It'll be bombs away in Riyadh on Saturday when former WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder squares off against Chinese powerhouse Zhilei Zhang at the Kingdom Arena. The 12-round bout, plus undercard action, will be broadcast by DAZN.
WATCH: Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang on DAZN
Both Wilder and Zhang are known as two of the hardest punchers in boxing's glamour division. Between them, they combine for a concussive 63 knockouts in 69 wins, and both men can end a fight with a single shot.
The ultimate goal in boxing is the knockout and there's more chance of seeing one when the big men are letting their fists fly. When discussing the biggest punchers in heavyweight history, the first names you'll come across are former champs Mike Tyson, George Foreman and Sonny Liston.
But who are the biggest punchers in 2024? Do Wilder and Zhang occupy the top spots? And who else is on the list?
The criteria for deciding the order were eye-test, knockout ratio, amount of first-round knockouts, and opposition faced.
It may come as a surprise that neither new undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, nor the man he conquered on May 18, Tyson Fury, made the list. But while that only goes to prove that you need more than a big punch to have success in a boxing ring, there's nothing more exciting or dramatic than a knockout finish.
The Sporting News presents the Top 7 punchers in heavyweight boxing today:
1 Deontay Wilder
- Record: 43-3-1 (42 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 97.7 percent
- First-round knockouts: 21
For all his technical flaws, there's never been a puncher like Deontay Wilder. The signature weapon is the right hand, and only Tyson Fury has survived that shot when it landed flush on the target area.
While Wilder is coming off a one-sided decision defeat to ex-champ Joseph Parker in March, the American still presents Zhang with a near-lethal threat. Zhang could be way ahead on points, catch one brutal right on the chin, and go out like a porch light. It's all dependent on whether Wilder can locate the requisite positioning to get that punch off.
He's only just hanging on at world-level, but while he's still there, "The Bronze Bomber" remains the most dangerous knockout puncher in the world today.
Signature knockouts: Bermane Stiverne (KO 1), Dominic Breazeale (KO 1), Luis Ortiz (TKO 10, KO 7)
2 Anthony Joshua
- Record: 28-3 (25 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 89.2%
- First-round knockouts: 5
Joshua has a little bit of everything. A natural athlete, "AJ" benefitted from a solid learning curve at Team GB and he continues to hone his craft at the age of 34.
The jab is an awesome weapon for the former two-time unified champ and it sets up a versatile array of power punching. No one weapon is more spectacular than the other because Joshua can hurt an opponent with anything he throws. His right-hand knockout of Francis Ngannou in March was devastating.
Reinvigorated under the tutelage of trainer Ben Davison, Joshua remains a formidable heavyweight force and his power is one of the reasons for that.
Signature knockouts: Dillian Whyte (KO 7), Wladimir Klitschko (TKO 11), Alexander Povetkin (TKO 7), Otto Wallin (TKO 5)
MORE: SN's Top 12 best heavyweight boxers
3 Zhilei Zhang
- Record: 26-2-1 (21 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 80.7%
- First-round knockouts: 12
You may say that Chinese heavyweights don't grow on trees. However, when the 6-6, 290-pound Zhang lands flush, opponents are left feeling like they've been hit by a tree. Just ask Joe Joyce.
An Olympic bronze medallist at Beijing 2008, Zhang is 41 years old now, but he remains one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the world. He has a very low work rate, but his accuracy and judgement of distance from the southpaw stance make him very effective.
Career setbacks have come in close decision losses to Filip Hrgovic and Joseph Parker, so he badly needs a win on Saturday. If he can thread home a terminal right hook or straight left against Wilder, then more big fights are sure to follow.
Signature knockouts: Joe Joyce (TKO 6, KO 3), Scott Alexander (KO 1), Craig Lewis (TKO 2)
4 Daniel Dubois
- Record: 20-2 (19 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 95%
- First round knockouts: 5
For the first three years of his professional career, there were lofty expectations that Daniel Dubois could be the heir apparent to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the U.K. And then he ran into "The Juggernaut" — Joe Joyce.
Joyce brought Dubois crashing back down to earth in 2019, but the bashful Londoner is still in the world title picture. If he can pull off an upset win over Croatian star Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, then he could be matched against countryman Anthony Joshua for the vacant IBF title later this year.
Like Joshua, Dubois sets up state-of-the-art weaponry behind a powerful left jab. The right hand is a lethal punch, but anything "Dynamite" fires has gunpowder on it.
Signature knockouts: Nathan Gorman (KO 5), Trevor Bryan (KO 4), Kevin Lerena (TKO 3), Jarrell Miller (TKO 10)
MORE: Will Dubois-Hrgovic be for IBF heavyweight title?
5 Filip Hrgovic
- Record: 17-0 (14 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 82.4%
- First-round knockouts: 4
There is no questioning Filip Hrgovic's talent, but he needs the career-defining wins to go with it.
At the time of writing, the Croatian's best victory is a questionable decision triumph over Zhilei Zhang in 2022. However, it must be stressed that Hrgovic's father passed away in the lead-up to that bout and he would have been badly distracted in camp.
As a puncher, Hrgovic has to be respected. He puts his shots together very well, which is a skill that was developed during a stellar amateur career.
If the Olympic bronze medalist from Rio 2016 can defeat Daniel Dubois on Saturday, then he'll be all set for his first world title fight.
Signature knockouts: Eric Molina (KO 3), Rydell Booker (TKO 5), Demsey McKean (TKO 12)
6 Joe Joyce
- Record: 16-2 (15 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 93.95 percent
- First-round knockouts: 4
It was all going so well for Joe Joyce. "The Juggernaut" was parked up, waiting for the Fury-Usyk argument to be over, and then he would just roll in and face the winner. Unfortunately, "Big Bang" Zhang spoiled those plans and stopped Joyce twice.
Despite his impressive KO ratio, Joyce doesn't have the stunning one-punch power of a Wilder or a Joshua. At 6-6 and 275 pounds, he tends to suffocate the opposition with his pressure and a high work rate. That approach often works because he handed Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker their first stoppage losses.
At 38 years old, time is running out on Joyce, who is yet to fight for a world championship. He needs to focus on defence and get his underrated jab back into play.
Signature knockouts: Daniel Dubois (KO 10), Carlos Takam (TKO 6), Joseph Parker (KO 11)
WATCH: Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang on DAZN
7 Jared Anderson
- Record: 17-0 (15 KOs)
- Knockout ratio: 88.24%
- First-round knockouts: 5
As Deontay Wilder begins a slow fade into the twilight, the emerging U.S. force appears to be Jared "Big Baby" Anderson.
His record is perfect and the attributes are clear to see. The 24-year-old boxer-puncher from Tulsa is athletic, powerful and aggressive. Naturally right handed, he can also switch to southpaw, which further highlights his skills and technique.
Anderson's knockout power is well established, although he has been taken the full 10 rounds in two of his last three fights. If he can stay out of trouble outside the ring, then we could be looking at the future of the division.
Signature knockouts: Miljan Rovcanin (KO 2), Jerry Forrest (TKO 2), Andriy Rudenko (TKO 5)