Subriel Matias, one of the best active fighters at stopping his opponents, defends his WBC junior welterweight title for the first time against Dalton Smith on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
With that power in mind, BoxingScene pays homage to the fighters who don’t like to leave it to the judges by compiling the leading 10, according to their KO percentage. The criteria requires a fighter to have held a Top 15 sanctioning body ranking and have competed in the last year.
If we missed any notable bone-crunchers out, please let us know in the comments.
10. Joe Joyce, heavyweight, 93.75 per cent
16-4 (15 KOs)
At 40 years old, Joyce isn’t what he was a few years ago. Even in his prime he was reckless, a heavyweight who came forward, happy to take punches while confident he could land harder ones. Most notably he stopped Joseph Parker in 2022. Then, it came crashing down. He’s now lost four of his last five, but the big man can still bang.
9. Ernesto Mercado, junior welterweight, 94.11 per cent
17-0 (16 KOs)
Mercado is untested at the highest level but has thus far beaten all-comers. In 2025, he only fought twice; seemingly retiring two-division titleholder Jose Pedraza and stopping Antonio Moran, who was coming off a notable win over unbeaten Mykquan Williams. Mercado’s power is wiry; one might even compare his ability to throw punches to that of Marco Antonio Barrera. He has a long way to go to match Barrera’s accomplishments, however.
8. Gary Antuanne Russell, junior welterweight, 94.44 per cent
18-1 (17 KOs)
A methodical southpaw, and 2016 Olympian, who looks to do damage. His last two fights have been the only two fights without a stoppage. A split decision loss to Albert Puello, and a unanimous decision win over Jose Valenzuela to win the WBA junior welterweight title. When in full flow, Russell has a bit of Errol Spence Jnr’s style in his approach to breaking down opponents.
7. Masamichi Yabuki, flyweight, 94.73 per cent
19-4 (18 KOs)
Yabuki is a power puncher who has stopped plenty at 112lbs; a weight class in which knockout artists are rare. He is now starting to compete with Armenian Vic Darchinyan as the best flyweight puncher of the modern era. He knocked out Kenshiro Teraji, only to get stopped in the rematch. Since that loss he’s scored six straight stoppage wins. He has stopped Sivenathi Nontshinga, Angel Ayala and, most recently, Felix Alvarado in title fights.
6. Fabio Wardley, heavyweight, 95 per cent
20-0-1 (19 KOs)
Wardley’s greatest weapon is his power. He was losing to Justis Huni until he scored a 10th-round knockout. Wardley was an underdog against Joseph Parker, but his thudding blows changed the script. Wardley has a little bit of Deontay Wilder and a little bit of Tommy Morrison, a dangerous combination for the WBO beltholder.
5. Artur Beterbiev, light heavyweight, 95.23 per cent
21-1 (20 KOs)
Beterbiev won every fight by knockout until he outpointed Dmitry Bivol in 2024. Beterbiev would become the undisputed champion, winning a majority decision, only to lose the rematch via the same method. Before these two epic bouts, Beterbiev clinically broke fighters down with precision and strength. He could box and walk people into shots or physically overwhelm fighters and stop them.
4. Daniel Dubois, heavyweight, 95.45 per cent
22-3 (21 KOs)
Dubois is a fast, explosive puncher, he stays composed and throws his jab when most might throw big right hands and wild shots. His flaw can be his mental focus, illustrated in all of his losses to Oleksandr Usyk (twice) and Joe Joyce. When he’s confident, however, Dubois is one of the heaviest of all punchers.
3. Subriel Matias, junior welterweight, 95.65 per cent
23-2 (22 KOs)
Matias isn’t the dominant one-punch knockout artist, but his ability to stop opponents has made him one of the most feared modern fighters. A punishing hitter, Matias forced five consecutive opponents to retire on the stool before he lost his IBF strap to Liam Paro in 2024. Two knockout wins followed before he was forced to go 12 while winning a close one over Alberto Puello last July.
2. Deontay Wilder, heavyweight, 97.72 per cent
44-4-1 (43 KOs)
At his peak, Wilder had game-changing power. Until he encountered Tyson Fury late in 2018, nobody could take his punch. Even then, Wilder - an Olympic bronze medalist in 2008 - almost won the fight with a last-gasp KO. Even now, though clearly past his best, he’d likely be given a ‘puncher’s chance’ against anyone in the heavyweight division.
1. Subaru Murata, junior featherweight, 100 per cent
10-0 (10 KOs)
Murata looks the part of a future titleholder, and given the amazing talent in Japanese boxing recently, it should come as no surprise. Murata fought twice in 2025 with his latest stoppage win being against Yukinori Oguni, a bout scheduled for 12 rounds. Murata is also ranked in the top-15 of all four major sanctioning bodies. It is impressive that statistically, the biggest puncher in boxing at a world class level is a fighter competing in the 122lbs division.
The names that didn’t make the list: Cruiserweight power puncher Jai Opetaia (79.31 per cent); light heavyweight titleholder David Benavidez (80.64 per cent); Junior middleweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (88.57 per cent) and rival Vergil Ortiz (91.66 per cent); and troubled lightweight Gervonta Davis (93.33 per cent).
