By Daniele D’Alessio

FOR some professional boxers, hanging up their gloves is one of the hardest decisions of their lives. The adrenaline rush of battling an opponent under vivid lights while the crowd cheers is addictive.

It’s something that can’t be replicated in the mundane life of a civilian. The mano-a-mano fight is the pinnacle of masculinity. It’s a form of competition that dates back to Roman times, where leather was replaced with acute metal.

Fortunately, civilization has put an end to the fatalities associated with such fights. But that doesn’t mean there are no risks when you decide to enter the squared circle. The more punishment you take, the more likely you are to have stern problems later in life.

It’s fascinating to see people who have achieved great things in the sport and yet can’t quit. It’s like boxing is all they know and without the sweet science they’re just a watered down version of themselves.

One boxer who has experienced more than most is David Rajuili. The South African has fought in his home country, as well as in Holland, Slovenia, France, Germany and Denmark, and has also won the African lightweight title. However, Rajuili has suffered four defeats in his last four fights. And at 35, no one would blame the fighter for retiring.

“I submitted my resignation to the fighting gods and they sent it back,” Rajuili said. .

“My family and I still feel like I have a lot of fight left in me. I’m a substantial dreamer. I take advantage of opportunities when they come my way. I fight for what I believe in. I said I would stop, but now I’m back. The calls keep coming.

“I’m a fighter. I’m the guy on the road from South Africa. I’ve been fighting since I was eight and I still do. The best part is I have my family with me. My son and daughter are with me in training camp. And they’re going to take me to the fight in Denmark.”

On October 5, Rajuili will once again enter the lion’s den when he faces undefeated homegrown fighter Elias Idrissi. Idrissi is 21 years elderly and has a record of five wins, three of which are by knockout.

“It’s always very nice to be called back and get back in the ring. I got the call because of the demand from people in Denmark and from the promoter TK Promotions. I gave them a good fight with Anthony Yigit. Many people thought it was a draw or went in my favor. It was a close fight and I won the hearts of the fans.

“Also, headlining an event in Europe. That in itself is a huge achievement considering I’m from South Africa and I’m going to do everything in my power to headline one of the biggest events this year in Denmark. I’m very excited.”

Rajuili was brutally knocked out in his last fight by another adolescent prospect, Alaa Al Mahmoud, who landed a nasty body blow in the second round. The South African was fighting at the highest weight of his career, 148 pounds, against the naturally larger Al Mahmoud.

After receiving such a punishment, Rajuili’s closest circle expressed concerns about his future health. But like a gladiator in the Colosseum, he refuses to surrender.

Rajuili continued: “I hear that a lot. One of my coaches, Dominic, still helps me. But he also begs me, ‘Please, you know it’s time to hang up the gloves.’ I tell people the time will come. It’s a journey I’m on. It’s my journey and my story.

“I’m so grateful that people have these concerns. It’s better to have people who care than people who don’t. I feel blessed to have these voices.

“But I’m not here looking for fights or knocking on doors. I’ve worked very demanding to get to this point where the phone is ringing and promoters are calling me. I’m going to ride that wave as best and as safely as I can. I’m going to train demanding. I know what I have to do.”

Rajuili admits that he is a journeyman at this point in his career. However, he still aims to pull off a substantial upset in every fight so that he can fight on bigger and bigger platforms around the world.

“I’m candid with myself. I’m 35, I’ll be 36 in February. These guys I’m fighting are 21 and 20. The promoters are candid with me. They tell me, ‘You’ve got to test my guys.’ I’m not just fighting a boxer. I’m fighting a lot of other things, too.

“If it makes sense and the money is right, I’ll keep fighting because I’m making good money for six and eight rounds. For me, it’s about fighting to pull a surprise. If I pull a surprise, I’ll just get called for a bigger fight. That’s the truth.

“I never started boxing thinking I would become a world champion. It was never my dream. Strenuous work got me the WBF titles. Now the biggest achievement for me in the boxing world would be to fight in the Riyadh season.”

