The Knockout

Swift, brutal, and utterly final: with knockouts, there are no grey areas; a KO is a KO. But what actually is a knockout, and why are we so fascinated by it?

The Knockout is the most dramatic and devastating moment in sport. There is nothing to rival it: Not the last second goal, not the basket on the buzzer, not the putt that drops on the eighteenth green. In terms of its brutality and finality, it stands alone. It's a bolt of lightning; fascinating and frightening; a shot of pure adrenalin...