You can romanticise all you want about the Sweet Science of boxing.
The plucky underdog stories, the glorious triumphs over adversity, the blood and guts drama of two fighters laying it all on the line in primal combat.
But, as brutal as it sounds, sometimes you just can’t beat a good knockout.
Well if you’re looking for KO of the year contenders, then this punch from Mason Menard on Eudy Bernardo surely must be in the running.
It came in the third round of the contest between American Menard and his unbeaten Dominican foe Bernardo.
The 27-year-old US lightweight threw an absolute howitzer of an overhand right which caught his undefeated opponent square in the face.
It was thrown with such speed and ferocity that Bernardo was out cold the moment it connected.
He was taken to hospital in a neck brace straight after the fight as a precaution.
Menard, who scored a knock down in the second, moves to 31-1, with 23 wins coming by KO. The 29-year-old Bernardo moves to 21-1 after the loss.
Clip via Showtime Sports