Boxing fans saw three great one-punch knockouts last weekend. Mlungisi Dlamini cracked Zolani Marali with a short right, “Tommy Gun” Oosthuizen felled SA super-middleweight champion Tshepang Mohale with a left cross and Mikey Schultz decked Samuel Mathebula with a right uppercut.

The criterion was simple – the one-punch KO had to be the result of one single punch. That meant Manny Pacquiao’s knockout of Ricky Hatton was not eligible because he had dropped the Englishman in the previous round.

Likewise, Thomas Hearns’s KO of Pipino Cuevas also didn’t count, because he had wobbled the champion seconds earlier. So here’s our list of the 10 greatest one-punch KOs:

1. Rocky Marciano KO13 Jersey Joe Walcott: world heavyweight title, 1952 (Click here to view the KO).

The challenger, Marciano, was dropped in the opening round and was well behind on points going into the 13th. He needed a knockout to win and he did exactly that with, arguably, boxing’s greatest single punch. He landed a looping right to the jaw that momentarily disfigured the champion’s face. Walcott slowly sank, and he was unconscious by the time he tipped head first onto the canvas.

2. Sugar Ray Robinson KO5 Gene Fullmer: world middleweight title, 1957 (Click here to view the KO)

Robinson, widely regarded as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer of all time, was two days away from turning 36 when he went into the rematch with Fullmer, coming in as challenger after losing the title on points a few months earlier. Robinson produced a wide left hook that switched Fullmer’s lights off, making him world middleweight champion for the fourth time.

3. Arnold Taylor KO14 Romeo Anaya: WBA bantamweight title, 1973 (Footage not available)

This brutal clash was once rated the 15th-greatest title bout of all time by The Ring magazine. Taylor came back from four knockdowns to flatten the champion with a right cross. Taylor, SA’s second world champion (Vic Toweel beat Manuel Ortiz for the bantamweight crown in 1950), lost the belt in his first defence, although he beat Anaya again in a rematch in 1975, stopping the Mexican in the eighth.

4. Jack Johnson KO12 Stanley Ketchel, world heavyweight title: 1909 (Click here to view the KO)

Ketchel was the world middleweight champion when he stepped up to take on Johnson, the world’s first black heavyweight champion. They had agreed the fight would go the distance, but in the 12th Ketchel launched himself at Johnson and floored him with a right cross. Johnson beat the count and knocked Ketchel cold with his next punch. The story goes that Johnson’s glove contained three of Ketchel’s teeth.

5. Willie Jackson KO1 Johnny Dundee: non-title, 1917 (Footage not available)

Dundee, who would later become world featherweight champion, engaged in several ring wars with Jackson. He was famous for bouncing off the ropes to escape trouble or attack his opponents, but this time he bounced straight into Jackson’s right hand for the quickest defeat of his career.

6. Bob Fitzsimmons KO14 Jim Corbett: world heavyweight title, 1897 (Click here to view KO)

Briton Fitzsimmons was taking a hiding until he landed boxing’ s first “solar plexus” punch, a left to the champion’s abdomen. “Gentleman Jim” sank to one knee, trying to catch his breath before rolling over for the count.

7. Roy Jones jnr KO4 Virgil Hill, world light-heavyweight title: 1998 (Click here to view the KO)

Jones landed a right to Hill’s left side, cracking a few ribs in the process. The grimacing former world champion clutched his side and took refuge on the canvas.

8. Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis: world heavyweight title, 2001 (Click here to view KO)

Rahman was the underdog when he came to SA to challenge Lewis. But Lewis had been preoccupied with filming Oceans 11 – and he paid the price. Rahman nailed him with a straight right that made him see more stars than when he was in Hollywood.

9. Jersey Joe Walcott KO7 Ezzard Charles: world heavyweight title, 1952 (Click here to view KO)

Walcott was making his fifth bid at the world title, having lost twice each to Joe Louis and Charles. He delivered a classic left hook that reduced the champion to a heap.

10. Geoff McCreesh KO2 Dingaan Thobela: non-title, 1996 (Footage not available)

This one is here because it was against the run of play. Thobela, a former two-time world lightweight champ at the time, had backed the hurt McCreesh into the ropes. Thobela dived in to finish him off and landed chin first on McCreesh’s right hand. He crumpled to the deck and the crowd went quiet, except for one punter who shouted: “Get up!” “The Rose” could not rise.

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