Ranking Today’s Iconic Boxing Venues and Their Legendary Fights

By Amy A Kaplan - 02/26/2024 - Comments

1. Madison Square Garden – New York, NY

  • Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali (1971) – Heavyweight Title
  • Roberto Duran vs. Ken Buchanan (1972) – Lightweight Title
  • Felix Trinidad vs. Fernando Vargas (2000) – Light Middleweight Unification
  • Miguel Cotto vs. Zab Judah (2007) – WBA Welterweight Title
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. (2019) – Heavyweight Titles

2. MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV

  • Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2007) – Light Middleweight Title
  • Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV (2012) – Non-title fight with historical significance
  • Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II (1997) – WBA Heavyweight Title
  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao (2015) – Unified Welterweight Championship
  • Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II (2020) – WBC Heavyweight Title

3. Staples Center (now Crypto.com Arena) – Los Angeles, CA

  • Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko (2003) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Shane Mosley vs. Antonio Margarito (2009) – WBA Welterweight Title
  • Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz (2018) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter (2019) – WBC & IBF Welterweight Titles Unification
  • Gennady Golovkin vs. Vanes Martirosyan (2018) – WBA & WBC Middleweight Titles

4. Wembley Stadium – London, England

  • Carl Froch vs. George Groves II (2014) – WBA and IBF Super Middleweight Titles
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko (2017) – IBF, WBA, and IBO Heavyweight Titles
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin (2018) – WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO Heavyweight Titles
  • Frank Bruno vs. Oliver McCall (1995) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Billy Joe Saunders vs. Willie Monroe Jr. (2017) – WBO Middleweight Title

5. T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV

  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin I (2017) – Middleweight Titles
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II (2018) – Middleweight Titles
  • Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III (2021) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Daniel Jacobs (2019) – Middleweight Unification
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev (2019) – WBO Light Heavyweight Title

6. Mandalay Bay Events Center – Las Vegas, NV

  • Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad (1999) – WBC & IBF Welterweight Titles
  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana I (2014) – WBC & WBA Welterweight Titles
  • Erik Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera I (2000) – WBO Super Bantamweight Title
  • Manny Pacquiao vs. Marco Antonio Barrera I (2003) – Featherweight Non-title fight
  • Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield II (1999) – Heavyweight Unification

7. Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY

  • Danny Garcia vs. Erik Morales (2012) – WBC Light Welterweight Title
  • Adrien Broner vs. Paulie Malignaggi (2013) – WBA Welterweight Title
  • Shawn Porter vs. Danny Garcia (2018) – WBC Welterweight Title
  • Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter (2016) – WBA Welterweight Title
  • Deontay Wilder vs. Bermane Stiverne (2017) – WBC Heavyweight Title

8. AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX

  • Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey (2010) – WBO Welterweight Title
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Liam Smith (2016) – WBO Light Middleweight Title
  • Errol Spence Jr. vs. Mikey Garcia (2019) – IBF Welterweight Title
  • Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia (2020) – WBC & IBF Welterweight Titles
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders (2021) – Super Middleweight Unification

9. O2 Arena – London, England

  • David Haye vs. Derek Chisora (2012) – WBO and WBA International Heavyweight Titles
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Charles Martin (2016) – IBF Heavyweight Title
  • Dillian Whyte vs. Joseph Parker (2018) – WBC Silver Heavyweight Title
  • Tony Bellew vs. David Haye II (2018) – Non-title heavyweight rematch with significant attention
  • Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew (2018) – Undisputed Cruiserweight Championship

10. Boardwalk Hall – Atlantic City, NJ

  • Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward III (2003) – Non-title fight with historical significance
  • Bernard Hopkins vs. Antonio Tarver (2006) – Light Heavyweight Title
  • Sergey Kovalev vs. Bernard Hopkins (2014) – Light Heavyweight Unification
  • Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor II (2008) – Non-title rematch with historical significance
  • Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Arturo Gatti (2005) – WBC Light Welterweight Title

11. The Forum – Inglewood, CA

  • Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton III (1976) – Non-title fight with historical significance
  • Gennady Golovkin vs. Marco Antonio Rubio (2014) – WBA & IBO Middleweight Titles
  • Roman Gonzalez vs. McWilliams Arroyo (2016) – WBC Flyweight Title
  • Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai II (2019) – WBC Super Flyweight Title
  • Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Frankie Randall II (1994) – WBC Light Welterweight Title

