12 boxers rank higher than Mike Tyson in list of boxing’s biggest punchers, including fighter with more than 130 knockouts

Mike Tyson is one of the most ferocious punchers of all time.

The American boxing legend steamrolled his first 28 opponents and became the youngest heavyweight world champion in boxing history at the age of 20 years, 4 months, and 22 days old by blasting out Trevor Berbick inside two rounds in November 1986.

Less than a year later he was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world with a win over Tony Tucker.

He defended the three major sanctioning body belts six times before ending up on the wrong end of one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport against Buster Douglas in 1990.

Following a stint in prison, he became heavyweight world champion for a second time in 1996 by knocking out Frank Bruno but didn't hold onto his belts for long after running into Evander Holyfield.

Of his 50 professional wins (50-6) 44 came by way of knockout, including 24 in the opening stanza.

At his peak, he was one of the most destructive and overwhelming combination punchers to ever step foot between the ropes.

Tyson had speed and power in equal measure and had an uncanny ability to work his way on the inside with his peek-a-boo style before unleashing hooks and uppercuts to brutal effect. 

Past opponent, Marvis Frazier, summed it up well.

"I threw a jab and I don't remember anything else," he told Boxing News.

But with all that being said, the prestigious boxing publication, Ring Magazine, ranks Tyson at No.13 on their list of the Greatest Punchers of All Time.

Here, talkSPORT.com takes a closer look at the 12 men who place higher.

12. Sonny Liston (50-4, 39 KOs)

Sonny Liston is one of the most intimidating fighters to ever lace up a pair of gloves.

The poker-faced puncher went from mob henchman to heavyweight champion of the world, by flattening Floyd Patterson inside the first round in back-to-back fights in 1962 and 1963.

Early opponents were seen shaking with fear before they entered the ring with the physically imposing champion, who stood 6ft 1in tall, had an 84-inch reach, and enormous fists that measured 15 inches around.

11. Rocky Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs)

Rocky Marciano wasn't the most polished boxer, having picked up the sport at the late age of 23, but he more than made up for it with his grit, determination and brute force.

Marciano could always rely on 'Suzie Q' (his trademark right hand), which he detonated on Jersey Joe Walcott's chin in 1952 to become world heavyweight champion.

He defended the title six times up until 1955 when he retired with an unblemished 49-0 record.

10. Wilfredo Gomez (44-3-1, 42 KOs)

The aptly nicknamed Wilfredo 'Bazooka' Gomez possessed otherworldly punching power.

He started his pro career with a draw before stringing together a remarkable streak of 32 consecutive knockouts - a feat only bested by two men; Billy Fox (43) and LaMar Clark (44).

During a 15-year stint in the paid ranks, Gomez won world titles in three different weight classes from super bantamweight to super featherweight.

9. Ruben Olivares (89-13-3, 79 KOs) 

Ruben Olivares is widely considered to be one of the best body punchers of all time.

The Mexican bantamweight possessed a sickening liver punch that left many an opponent, keeled over, wincing in pain.

He famously crumpled Jose Luis Ramirez with his trademark left hook to midriff in 1978 and sunk Lionel Rose with a right hand to the solar plex to become bantamweight world champion for the first time 9 years prior.

8. Julian Jackson (55-6, 49 KOs)

Julian Jackson had a habit of finishing fights quickly. Of his 55 wins, 36 of them were done and dusted inside three rounds.

Only six of his opponents heard the final bell, with all of Jackson's defeats also coming by way of knockout.

His ferocious fighting style and concussive one-punch knockout power helped him become a three-time world champion at super welterweight and middleweight.

7. Sugar Ray Robinson (174-19-6, 109 KOs) 

The consensus greatest boxer of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson, also packed an almighty punch.

Robinson is one of a select few fighters to compile over 100 career knockouts (109) - a feat made even more impressive by the fact that he boxed from lightweight all the way up to light heavyweight.

The boxing icon defeated 21 fighters who would go on to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and was a six-time world champion at welterweight and middleweight.

6. Earnie Shavers (76-14-1, 70 KOs)

It is rare that a former opponent of Earnie Shavers doesn't name him as the hardest puncher they have ever faced.

The durable Texan Randall 'Tex' Cobb perhaps said it best: “Earnie Shavers could punch you in the neck with his right hand and break your ankle."

Shavers challenged for the world heavyweight strap twice - losing to Muhammad Ali in 1977 and Larry Holmes in 1979 - yet 'The Acorn' left a path of destruction in his wake en route to both title shots.

5. George Foreman (76-5, 68 KOs) 

Tyson ranks George Foreman as the heaviest puncher of all time, humbly admitting during a recent interview that he 'couldn’t match the power of somebody that big.'

'Big George' stood at 6ft 3in tall and during the latter stages of his career, tipped the scales at a colossal 260lbs.

Foreman punched his way into the annuals of history by becoming the oldest world heavyweight champion of all time at 46 years, 5 months, and 18 days after making a miraculous comeback in the late 80s following a 10-year hiatus from the sport.

4. Jack Dempsey (53-6-8, 43 KOs) 

Jack Dempsey was often undersized in his heavyweight battles of the 1910s and 1920s, but that didn't stop him from laying his adversaries out.

In 1919, he dropped gigantic heavyweight world champion Jesse Willard seven times en route to a third-round retirement victory.

Willard stood 6ft 6½in tall, 5½ inches taller than Dempsey and outweighed him by 58lbs at 245lbs, yet 'The Manassa Mauler' blasted right through him.

So-noted for his power was Dempsey that he even wrote a book on how to punch hard, called 'Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense'.

3. Sandy Saddler (145-16-2, 104 KOs) 

Sandy Saddler left a lasting legacy of destruction during the mid-1940s and late 1950s.

The Boston slugger was relentless in his pursuit of the knockout and gave little consideration to the blows being thrown back at him in reply.

Saddler was a slight 5ft 8in tall featherweight but was incredibly strong and made a name for himself by bullying and battering his opponents.

Among his notable victories are three stoppage wins over the great Willie Pep, while he is also a former super featherweight world champion and two-time featherweight world champion

2. Archie Moore (186-23-10, 132 KOs)

Archie Moore holds the distinction of recording the most knockouts in boxing history with a staggering 132 finishes during a 27-year professional career.

It took 18 years for 'The Old Mongoose' to finally become a world champion when he bested Joey Maxim for the light-heavyweight belt in 1952 at the age of 39.

He defended the strap eight times before hanging up his gloves in 1963 at 49 years old.

In his second to last fight, he fought Ali - then known as name Cassius Clay - and also slugged it out with Marciano and Patterson for the heavyweight world title.

1. Joe Louis (66-3, 52 KOs)

At the top of Ring Magazine's list is the longest-reigning heavyweight world champion of all time, Joe Louis (11 years, 8 months, and 8 days).

Louis was such a compact and powerful puncher that the press claimed his fists only needed to travel six inches to render an opponent unconscious. 

But it wasn't just inside the ring that 'The Brown Bomber' landed his famous knockout blows.

In 1937, he swept aside James J. Braddock to become the second African American heavyweight champion and later became so influential that he drew in crowds of between 50,000 and 70,000 people in a largely segregated, and racist post-Depression America. 

Louis' success in the squared circle paved the way for future generations of civil rights activists and helped sportsmen and women break the colour barrier in years to come.