Greatest fights ever?

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 11:01 am

I wanted to know what the best boxing match you've ever seen is.

My favorite is probably Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs Tommie Hit Man Hearns for the middleweight title back in '85. It only lasted the better part of three rounds if you've never seen it.

It was 8 minutes of all out war that culminated with Hagler knocking out Hearns to retain the title.

If you've never seen this fight than you must, just for the sheer physicality of it.

Here's a top 10 but not neccessarily in order:

Hagler v Hearns
Ali v Foreman, The Rumble in the Jungle
Ali v Frazier III, the Thrila in manila
Frazier v Foreman '73
Roberto Duran v Iran Barkley II - '89 or '90?
Sugar Ray Leonard v Roberto Duran II, no mas.
Leonard v Hagler '87
Bobby Chacon v Cornelius Boza Edwards '82 or '83?
Arturo Gatti v Mickey Ward... any of the 3!
Julio Cesar Chavez v Meldrick Taylor

What's your favorite or favorites?

NC43Hog · Post by **NC43Hog** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:34 pm

Well, once again I will show my age because I used to listen to the Ali vs. Frazier fights on the radio as a kid. As a matter of fact, they didn't even broadcast them live, they would give you a recap of each round after it finished.

Sat by my little radio attentively tho and loved every minute of it.

Maybe even Leon Spinks in the split decision over Ali in 1978. I remember that one well.

JPFair · Post by **JPFair** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 12:44 pm

Boss Hog vs Gambit, 2004. Gambit got the snot knocked out of him in the opening round. What a massacre!!!

Aside from that, it's hard to top the Rumble in the Jungle!!

tazlah · Post by **tazlah** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:41 pm

What's a gambit????? :hmm:

I have always liked the Leonard v. Hagler '87 fight and Ali v. Foreman: Rumble in the Jungle!

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:46 pm

I love the fight game! A few recent fights were pretty darn good too. I loved the first Hollyfield vs. Tyson fight -
Almost every fight Marco Antonio Barrerra fights -= knocking out Prince Naseem Hammed!
I'm a Johnny Tapia fan - he's got a huge heart. Gatti is a tough kid.

Overall, I'd have to go back to Ali/ Foreman - it was amazing!

General Failure · Post by **General Failure** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 1:50 pm

tazlah wrote:What's a gambit?????

1. An opening in chess in which a minor piece, or pieces, usually a pawn, is offered in exchange for a favorable position.
2. A maneuver, stratagem, or ploy, especially one used at an initial stage.
3. A remark intended to open a conversation.

washington53 · Post by **washington53** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:14 pm

i liked ali vs frazier

REDEEMEDSKIN · Post by **REDEEMEDSKIN** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 6:45 pm

Mr. T vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper at Wrestlemania II

Texas Hog · Post by **Texas Hog** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 7:16 pm

I loved these!
Sugar Ray Leonard v. Roberto Duran I
Sugar Ray Leonard v Roberto Duran II, no mas.
Hagler v Hearns
Leonard v Hagler '87

Maybe some of you locals can tell me, wasn't Leonard born in the DC area? Silver Spring?

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:01 pm

.. has anybody else ever seen Barkley/Duran II?

It's up there for me for the simple reason that I absolutely hated Duran, and I mean hated him. After the 'no mas' fight, i thought he had no guts, and no business being considered in the category that he was.

But man... it all changed in about 6 minutes.

Barkley beat the TAR out of Duran for probably 9 rounds and it was a harsh beating because iran wasn't a big 'jabber'. :oops:

Duran looked like he had caught every punch with his face by late in the fight and it seemes just a question of whether Duran would quit, get knocked out, or have the towel thrown in. Then he just reached down and went to a reserve level that i had never seen, or since seen. He put together combination after combination for probably 2 full rounds...

... and KO'd Barkley in the 11th . I haven't seen the fight for a long time... so I hope my recollection is accurate. It was truly a classic fight.

I can't believe that I forgot the Terrible Terry Norris v Ray Leonard fight... it's up there for me too. Norris held Leonard on his feet for what seemed like an eternity while he 'boxed' him into retirement. Pure brutality, and pure poetry at the same time. I was begging Ray to go down.

patjam77 · Post by **patjam77** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:44 pm

Scooter wrote:I love the fight game! A few recent fights were pretty darn good too. I loved the first Hollyfield vs. Tyson fight -
Almost every fight Marco Antonio Barrerra fights -= knocking out Prince Naseem Hammed!
I'm a Johnny Tapia fan - he's got a huge heart. Gatti is a tough kid.

Overall, I'd have to go back to Ali/ Foreman - it was amazing!

absolutely loved seeing hammed get knocked silly scooter!!! i have to say though that my fav fight was the first gotti-ward fight. ciche but it seemed like it was out of a movie.

patjam77 · Post by **patjam77** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 9:45 pm

a little off topic but does anyone enjoy the UFC? i hve to say it has gotten so much better than it was 3-4 years ago. just curious.

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:05 pm

butterbean vs knoxville.

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Thu Feb 03, 2005 10:48 pm

I am a Julio Cesar Chavez fan.

Pound per pound he was the best boxer on its prime ever to step on the ring. He had all the great qualities of style, stamina, and courage that you want in a fighter. He had the killer instinct with a great respect for the sport. He dissected his opponents. He was not an American heavyweight, so some of you people may not appreciate him but I do.

But I have travelled to Vietnam a few years ago and I have seen what quietly M. Ali has done for the people over there. If he is a hero here, he is a God there, deservedly so.

skinsfan1 · Post by **skinsfan1** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:49 am

hailskins666 wrote:butterbean vs knoxville.