It’s simple to look at a fighter’s record and criticize their shortcomings. But the reality is that many professional boxers will spend their entire careers fighting in miniature indoor shows, making little or no money from the sport.

Rajuili is an example of a fighter who, despite challenging experiences, still provides a good life for his family through boxing.

“As a little kid, when I was running in South Africa, I dreamed of fighting in substantial events here. Being ready to facilitate my family when they watch me fight really motivates me. Even when my daughter sees me and I’m not fighting, she reminds me that I’m a fighter.

“Everyone has a dream in this world. You can achieve your dreams by working demanding and just believing and not losing faith. No matter where you are, no matter what the circumstances are, just pushing through.

“These are the things I will teach my children and the people around me. I think that is what my support from South Africa brings. People see that we, South Africans, never give up, we keep going, no matter the obstacles or the journey.”

5. Bogdan Dinu

Fresh off the heels of his first career loss to Joe Joyce in November 2020, Dubois returned under the tutelage of fresh trainer Shane McGuigan for a fight with Bogdan Dinu the following June.

Though Dinu was a marginal fighter at best, he took heavyweight contenders Jarrell Miller and Kubrat Pulev to four and seven rounds, respectively, in his only two losses to date.

Still, the Romanian was seen as a sure-fire opponent to rebuild Dubois’ lineup, and he did, with Dubois landing a powerful right hook 31 seconds into the second round, sending Dinu to the ground and firmly securing Dubois’ return to winning ways.

4.Kevin Lerena

While it wasn’t the cleanest knockout on the list, Dubois’ third-round TKO victory over Kevin Lerena in the fight preceding Tyson Fury’s third fight with Derek Chisora ​​will certainly be demanding to beat when it comes to drama.

After a wild opening that saw Dubois downed three times, the Londoner managed to claw his way out of the abyss in incredibly brave – and brutal – fashion, safely making it through the second round before flooring Lerena with a powerful right hook with 44 seconds remaining in the third.

Dubois finished the fight in merciless fashion, hitting Lerena with a powerful right hook that snapped his head back and hit the ropes, forcing referee Howard Foster to intervene to end the third round.

This dramatic victory, won in a complex situation, was (and arguably still is) the most crucial of Dubois’ career.

3. Trevor Bryan

Dubois traveled to Miami in June 2022 to challenge undefeated American Trevor Bryan, then holder of the little-valued WBA Regular title and Don King’s newest hope in the heavyweight division.

Despite being the defending champion, Bryan seemed more focused on avoiding damage than trying to win the fight. Three fairly tough rounds proved to be Dubois’s advantage, but he didn’t sustain any major damage.

However, things changed in the fourth round when Dubois landed a low left hook that momentarily knocked Bryan out of action, sending the Modern Yorker face down on the mat before he boldly (and unsuccessfully) attempted to beat the count.

2. AJ Carter

Second on the list is Dubois’ early career, when the 20-year-old took on Brixton’s AJ Carter for the Southern Area heavyweight title.

The fight, as expected, was a mismatch, with Dubois scoring two knockdowns in the first thirty seconds of the first round, both via right hands, before closing the show in merciless fashion moments later.

Carter, still clearly feeling the effects of two previous knockdowns, was given the improbable nod by referee Lee Cook to continue, prompting Dubois to finish the fight with another howitzer right hook that knocked Carter to the canvas and sent him facedown on the ground.

1. Kyotaro Fujimoto

Dubois narrowly missed out on knocking out Carter, and won by second-round knockout, this time over unknown Japanese outsider Kyotaro Fujimoto in December 2019.

Although Fujimoto boasted an impressive 21-1 (13 KO) record, it became clear during public training that he might not prove to be Dubois’ toughest opponent. After a visit to Winter Wonderland and a scorching dog, Fujimoto found himself in the unenviable position of being in the opposite corner of Hackney’s Copper Box Arena, where what turned out to be the most brutal KO of Dubois’ career occurred.

