Daniel Dubois is the King of the KOs
IBF World heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20KO) has the highest KO percentage of the top 10 heavyweights in the world right now, which means that he will statistically be the hardest puncher Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25KO) has ever faced.
The Brits will clash in their country’s capital on September 21 in the national Wembley Stadium. Although AJ is the bookies favourite, some are favouring Dubois to have a puncher’s chance against the two-time world champion, who he famously dropped in sparring when he was still a teenage amateur boxer.
However, most are picking AJ by KO, but one thing fight fans can wholeheartedly agree on is that it will not go the distance and that a knockout is guaranteed on the night.
The 26-year-old from Greenwich has only heard the final bell once in his seven-year pro career in his ninth fight when he stepped up against the ‘Kingpin’ Kevin Johnson in 2018.
Dubois has 20 KOs from 21 victories, over half of those coming in the first and second rounds, and has an average of three rounds per knockout.
The full list below are the Ring Magazine’s top 10 heavyweights ranked in order of KO percentage:
Top 10
1. Daniel Dubois 95.24%
2. Joe Joyce 93.75%
3. Anthony Joshua 89.29%
4. Jared Anderson 88.24%
5. Filip Hrgovic 82.35%
6. Zhilei Zhang 81.48%
7. Tyson Fury 70.59%
8. Agit Kabayel 68%
9. Joseph Parker 65.71%
10. Oleksandr Usyk 63.64%
What’s fascinating about this list is that the bottom name is the reigning undisputed heavyweight champion, who has beaten #7, #3, #1 on the list. Not only that, Usyk was able to wobble AJ more than once during their back to back fights in 2021 and 2022; he scored a knockdown against Fury in round nine of their May 2024 historic clash; and he floored top-rated Dubois on the list twice to stop him in the ninth round of their August 2023 fight in Poland.
Usyk is living proof that skill trumps power. His elite boxing ability has seen the incredible Ukrainian collect Olympic and World gold medals and two undisputed crowns at cruiserweight and heavyweight. His combined boxing record over amateur and pro currently equals 357-15.
The notable name that’s missing from the esteemed list, who would have taken the No.1 spot, is Deontay Wilder with a 97.67% KO ratio, but the former long-reigning WBC World champion has lost four from his last five fights and dropped down to WBC #15 and completely out of the rest of the governing bodies top 15.
Other powerful heavyweights outside of the top rankings include Martin Bakole (75%); Frank Sanchez (70.83%); Efe Ajagba (70%); but it’s the up and coming British boxers who are boasting the big numbers, such as Fabio Wardley (94.12%); Johnny Fisher (91.67%); Moses Itauma (77.78%).