Nothing excites fight fans like a knockout victory and we have seen some stunning stoppage victories over the years.
Here we take a look at some of the fastest finishes in recent times.
Naseem Hamed v Said Lawal (1996)
Naseem Hamed is one of the best boxer’s Britain has ever produced and he had the style and showmanship to go with his skills. Prince Naseem would often target an early stoppage in his bouts and 14 of his 26 professional victories came before the start of the third round.
The Sheffield slickster took on Said Lawal in Glasgow in 1996 and it was the scene of his fastest knockout win. It took Hamed just 35 seconds to dispatch Lawal and that included two knockdowns.
The referee waved the fight off after Lawal lay on the canvas for the second time and Hamed recorded a speedy stoppage victory.
Nigel Benn v Ian Chantler (1997)
Nigel Benn will always be remembered for his phenomenal fights against Chris Eubank and Steve Collins. Conor Benn is currently following in father’s footsteps and he will do well to match the efforts of the Dark Destroyer, when he faced Ian Chantler in 1997.
Benn was in the early stages of his career, when taking on Chantler and the Merseyside man was an experienced performer.
However, Benn caught Chantler with a lightning right hand in the first-round and stopped the Merseyside puncher in just 16 seconds.
David Haye v Alexander Gurov (2005)
Former world heavyweight champion David Haye was an explosive puncher at both cruiser and heavyweight. The Haymaker was out of the ring for almost four years, after he beat Dereck Chisora in 2012 and he returned to face Mark de Mori in 2016. The Bermondsey banger stopped the Croatian in just over two minutes.
However, that wasn’t even close to being the earliest stoppage of Haye’s career. Tomasz Bonin was beaten in 1m 45s, Valeri Semiskur lasted just 1m 36s and Vance Winn was defeated in just 45 seconds of the opening round. Those rapid victories were all eclipsed by Alexander Gurov, who fell after just 34 seconds, when he took on Haye in 2005.
Bernard Hopkins v Steve Frank (1996)
Bernard Hopkins was a fantastic fighter and the Philadelphia puncher was the undisputed middleweight champ from 2001 to 2005.
B-Hop made the first defence of his IBF middleweight title against Steve Frank in 1996. Frank had only been stopped once in his 18 bouts, prior to taking on Hopkins, but B-Hop blew Lion Heart away in just 24 seconds.
Daniel Jimenez v Harald Geier (1994)
Harald Geier challenged Daniel Jimenez for his WBO super-bantamweight title in Geier’s native Austria in 1994. Jimenez successfully defended his belt and he did it in stunning style.
The home crowd were left shocked, when Geier fell to the canvas after just 17 seconds. Jimenez was later defeated by the legendary Marco Antonio Barrera, but the Puerto Rican made his mark on the record books with his speedy stoppage in Austria.