That one was funny. Butterbean knocked his butt out in the department store....

Texas Hog · Post by **Texas Hog** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 11:12 am

BossHog wrote:.. has anybody else ever seen Barkley/Duran II?

It's up there for me for the simple reason that I absolutely hated Duran, and I mean hated him. After the 'no mas' fight, i thought he had no guts, and no business being considered in the category that he was.

But man... it all changed in about 6 minutes.

Barkley beat the TAR out of Duran for probably 9 rounds and it was a harsh beating because iran wasn't a big 'jabber'. Duran looked like he had caught every punch with his face by late in the fight and it seemes just a question of whether Duran would quit, get knocked out, or have the towel thrown in. Then he just reached down and went to a reserve level that i had never seen, or since seen. He put together combination after combination for probably 2 full rounds...

... and KO'd Barkley in the 11th . I haven't seen the fight for a long time... so I hope my recollection is accurate. It was truly a classic fight.

I can't believe that I forgot the Terrible Terry Norris v Ray Leonard fight... it's up there for me too. Norris held Leonard on his feet for what seemed like an eternity while he 'boxed' him into retirement. Pure brutality, and pure poetry at the same time. I was begging Ray to go down.

I'm pretty sure I saw it and gained a new found respect for Duran, who I also couldn't stand at the time.

My interest in boxing started to fade as soon as Tyson came to the scene.

We have the Vargas / Joval fight coming to town here in March. Anyone know anything about the Joval kid?

Scooter · Post by **Scooter** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 1:28 pm

Reminds me of the Old Foreman vs. Moorer - Moorer beat the helloutta George until the later rounds - then BANG! Moorer got his butt knocked out by the old dude. It was just as the announcer was saying..."George Foreman has no business being in the ring, he's old and..." Oh, he just won the fight :0)

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 2:36 pm

Yeah but George did it with a punch... it took Duran 6 minutes of all out brawling. I have truly never seen anything like it and I have a few hundred hours of boxing on tape. Like I said, I hated the guy so much that if you'd have asked me beforehand I'd have told you that absolutely nothing could make me respect Duran. I was wrong.

I love big George. The man just had the heaviest hands that ever entered the ring. The guy could knock you out with a HALF jab. Truly freakish.

It wasn't Tyson that ruined boxing, it was undoubtedly Don King.... really smart dude... but he ruined boxing because he casts a shadow over every match he's a part of... which seems to be all of them that are of consequence. :oops:

The heavyweight division has been dead for a decade plus. I went and watched the Mike Tyson v Razor Ruddock (a Canadian contender) fight on close circuit. Ruddock got SHAFTED and I swore to never ever pay a cent to watch a Don King promoted event again. He got TKO'd on a BS judgement by the ref. Ruddock was so lucid at the end of the eight count that he immediately jumped up and down, was screaming and running around the ring... so how the ref judged that he was unfit to continue just 1/4 second before that was and still is a mystery to anyone who has seen the fight.

I mention it only because it is symbolic of all that has gone wrong with boxing and in my mind, responsible for it's fall from grace. When the 'anomalies' outnumber the regularities, it eventually becomes hard to trust anything left to judgement.

DEHog · Post by **DEHog** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:31 pm

Mancini and Kim I know he died but it was a great fight and Alexis Arguo (sp) use to got at it with him as well

Redskin in Canada · Post by **Redskin in Canada** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 9:50 pm

There is a generational gap here. How come nobody has brought up, for example, Joe Louis or
Rocky Marciano? I mean you can watch tapes and "great fights" on tv every other night.

Just in case anybody is interested, these are the fighters of the year and the fights of the year according to the International Boxing Hall of Fame:

http://www.ibhof.com/ibhfrmag.htm

Skinsfan55 · Post by **Skinsfan55** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 1:54 pm

What about the IronMan Match between Bret hart and Shawn Michaels? That was a good one...

Oh right... BOXING

wormer · Post by **wormer** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 3:03 pm

First off, while I love football and the Skins. Generally speaking, I'm not sure there is anything a great as a big fight. Especially a big heavyweight title bout.

I'd put a Skins Super Bowl win ahead of it but that's about all!

Anyway...I saw Leanard/Hagler live on Closed Circuit. - Amazing.

Probably the most MEMORABLE fight I have seen was Mike Tyson/ Buster Douglas.

It was one of those "Kennedy" or "9/11" moments. You will never forget where you were when you saw or heard that Tyson lost. Back before the Douglas fight he seemed like such a beast. Seriously unbeatable then BOOM! Knockout! Wow!!!

In fact, if you get HBO they have a great Legendary Nights special on it. Actually the whole Legendary Nights series is pretty darn good!

http://www.hbo.com/boxing/history/serie ... glas.shtml

JansenFan · Post by **JansenFan** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 3:33 pm

I never thought Tyson was unbeatable cause I used to beat him on my Nintendo all the time :lol:

I was and am a huge Sugar Ray Leonard fan. My favorite fight of all time was the Leonard - Hagler fight.

My least favorite was Tyson - Spinx. I sat through 3 hours of pre-fight crap and for what? 91 seconds of boxing?

curveball · Post by **curveball** » Tue Feb 08, 2005 6:36 pm

It's gotta be Gatti-Ward II. I and III were great, but I've never seen a slugfest like that before or since.

I watched Gatti that other night and was kind of disappointed that he's given up his "brawler" ways and is trying to box now. He's a quality boxer, but it's just not as entertaining.

My favorite current fighter is Ricky Hatton, love the way he works the body, and my favorite all-time is Roy Jones Jr. in his prime. Easily the best fighter of my lifetime, he could do anything he wanted whenever he wanted.