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You wouldn’t wanna catch these hands…

We’ve all seen those crazy clips of boxers putting down their opponents with one punch, one blast to the head that can literally put someone to sleep. As much as having a hard punch is cultivated through hard work and technique, there’s no denying that a huge part of it is just god given talent.

Plenty of boxers doing it right now have crazy power punches, but to make it onto this list these fighters have had to “be in the ring with a scary guy and knock him out” according to boxer and commentator Paulie Malinaggi (who trained Conor McGregor ahead of his 2017 fight with Money Mayweather).

Ahead of Deontay’s huge rematch with Tyson Fury this weekend (with Fury being the only fighter to survive one of Wilder’s knockdowns in his 43 professional fights) Complex said down with Paulie Malinaggi and FOX boxing analyst as well as former Welterweight champion Shawn Porter to rank the sports best punchers. 

Deontay Wilder

A man with a straight up hammer for a right hand, Deontay Wilder will happily tell you he’s one of the hardest hitting boxers ever. But to be honest, he’s probably right, with his crazy big frame and high level of athleticism enabling the Alabama native to generate more power than George Foreman or Mike Tyson. And he’s got the stats to prove it, with 41 of his 43 wins being by knockouts. Respect. 

Artur Beterbiev

The Russian light heavyweight champ literally has a perfect record and knockout percentage, putting to sleep any who enter the ring with him. Pauli Malinaggi said himself that “He just touches you, you just go to sleep, it’s crazy” when asked about Beterbiev. One of the best and scariest fighters in boxing’s deeper divisions, it’s fair to say he’s more than earned his way onto this list.

Nayoa Inoue

The Japanese pound-for-pound boxer packs a whopper of a punch for his small 118 pounds. His record boasts 16 knockouts out of his 19 wins. He’s crazy quick and he takes full advantage of his speed to deliver killer head and body shots in quick succession. He’s yet to make his United States debut until April, but we’re super keen to The Monster from Japan light up the ring.

Tie between Canelo Alvarez & Gennadiy Golovkin

Perhaps one of boxing’s most bitter rivals, the two warriors have given us two incredible fights full of crazy power punchers. Although Golovkin’s starting to show signs of decline at the age of 37 (fair enough tbh) he’s still got a crazy right hand that’ll put the hardest of boxers down, shown through his 35 knockouts in his career. He did also rough up Alvarez in their two previous fights, and that’s no mean feat.

And then there’s Alvarez, who’s 36 knockout rivals that of Golovkin. Described as a ‘thumper’ by Malinaggi, Alvarez’s hands are some of the hardest hitting in the game, with all of his opponents always suffering severe damage at the hands of the Mexian boxer.

Gervonta Davis

The 25-year-old Baltimore native has superstar potential, and even though he’s had a few troubles outside the ring, the Floyd Mayweather protégé has an incredible 22 knockout percentage out of his 23 wins. Although he’s at the tail end of the list, Malinaggi insists that he hasn’t fought enough high level competitors to realise and prove what kind of puncher he is, but if he keeps going the way he is now, there’s no doubt Davis is gonna be tearing up lists like this in the future.

No doubt all the fighters on this list have crazy hands, and with talent like this leading the way, it’s clear boxing’s gonna enjoy more incredible knockouts in the future. Safe to say we’re super keen to see who comes out on top in Wilder vs Fury this weekend.