RIP Muhammad Ali - The 10 best iOS games about punching people in the face

Ever wanted to punch a monkey in the face? What? You have? Weird. Well, then I guess Monkey Boxing is the game for you. It's simple and repetitive, but you do at least get to dress up your primate pugilist, and finish quick-fire mini games to do round-ending haymakers.

A fast and frantic arcade game thats more about reflexes and rhythm than anything else. As goons stream in from the left and right, you must tap the screen with perfect timing to punch their ruddy blocks off. This iOS port is utterly bloated with monetisation nonsense but you'll find a fun timesink beneath the BS.

Here's a bright idea: take a feisty arcade beat 'em up like Final Fight, and then mash it up with an endless runner. That's exactly what Rocketcat did for this bloomin' marvellous auto-brawler. Just add in a few gnomes, a dinosaur, and far too many collectable hats and you've got yourself a must-play game.

Punch Club isn't so much about the punching. It's more about everything that happens between the punching. So to keep your fighter fit and happy you'll have to go to training, keep up a part time job, and look for love. And you'll also have to deal out street justice on muggers and... sewer crocodiles? Okay.

Real Boxing has quickly become the king of the boxing games on mobile. So it only makes sense that the game got a Rocky-themed spin-off when Creed came out last year. You'll get to play as Rocky, Creed, Ivan Drago and more in a legitimately good punch 'em up that marries flashy visuals with real tactical heft.

Okay, so it's heavily inspired by the addictive tree-felling game Timberman. But you punch things, so it's totally going on the list. Tower Boxing has you beating the cement out of a massive skyscraper, and then dodging out of the way of balconies as the tower collapses. You'll have to keep up your punching or you'll run out of energy and get all tuckered out. Aw, bless.

Who would win in a fight between Deadpool and Black Panther? Or in a dust up between Hulk and Yellowjacket? The only place to find out, other than FanFiction.org and my dreams, is in Marvel Contest of Champions. Now don't expect a deep fighting system: it's about as shallow as a paddling pond. But do expect midly exciting stat-driven showdowns.

Like your punching more pixelated? Then you're in luck as SNK has put a bunch of its arcade fighting games up on the App Store. Maybe you're more into Garou: Mark of the Wolves or Samurai Shodown, but for our money nothing beats KOF '98. It's even got Bluetooth multiplayer!

You know what you don't get to do in a lot of boxing games? Build your own boxer. But that's (one of) the advantages of playing with robots. Now, this is a traditional scrapper but like Marvel up there, it's more about progressing and building your stats than pulling off combos. If that's alright with you, then jump on in.

Do you punch people in UFC? You definitely grapple their sweaty bods, put them into greasy arm locks, and whisper sweet nothings into their ear. But punch? Hm, that's a good question. Well I guess you can find out by playing EA's take on the sport, which we called "a fierce and entertaining brawler that's got a lot going for it".