With the year drawing to a close, we have put together a list of the five best boxing knockouts 2023. These five knockouts were some of the most spine-tingling, jaw-dropping and heart-sinking knockouts you will have seen in recent boxing memory.
The list includes the likes of Luis Alberto Lopez, Junto Nakatani and Mark Magsayo to name but a few. So without further ado, here are five of the best boxing knockouts 2023, as selected by our SportsLens boxing experts.
5 Best Boxing Knockouts 2023
Counting down from 5 to 1, here are the the five best boxing knockouts of 2023…
5. Yoenis Tellez KO vs Livan Navarro – December 15
In at number five on our list of the best boxing knockouts 2023 is hot prospect Yoenis Tellez’s sensational finish of Livan Navarro on the Jake Paul vs Andre August undercard on Friday, December 15.
Tellez went into the fight as the favorite, having beaten former European Champion Sergio Garcia via early knockout the fight prior. Tellez was the favorite with the best offshore sportsbooks, and he didn’t disappoint when he switched Navarro’s lights out in the final round of the fight.
Tellez was winning the fight up to that point, but landed a perfectly timed left hook come uppercut, sending Navarro’s limp body tumbling back to the canvas. Tellez had knocked his opponent unconscious, sending him wilting back onto the canvas and into the shadow realm.
A knockout of this nature is unlucky not to reach our Top 3 best boxing knockouts of 2023, but that just goes to show the caliber of knockouts and sensational finishes we have coming up on this list!
4. Luis Alberto Lopez KO vs Michael Conlan – May 27
The fourth best knockout in the sport of boxing this year for us here at SportsLens comes from IBF World Featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez. ‘El Venado’ made a successful first defense of his world title in Belfast on May 27, knocking out the hometown hero Michael Conlan in emphatic fashion in the process.
Conlan was actually a marginal favorite with boxing betting apps to become world champion, but the Mexican ripped up that script and made a sensational first defense of his 126-pound world title belt on his travels to Northern Ireland.
The finish came in the fifth round for Lopez, who was tagging Conlan at will before switching his lights out and sending him tumbling to the canvas. Lopez landed a peach of a right hook, which Conlan walked on to midway through Round 5.
The right hook/uppercut connected perfectly on the jaw of the Irishman, putting Conlan flat on his back in front of his hometown fans. Lopez well and truly silenced the rapturous Belfast crowd, securing one of the best boxing knockouts of 2023 in the process.
3. Brian Mendoza KO vs Sebastian Fundora – April 8
Embarking on the top three boxing knockouts 2023, and this one most certainly deserves to be right up near the very top. We are of course talking about Brian Mendoza’s jaw-dropping knockout of Sebastian Fundora back in April in their super-welterweight contest.
What makes this knockout even more special is the fact that Mendoza was quite a handy underdog on the moneyline with the best US sportsbooks. The fight was just 30 seconds into Round 7, with Fundora well on top in the previous six rounds.
That was until Brian Mendoza landed the most perfectly timed left hook over the top of Fundora’s southpaw jab, wobbling the legs of the favorite before following up with one big knockout blow.
It was clear that Fundora was out on his feet after the original left hook, but Mendoza sent his man wilting to the canvas with a follow-up right hand and another left hook. A truly remarkable knockout victory for a man who was the underdog going into the fight and behind on the judges’ scorecards at the time of the KO.
Thoroughly deserving of a spot in the Top 3 best boxing knockouts 2023.
2. Mark Magsayo KO vs Isaac Avelar – December 9
In at number two and extremely unlucky not to claim top spot is Mark Magsayo’s sensational left hook knockout of Isaac Avelar in their super-featherweight bout at the beginning of December.
Magsayo was coming into this bout off the back of back-to-back defeats to Rey Vargas and Brandon Figueroa respectively in two successive world title fights. Magsayo was clearly in no mood to mess about this time, as he detonated a clubbing left hook right onto the jaw of Avelar.
This knockout was made even better by the disguise and feint used by the former WBC World Featherweight Champion. The Filipino ducked down to his right, with Avelar clearly thinking he was going to come with a right hand. Avelar circled to his right to move out of the way, but instead backed right into Magsayo’s trap.
As soon as the thumping left hook landed, Avelar flew to the canvas at speed, landing on the flat of his back down below the bottom rope. Avelar was clearly out cold, lying unconscious on the deck, with his lights well and truly switched off. Quite a chilling knockout from the former world champion.
Usually a knockout like this would be in first place without any shadow of a doubt, but that cannot be the case this year. So without further ado, here is the best boxing knockout of 2023…
1. Junto Nakatani KO vs Andrew Moloney – May 20
Coming in at top spot and lifting the SportsLens title for the best boxing knockout 2023 is Junto Nakatani’s stunning Round 12 knockout over Andrew Moloney in their WBO World Super-Flyweight Title fight back in May.
Nakatani was 24-0 going into the bout, boasting 18 big wins via knockout. It was evident from the first bell that Nakatani was a level above Moloney. The Japanese boxing phenom knocked his Australian opponent down in Round 2 and Round 11 of the fight, prior to the ultimate ending in the 12th and final round.
Nakatani was moving backwards with Moloney evidently chasing the fight. Then, Nakatani rolled to his right in the southpaw stance before throwing a ferocious left hook. The perfectly timed left hook landed clean on the jaw of the Aussie, who fell to the canvas in chilling fashion.
Moloney’s leg even buckled as he lay flat on his back in the center of the ring, with Nakatani wheeling off celebrating his victory at becoming a two-weight world champion. Moloney was left twitching on the canvas, before thankfully getting up moments later after the fight had been brutally stopped.
This knockout will likely go down in history as one of the best, and will certain be a regular pick as one of the best boxing knockouts of recent years. Quite a fitting winner of the best boxing knockout of the year. Not to mention that it was in a world title fight too.
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