When we first heard about chess boxing, we thought it was a joke. Chess boxing? Could it really be a thing? Turns out, it is, and it's just what it sounds like: alternate rounds of chess and boxing.

It wasn't just the timing of Brian Norman Jr.'s lunging knockout win over Jin Sasaki in June that immediately put him in the running for Knockout of the Year. It was the aftermath, too. Norman evokes ...

A knockout is the one ending in sports that can’t be negotiated. No judges, no “he stole the last two rounds,” no debate about tactics. It’s just the cleanest full stop possible: one fighter still ...