediscovered his mojo, the Scotland-based Congolian is on a nine-fight win streak and recently posted a career-best triumph; a fifth-round knockout over the highly touted and previously unbeaten American Jared Anderson.
MORE: Who are the biggest punchers in heavyweight boxing history?
- Record: 25-0 (17 KOs)
- Knockout Ratio: 68%
- First-round knockouts: 4
While Kabayel is not regarded as a devastating puncher, you can’t ignore the results. The classy German southpaw is on a four-fight knockout streak and is coming off back-to-back stoppage wins over unbeaten fighters Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez.
On the cusp of a world title shot, Kabayel is a serious threat to the elite and it’s clear that his hitting power has to be respected just as much as his speed and skills.
Kabayel is a new entry and deserves his spot.
- Record: 17-1 (14 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 82.4%
- First-round knockouts: 4
There is no questioning Filip Hrgovic’s talent, but he needs the career-defining wins to go with it. His eighth-round cut-induced stoppage defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in June was a bitter pill to swallow.
At the time of writing, the Croatian’s best victory is a questionable decision triumph over Zhilei Zhang in 2022. However, it must be stressed that Hrgovic’s father passed away in the lead-up to that bout and he would have been badly distracted in camp.
As a puncher, Hrgovic has to be respected. He puts his shots together very well, which is a skill that was developed during a stellar amateur career.
Signature knockouts: Eric Molina (KO 3), Rydell Booker (TKO 5), Demsey McKean (TKO 12)
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois, live on DAZN
- Record: 43-4-1 (42 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 97.7 percent
- First-round knockouts: 21
Wilder has only scored one knockout in the past five years and he’s 1-4 in his last five fights. You can only play the “perfect for one second” card when you’re posting the results and the consensus is that the former WBC champ is all but finished.
Earlier this year, Wilder was No. 1 on this list despite suffering a recent points defeat to New Zealander Joseph Parker. However, he was then dropped heavily and stopped by Chinese colossus Zhilei Zhang and plummeted to the No. 7 position.
Signature knockouts: Bermane Stiverne (KO 1), Dominic Breazeale (KO 1), Luis Ortiz (TKO 10, KO 7)
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