Most people rarely get much sleep on Christmas Eve. The adults are still scrambling to make sure everyone on their list is accounted for. The kids are just counting down the hours until it’s time to open presents. When you take a look at BeatsBoxingMayhem’s list of the Top KOs of 2013, you’ll be wondering if the majority of the victims are still napping somewhere.
This year produced some great KOs, ranging the fringe contender to elite levels, and this site did its best to account for the entire spectrum. With a list like this, you normally focus on three categories — the “cleanness” of the blow, the power of the shot, and the level of the person KO’d. The aforementioned order of these factors represent this writer’s preference on the importance, with the first being the highest, of each when gathering this list. Enjoy the mayhem!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
ANTHONY FERRANTE TKO10 ISA AKBERBAYEV (CHANGED TO NO CONTEST) 1/19/13
I witnessed this one live at Madison Square Garden on the Mikey Garcia-Orlando Salido undercard.Akberbayev, a former Olympian, was considered a promising prospect while Ferrante had made his living as a club fighter. Akberbayev started well, but as the fight progressed Ferrante was nailing him with counter shots. You got the feeling something big was coming, and it sure did in the 10th.
Ferrante failed a post fight drug test roughly a month later, but there’s enough controversy around that to make me comfortable with putting this aborted KO on the list (it’d be much higher if not for the official verdict).
(2:05 MARK)
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JOHN MOLINA KO4 DANNIE WILLIAMS (1/11/13)
John Molina got embarrassed by Antonio DeMarco in 2012, losing in just 40 seconds of the first round. He took out his frustration on Dannie Williams to kick off 2013, using a chopping right hook to put Williams face down on the canvas.
(FYI THE SYNCING IS OFF, 1:50 MARK)
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GENNADY GOLOVKIN KO3 MATTHEW MACKLIN 6/29/13
There were rumblings at the beginning of the year that GGG was grossly overrated due to not fighting any legit middleweights. You can use this fight as an example of why he’s had so much trouble getting guys like Felix Sturm in the ring. Body shot KOs don’t get enough love on these type of lists.
(14:40 MARK)
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10. ADONIS STEVENSON KO6 DARNELL BOONE (3/22/13)
Stevenson kicked off his 2013 by avenging a 2010 defeat to Darnell Boone. The left hand of Black Superman is now widely viewed as the most dangerous weapon in the 175-pound division. That pose over Boone looks like a stern father trying to get up his teenage son for school. Chris Eubank would be proud.
(29:11 MARK)
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9. MILAN MELINDO TKO4 TOMMY SERAN 4/6/13
Seran kept dropping that right hand, so Melindo dropped him like a ton of bricks. Credit Seran’s sheer will in picking himself up after taking a shot like that.
(KO SEQUENCE BEGINS AT 19:10 MARK)
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8. MIKEY GARCIA TKO4 JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ 6/15/13
JuanMa got one last shot at his old WBO featherweight title and quickly learned that there was a new young champion ruling the division. Garcia’s straight, accurate shots + Lopez’s suspect defense and chin = highlight reel KO.
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7. GENNADY GOLOVKIN KO3 NOBUHIRO ISHIDA 3/30/13
Considering Nobuhiro Ishida vowed to retire if he lost this fight, this was some going away present.
(13:18 MARK)
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6. LUCAS MATTHYSSE KO1 MIKE DALLAS JR. 1/26/13
Lucas Matthysse started off 2013 with this devastating performance against Mike Dallas. Poor Mike hasn’t been seen in the ring since.
(10:45 MARK)
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5. ARGENIS MENDEZ KO4 JUAN CARLOS SALGADO 3/9/13
These two had a super featherweight war back in 2011 with Salgado taking a unanimous decision despite getting dropped in the 12th round. This time, Mendez made sure Salgado didn’t escape.
(3:40 MARK)
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4. JAVIER FORTUNA KO1 MIGUEL ZAMUDIO 4/19/13
A complete mismatch that resulted in a frightening KO.
(1:50 MARK)
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3. SERGEY KOVALEV KO2 ISMAYL SILLAKH 11/30/13
Sillakh did his best to box off the backfoot, but Kovalev quickly narrowed the gap and hurt Sillakh badly with a short left hand. That set up the two-punch coup de grace shot that put Sillakh in the Land of Make Believe.
(14:22 MARK)
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2. ADONIS STEVENSON TKO1 CHAD DAWSON 6/8/13
The KO that put Stevenson at the top of light-heavyweigtht class and possibly ended the career of Chad Dawson as an elite fighter. Ward started Dawson’s downward spiral, and Stevenson put the exclamation point on it.
(4:30 MARK)
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1. CURTIS STEVENS KO1 SAUL ROMAN (8/3/13)
Say what you will about Roman’s abilities at this point of his career, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a cleaner KO in 2013. It was so eye-catching in its savage beauty that it earned Stevens, a fringe contender, a shot at HBO darling Gennady Golovkin. It was a perfectly delivered left hook that laid Roman out like a newborn baby. To quote Stevens himself, that left hand was “nuclear warfare!”
(8:55 MARK)
