With Gervonta Davis’ vicious knockout of Leo Santa Cruz, fans said it was the knockout of the year. Even in a year where the sport was affected by the pandemic, there has been no shortage of fantastic knockouts.
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One of the first events after the pandemic saw Alexander Povetkin upset Dillian Whyte with a powerful one-punch knockout. So, which was the better knockout between the two? Let’s inspect.
Firstly, let’s look at Povetkin’s knockout of Dillian Whyte. The Russian knocked out the powerful Brit in the fifth round with a precise uppercut that sent Whyte to the canvas. However, that knockout came out of nowhere.
Until that point, Whyte had dominated the fight and was in total control. In the previous round, he had 2 knockdowns against Povetkin. The knockout was one split-second mistake from Dillian Whyte, and it was over.
On the other hand, Gervonta Davis’ knockout was different. Though the final punch may have been similar, the fight was very different.
Davis was not getting dominated in the fight. Santa Cruz was getting the better of the exchanges, but Davis’ counter-punching was working. In the post-fight press conference, Davis confirmed that he was breaking him down slowly for the big shot.
So which knockout was better? Alexander Povetkin or Gervonta Davis?
We think Davis’ knockout was better because Davis set up the shot throughout the fight. Attacking the body and encouraging Leo Santa Cruz to trade.
With Povetkin, it was a lucky shot that caught Whyte. It may have been his game-plan, but until that point, there was no execution. Also, the fact that Povetkin is a heavyweight slightly reduces the credit of the knockout.
As a heavyweight, you pack a lot of power, and it’s a little easier to finish a fight with one punch.
The lightweights, however, knocking out in that fashion with one punch is rare. With the lesser body-weight, it is difficult for fighters to generate so much power. Despite this, Gervonta Davis generated the power he needed.
This just goes to show how much power the WBA champion has. For this reason, we think Davis’ knockout of Leo Santa Cruz was the better knockout. Although we can’t take anything away from Povetkin, that was still a great knockout.
