The Fastest Knockout in Boxing History Took Less Than 5 Seconds

By now, many combat sports fans have heard about Jorge Masvidal's record-breaking 5-second knockout win over Ben Askren. That was the record in the UFC, but there have been faster knockouts in other combat sports. Here's a look at what we know about some of the fastest knockouts in boxing history.

The fastest boxing knockout took just 4 seconds

Some boxing fans may think that the fastest boxing knockout ever came from a heavyweight great like Muhammad Ali or Mike Tyson, but that isn't so. In fact, the fastest boxing knockout didn't even come from a professional fight. Instead, it came from a Golden Gloves tournament held in 1947.

UPI reported that, during a Golden Gloves tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1947, a boxer named Mike Collins knocked out his opponent, Pat Brownson, with the very first punch of the fight.

This was one of those early boxing fights where the rules were very different from modern-day boxing. As a result, the referee never gave Brownson the 10-count, and the fight was called off after just 4 seconds. 

Little else is known about this fight or the boxers involved with this fight. That said, since it wasn't a professional fight, there are other fights that are fighting for the title of having the fastest knockout in boxing history.

Other claims for the fastest boxing knockout throne

UPI reported that Ricky Parkey, in 1984, knocked out Broderick Mason in just 8 seconds. Both men were fighting in the cruiserweight division and neither men were really notable. Parkey, for instance, lost to Evander Holyfield early in his career. That said, this 8-second knockout may very well still be the fastest knockout in professional boxing history.

But, a problem with talking about the fastest knockouts in boxing is that the competition may not always be up to par. It's one thing to talk about the fastest boxing knockouts among boxing's greatest fighters, but it's another thing to include boxers who may be fighting in unfair fights.

In boxing, there are many journeymen fighters whose only job is to, essentially, lose to better boxers so that those boxers can have better records. As a result, many boxing matches, such as the fight between Parkey and Mason, don't exactly showcase a high level of boxing skill. That's why it may be better to look at the fastest knockouts in a boxing title fight.

The fastest knockout in a boxing title fight

In 2017, the WBO bantamweight champion, Zolani Tete, knocked out his opponent, Siboniso Gonya, in just 11 seconds, according to City Press. This was the fastest knockout in a boxing title fight, ever.

Tete landed a heavy punch that knocked Gonya down at just 6 seconds into the fight. The referee started the count and then called the fight off after 5 seconds. Unlike Parkey's fight with Mason or Collins' fight with Brownson, this was a very high-level bout.

The two men were fighting for the WBO bantamweight belt, so this wasn't a random belt from a small boxing organization. On top of that, Gonya wasn't a slouch. Gonya had an 11-1 record before he faced Tete for the belt. Tete, who is currently 28-4, is also a legit boxing champion who is still one of the best boxers in his weight class.

This 11-second knockout breaks the previous record which was held by Daniel Jimenez after he knocked out Harald Geier in just 17 seconds. Interestingly enough, rather than being heavyweights, both of these records were set in the lighter weight classes. Tete and Gonya were bantamweights while Jimenez and Geier were super bantamweights.