After being knocked down with a jab early in the second round, Dubois followed up with a powerful right hook that sent Fujimoto crashing to the floor.

Unlike Carter, Fujimoto fell on his back, and the camera captured a terrifying shot of his misty eyes, staring blankly into the distance…

LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Daniel Dubois knocks out Kyotaro Fujimoto during the WBC Silver and WBO International Heavyweight Title fight between Daniel Dubois and Kyotaro Fujimoto at the Copper Box Arena on December 21, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

THERE is nothing like a shocking puncher in sports to add intrigue to the unpredictable nature of fight night. Fighters of all shapes and sizes have been blessed with God-given power over the decades.

While punching technique and strength and conditioning work can further improve an athlete’s punches, many seem to simply be born with a balancing “touch of death.” However, strength comes in many forms, from crushing blows that wear you down over time to those who give up after one punch.

Taking on a bulky puncher adds an extra layer of tactical cunning to your preparation. Not only do you have to outsmart them, but you always have to act in a way that keeps you out of harm’s way.

It’s a scarce occasion when two fighters meet in the middle of the ring, both armed with dynamite in their gloves. Most fight fans expect a knockout to be inevitable in such cases. And of course, many of those fights have produced confused, exhilarating brawls. Sometimes, the anxiety of the other’s strength can undo all the work, resulting in a uninteresting, lifeless fight. However, as the list below will show, when the fighters with the best striking in history meet, a knockout usually results.

I decided to dig into the archives to try and compile a list of fights where real powerhouse boxers have faced off. To narrow it down to the most extreme cases, one fighter must be past their prime, in the case of Marciano-Louis, both men must be either at their absolute peak or still capable of knocking out the massive guys after the fight. There are many to choose from, but I’ll just mention a few that stand out from the first part of the mini-series, which I consider to be among the best in the category.

When knockout boxers collide, part one…

Wilfredo Gomez 21-0-1 21 KO vs Carlos Zarate 52-0 51 KO – (28/10/1978)

Starting off with a bang, both metaphorically and literally. If this list were to be ranked, this classic would undoubtedly be at the top. Both Gomez and Zarate have compelling arguments for being the hardest-hitting smaller fighters in history.

Their fight entered the iconic Mexican-Puerto Rican rivalry, in which many great boxers clashed. The Mexican Zarate was one of the most unassuming boxers in history. Towering and very slim, his crushing long right hands and crippling body blows crushed almost every man he defeated. A phenomenal bantamweight champion, Zarate hung up his gloves with 63 KOs in 66 wins, with only four defeats, showing a terrifying consistency.

Gomez himself was shorter and stocky, throwing punches with explosive, brutal speed. Before his loss to the impeccable Salvador Sanchez, he had never lost, earning 32 KOs in 32 wins. Even after his only defeat, Gomez scored KOs in all of his first 40 wins, eventually retiring with a record of 44-3-1 with 42 by KO. Most impressively, the pair would go on to win a combined 30 world titles (Gomez 20 and Zarate 10) by the end of their careers, earning 28 KOs.

When the pair clashed, their combined record was 73-0-1, 72 KOs, a staggering statistic, bolstered by a combined 15 KO wins to that point. After a snail-paced start, the momentum immediately changed when the surging Zarate landed a pointed right hook in the fourth round. Gomez sealed the deal in the fifth, scoring three knockdowns along the way.

Carlos Zarate 45-0 44 KO vs Alfonso Zamora 29-0 29 KO – (23/04/1977)

One of the reasons the aforementioned Zarate vs. Gomez superfight was so highly anticipated was because both men had proven their worth and their fight-ending moves against top opponents. In Zarate’s case, just one year prior to his fight with Puerto Rican legend Gomez, he met Alfonso Zamora in an all-Mexican fight.

Zamora was a proven top fighter and devastating puncher, an Olympic gold medalist who won a world bantamweight title as a professional, knocking out champions Hong Soo-Hwan and future featherweight king Eusebio Pedroza in nasty fashion.

