Eddie Hearn has been looking back over some of the best boxing action of the last year to name the most impressive knockout.
Hearn has had a busy 12 months promoting his Matchroom shows across the world for broadcast on DAZN.
His headline fighter has once again been former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua. Though the year started well for ‘AJ’ with an impressive second-round destruction of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, it ended badly in September when he was stopped by Daniel Dubois.
The current IBF champion put on a career-best performance and knocked Joshua down twice before finally leaving him face down on the canvas and unable to beat the count in the fifth round.
Hearn also co-promoted the likes of the light heavyweight undisputed contest between his man Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev which ended in a tight 12-round points win for Beterbiev, and saw his man Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez continue to knock out all-comers.
Speaking to TNT Sports Boxing, he named the towering Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang as the man who produced the best stoppage of 2024.
“I think it could be Zhilei Zhang’s knockout of Deontay Wilder.”
Hearn was in Wilder’s corner for the main event having ‘signed him’ to Matchroom temporarily for his promotional 5 vs 5 showdown with Frank Warren’s Queensberry. The promoter had also made ‘The Bronze Bomber’ his team captain for the format, meaning a win would score him double points.
Zhang, who was representing Warren’s side, caught Wilder with a left hook in the fifth that sent him spinning on his heels before following up with the same shot to put the American down.
It was former WBC champion and famous big hitter Wilder’s second successive defeat, coming just moths after Joseph Parker beat the American on points.
Zhilei Zhang FINISHED Deontay Wilder in SPECTACULAR FASHION!! 💥 🇨🇳 😤 pic.twitter.com/UoHSnNUXiO
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) June 2, 2024
Wilder has not officially announced his next move in the sport, with no current firm plans for a comeback fight in 2025.
