Boxing: 13 Leading Candidates for Knockout of the Year in 2011 (With Videos)

There have been some impressive knockouts so far in 2011, some of which have happened over the last week.

Three on this list are from the weekend, and there have been more than enough to make a good debate about which one deserves the award for knockout of the year in 2011.

The good news is we're only in July and there is plenty of time for many other knockouts. The best fights of the year haven't even happened yet, and time will tell if they present anything better than these 13 knockouts.

No. 13: Rico Ramos KO7 Akifumi Shimoda

Rico Ramos saved his undefeated record when he knocked out Akifumi Shimoda to win the WBA Super Bantamweight title on July 9th.

The HBO bout was the co-main event on a card featuring Paul Williams and Erislandy Lara, and if it weren't for the controversial decision in the main event, Ramos may have gotten more attention for his victory.

He was down six rounds on two of the scorecards going into Round 7 when he got the knockout with a few seconds left in the round.

No. 12: Hairon Socarras KO1 Carlos Bruno

Hairon Socarras is an up-and-comer in the super bantamweight division. He had three fights so far this year, and this was his first fight versus Carlos Bruno.

Bruno was making his professional debut and was knocked out with a left hand in Round 1 of the bout.

No. 11: Michael Grant KO3 Tye Fields

Former WBC heavyweight title challenger Michael Grant rebounded from his loss to Tomasz Adamek in 2010 to knock out Tye Fields in their bout from March.

Tye Fields isn't the cream of the crop in the heavyweight division, but Grant is a former contender and showed why when he landed a straight right hand to put Fields down in Round 3.

No. 10: Denis Lebedev KO10 Roy Jones Jr.

Former pound-for-pound king Roy Jones Jr. went to Russian to take on Denis Lebedev in a 10-round cruiserweight bout.

Jones had not won a fight since 2009 but hoped to make a comeback in 2011 with a win over Lebedev.

Down on the scorecards, Jones wasn't able to survive the final assault by Lebedev, who knocked him out with a brutal combination in the final moments of the last round.

No. 9: Damian Garcia KO1 Alex Ormeno

Damian Garcia made his professional debut in March, taking on Alex Ormeno, who was also making his debut. The bout was contested in the heavyweight division.

It would turn out to be a memorable moment for only one boxer in Garcia as he put Ormeno down with a left hook in the very first round.

No. 8: Lucian Bute KO4 Jean Paul Mendy

IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute continued to dominate his opposition in exciting fashion when he knocked out his undefeated challenger Jean Paul Mendy on July 9th. The bout took place in Romania.

It was Bute's sixth knockout in a row and took his undefeated record to 29-0 with 24 knockouts. His other notable knockouts include ones over Edison Miranda and Librado Andrade.

No. 7: Janks Trotter KO2 Arturo Crespin

During the most recent edition of Friday Night Fights, Janks Trotter got a highlight reel knockout over Arturo Crespin in Round 2 of their light middleweight bout.

After putting Crespin down in Round 1, Trotter didn't let him go much farther, dropping and knocking him out again in Round 2. Crespin face-planted into the canvas, giving Trotter his fifth victory.

No. 6: Alexander Dimitrenko KO12 Albert Sosnowski

One of the leading candidates for 2011's knockout of the year was in the bout between heavyweight prospect Alexander Dimitrenko and former title challenger Albert Sosnowski.

It was a very competitive bout for the first 11 rounds and could have gone either way had it gone to a decision.

Dimitrenko came out in the final round and landed a devastating uppercut that put Sosnowski down and out on the canvas.

No. 5: Jessie Vargas KO2 Walter Estrada

The July 8th bout between Jessie Vargas and Walter Estrada gave boxing fans a knockout to remember.

Estrada, who is a veteran of over 50 bouts, has fought some of the very best, including Yuriorkis Gamboa and Miguel Angel Garcia.

He took on undefeated up-and-comer Jessie Vargas, who was 15-0 going into the bout.

Both boxers slugged it out in Round 2 before Vargas connected with a vicious left hook that flattened Estrada.

No. 4: Tyson Fury KO5 Marcelo Luiz Nascimento

As Tyson Fury prepares to meet his toughest challenger yet in Dereck Chisora on July 23rd, he picked up this brutal knockout earlier this year.

His opponent was Marcelo Nascimento, who was 13-0 going into the bout. He would leave the ring with the first loss of his career after Fury dropped him with a right hand in Round 2.

No. 3: Jason Pagara KO1 Billy Sumba

Jason Pagara improved to 27-1 with this knockout over Billy Sumba in the very first round of their January bout.

It was Pagara's 16th knockout of his career. He also fought twice more since then, knocking out both of his opponents.

No. 2: Robert Helenius KO9 Samuel Peter

Robert Helenius showcased his power once again in stopping former WBC Heavyweight Champion Samuel Peter in April, 2011.

It was one of the best knockouts of the year and a surprising one. Peter was only stopped by Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in his career and showcased a great chin in past bouts.

It didn't hold up in his bout with Helenius, and he was put away in Round 9.

No. 1: Nonito Donaire KO2 Fernando Monitel

This may go down as the best knockout of the year for its relevance and level of competition that was presented inside the ring.

Nonito Donaire and Fernando Monitel were both ranked among the best boxers pound-for-pound, and it would come down to who got the better of the other to determine who really was the best.

Montiel had already won knockout of the year in 2007 when he handed Vic Darchinyan the first loss of his career. He didn't give Montiel his first loss, but he did give him his most devastating knockout loss of his career.

His only other losses were by close decisions.