Is it really as easy to knock someone out in real life as in the movies?

Question

As a child I watched (with my father) a boxing match which lasted 12 rounds. At the end neither fighter resembled his previous pretty self, but nobody got knocked out either.I just watched Terra Nova where the main character layed out a kidnapper in one punch. I've seen this a lot in movies. In the movies is so easy to lay someone out by landing a fairly decent blow to the head. So I have to ask: Are movies giving an over-simplistic idea of how easy it is to knock someone out?Or as the title asks: **Is it really as easy to knock someone out in real life as in the movies?**

Answer 1

Fortunately, I happen to be an expert on both cinema AND boxing, since my dad was a boxing manager during my childhood.

Since the late 1890s, boxers have worn GLOVES, which cushion a blow to a certain extent -- for both the puncher and recipient of the punch (the "punchee"). That may be why the bout you saw contained no knockouts. Also, professional fighters develop defensive skills that often mitigate the effect of "power shots," which may end up landing on one's arms, shoulders, gloves, or as glancing blows that do less damage.

Depending on the movie, the knockout punch may be exaggerated, esp. if it only takes one -- which may be a "sucker punch" that takes the victim unaware. Most recent movies have added a slightly realistic touch: after the hero punches the villain, he (or she) grabs his hand in pain. A bare-knuckle blow hurts one's hands!: