Which impresses you more KOs or Shutouts?

[Elroy The Great]

It really counts, like a 12 round fight that was humbling was Maidana/Broner, but a fight like Crawford/Postol was just boring because Crawford didn't want to fight and was afraid to exchange with 41% ko ratio fighter

true. the OP is saying all things being equal, a guy going out there and just schooling/ko'ing an equally skilled guy, which is better ?

imho, its not terribly hard to catch a guy with a perfect/well timed shot and end him. but to torture a guy for 12 rds.....not engaging, i think, doesnt apply here.

[BrometheusBob.]

I don't consider one inherently more impressive than the other. Evaluating whether an individual KO or boxing clinic is more impressive to me depends on context.

EG Stopping a Amir Khan is less impressive than say someone outboxing Kovalev (hypothetically of course). And likewise, stopping GGG would be more impressive than outboxing... GGG.

[LoadedWraps]

In the real world, it depends. Shutting out a world class fighter for example is better than stopping a never was.

In your hypothetical, KOs win.

I'm not going to vote because it's not so cut and dry.

Well said.

I'm not voting either and for the exact same reason.

[Redd Foxx]

Fair play. OK then, it is a hypothetical scenario, so yeah, kinda meaningless, but just for fun who would you be betting on, Mr KO or Mr Shutout should they meet in the ring?

I'd go with what they refer to as "smart money" and bet on the boxer over the puncher.

[Citizen Koba]

Well said.

I'm not voting either and for the exact same reason.

That's fair enough, but in the scenario I've laid out, the wins are coming against the same opponents. Let's say it's all against top 20 guys, though the level doesn't matter cos you're comparing like to like. You could equally say make it two idealised careers in which the guys were matched in every fight against guys who were considered to be of a similar level to themselves, ie starting with club level guys and working slowly up to championship level.

Just to clarify this isn't some loaded question, I don't have an agenda here, it was just provoked by an early thread of Larrys which I wanted to couch in terms that were slightly less slanted.

For the record whilst my favourite fighters happen to be big punchers I'd probably be more impressed by the shutout guy here, certainly I'd favour him should they meet on their 31st fight.

Just a bit of fun though.

[Citizen Koba]

In the real world, it depends. Shutting out a world class fighter for example is better than stopping a never was.

In your hypothetical, KOs win.

I'm not going to vote because it's not so cut and dry.

The opponents are the same, though, in this scenario. And I don't think it's cut and dry at all which is why I asked the question. I'm a fan of some of the big hitters in the sport, but in the fictional case I've outlined I'd probably be more impressed with the shutout guy. I was more wondering if other posters felt the same.

[b00g13man]

The opponents are the same, though, in this scenario. And I don't think it's cut and dry at all which is why I asked the question. I'm a fan of some of the big hitters in the sport, but in the fictional case I've outlined I'd probably be more impressed with the shutout guy. I was more wondering if other posters felt the same.

In your scenario, KOs win. I said as much already.

[Banko Villas]

Shutouts
Skill at its finest
Saying that though one of my fave fights is froch vs Taylor
Froch got shutout for nearly all 12 rounds and with only10 seconds left on the clock and managed to brutally ko Taylor to win by the skin of his teeth

Personally, I think both shutouts and knockouts can be impressive, depending on the context.

But I agree on Froch-Taylor. That was certainly a classic fight and Froch proved to have the heart of a real champion there.

[soul_survivor]

OK - there's a case to be made for both but as a hypothetical two fighters fight the same opposition, one scores 30KOs after more or less dominant performances - losing some rounds maybe, another scores 30 shutout (or near shutout) UDs.

Which impresses you more?

Well it really depends. What type of shutout is it? If it's a boring, tip tap shut out with a handful of punches that really matter then I'd favour the KO every day.

Now, if it's a shut out where the guy winning really puts a physical beating on his opponent, like a prime Duran, Leonard or Pacquiao, who put out virtual shutouts against top, top opponents, all the while battering them pillar to post, then this is the most impressive aspect of one's boxing ability.

Plus, I guess it feeds into my blood lust. All that prolonged torture.

[Banko Villas]

I mostly like for the KOs to happen between 8-12th round, so we get to see some action before the show ends.