Similar to Gomez, the shorter, stockier Zamora applied pressure, nodding in range early on before, oddly enough, a fan entered the ring. After a group of police dragged the intruder from the fight zone, the pair met again in the center of the ring and traded hooks at close range, with Zamora staggering Zarate into the ropes.

Zarate responded with his own excellent work rate, returning the favor in four action-packed rounds. Zarate closed the gap, finishing the fight with three stunning knockdowns on the back-pedaling Zamora, knocking him down with a right, and then finishing the fight with a left hook in the fourth round of an action-packed fight. Although Zamora never won another title, he retained a fearsome punching power, finishing his career with 32 KOs in 33 wins to 5 losses.

Thomas Hearns 28-0 26 KO vs Pipino Cuevas 27-6 24 KO – (08/02/1980)

Thomas Hearns’ iconic right hook is now considered one of the most devastating punches in boxing. Being the only man to grotesquely freeze Roberto Duran with it was simply something special in a career full of super fights and super knockouts. But the second-round knockout over “Hands of Stone” was a replica of an earlier fight in “The Hitman’s” career – his crowning moment against the fierce welterweight champion Jose “Pipino” Cuevas.

Cuevas accomplished the extraordinary feat of winning the welterweight world title at the age of 18 after suffering numerous defeats early in his career. Entering the defense against the overwhelmingly powerful challenger Hearns, Cuevas had won 12 consecutive world titles, including 11 knockouts. Cuevas’ nearly four-year reign is a unique record, as the champion broke more facial bones of challengers than any other fighter in history, usually allowing the bombs detonated by his left hooks to do the damage.

As the two met in the middle of the ring, Cuevas immediately tried to land his signature left hook on the much larger Hearns. When Hearns returned the blow, the fight became a brief, one-sided rout. “The Hitman” took center stage, cutting Cuevas open with vicious straights and pointed combinations. In the second round, just as he would do to Duran years later, Hearns landed a left jab before landing a devastating right that hit the champion so challenging he staggered for a moment before he fell to the mat and lost his title.

Tommy Hearns’ brutal fists left their mark and would terrorize many divisions for years to come. He easily dispatched the man considered the most threatening of the era, which is impressive considering Duran was mostly slaughtering lightweights and welterweights at the time.

Gerald McClellan 27-2 25KO vs. Julian Jackson 46-1 43KO – (08-05-1993)

When a junior middleweight has the unofficial title of “toughest boxer of all time,” you know there’s going to be some stern dynamite in each fist! Such was the case with Julian Jackson, the lean, ferocious boxer who has compiled one of the most terrifying knockout videos in history.

Fighting greats like Terry Norris and Herol Graham were absolutely in awe of Jackson, who in 47 fights had lost only once, in two rounds, to the phenomenal Mike McCallum.

Gerald McClellan, on the other hand, would refuse to let up on Jackson, building a fearsome reputation as a middleweight boxing monster. All 10 of McClellan’s previous fights prior to the fight had ended in KOs inside three rounds, and a total of 17 first-round KOs had already been scored. The G-Man had scored five first-round KOs in a row at one point, including a demolition of John Mugabi, who had taken so many blows from Marvin Hagler.

McClellan entered the fight as the aggressor in the first round, but Jackson landed powerful punches in the second round that caused McClellan a lot of trouble. In the fifth round, McClellan landed a right hook that staggered Jackson and he immediately lunged for the kill, landing a jaw-shattering left hook that sent “The Hawk” to the canvas. Amazingly, Jackson got back to his feet but was quickly taken down in the seconds that followed.

By the end of their careers, both Jackson and McClellan had scored 54 knockouts within the first three rounds. Jackson scored 13 knockouts in the first round, while McClellan scored 20 knockouts in the first round, including a decisive victory in a rematch with Julian Jackson.

April 27, 1994: Gerald McClellan in Los Angeles, California (Al Bello /Allsport)