12 . Manchester Arena – Manchester, England

  • Ricky Hatton vs. Kostya Tszyu (2005) – IBF Light Welterweight Title
  • Joe Calzaghe vs. Jeff Lacy (2006) – Super Middleweight Unification Bout
  • Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko (2015) – WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles
  • Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares (2016) – WBA Lightweight Title
  • Amir Khan vs. Marco Antonio Barrera (2009) – Lightweight Bout

13. Principality Stadium – Cardiff, Wales

  • Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler (2007) – Super Middleweight Unification Bout
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker (2018) – Heavyweight Unification Bout (WBA, IBF, and WBO Titles)
  • Anthony Joshua vs. Carlos Takam (2017) – IBF and WBA Heavyweight Titles
  • Gavin Rees vs. Souleymane M’baye (2007) – WBA Light Welterweight Title
  • Enzo Maccarinelli vs. Mohamed Azzaoui (2006) – WBO Cruiserweight Title (Undercard fight)

14. SSE Arena, Wembley – London, England

  • George Groves vs. Chris Eubank Jr. (2018) – WBA Super Middleweight Title (World Boxing Super Series Semi-final)
  • Carl Froch vs. George Groves (2013) – IBF and WBA Super Middleweight Titles
  • James DeGale vs. Marco Antonio Periban (2014) – Super Middleweight Bout
  • Lee Selby vs. Joel Brunker (2014) – IBF Featherweight Title Eliminator

15. Toyota Center – Houston, TX

  • Juan Diaz vs. Paulie Malignaggi (2009) – Lightweight Non-title fight
  • Chris John vs. Rocky Juarez I (2009) – WBA Featherweight Title
  • Juan Diaz vs. Michael Katsidis (2008) – Lightweight Non-title fight
  • Evander Holyfield vs. Lou Savarese (2007) – Heavyweight Non-title fight
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. James Kirkland (2015) – Super Welterweight Non-title fight

16. Utilita Arena – Newcastle, England

  • Lewis Ritson vs. Francesco Patera (2018) – European Lightweight Title
  • Hughie Fury vs. Alexander Povetkin (2019) – Heavyweight Bout (Undercard of Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Luke Campbell, not a title fight but significant)
  • Lewis Ritson vs. Miguel Vazquez (2020) – Super Lightweight Bout
  • Savannah Marshall vs. Hannah Rankin (2020) – WBO Middleweight Title
  • Tommy Ward vs. Thomas Essomba (2017) – British Super Bantamweight Title

17. Arena México – Mexico City

  • Julio César Chávez vs. Greg Haugen (1993) – WBC Light Welterweight Title
  • Rubén Olivares vs. Chucho Castillo (1971) – WBA & WBC Bantamweight Titles
  • Érik Morales vs. Daniel Zaragoza (1997) – WBC Super Bantamweight Title
  • Canelo Álvarez vs. Kermit Cintron (2011) – WBC Light Middleweight Title
  • Ricardo Lopez vs. Rosendo Alvarez (1998) – WBC & WBA Minimumweight Titles (Draw)

18. York Hall – London, England

  • Colin McMillan vs. Ruben Palacio (1992) – WBO Featherweight Title
  • Lee Selby vs. John Simpson (2011) – British and Commonwealth Featherweight Titles
  • Kevin Mitchell vs. Carl Johanneson (2007) – British Super Featherweight Title
  • Nigel Benn vs. Fermin Chirino (1988) – Middleweight Bout (Early career fight for Benn, not a title fight but significant for his career trajectory)
  • Daniel Dubois vs. Tom Little (2018) – Vacant English Heavyweight Title

19. SSE Hydro – Glasgow, Scotland

  • Ricky Burns vs. Julius Indongo (2017) – Super Lightweight Unification Bout (WBA, IBF, and IBO Titles)
  • Ricky Burns vs. Raymundo Beltran (2013) – WBO Lightweight Title
  • Josh Taylor vs. Viktor Postol (2018) – WBC Silver Super Lightweight Title
  • Josh Taylor vs. Ryan Martin (2018) – WBC Silver Super Lightweight Title (World Boxing Super Series Quarter-final)
  • Ricky Burns vs. Michele Di Rocco (2016) – WBA Super Lightweight Title

20. Auditorio Municipal – Tijuana

  • Erik Morales vs. In-Jin Chi (2005) – WBC Super Featherweight Title
  • Antonio Margarito vs. Hercules Kyvelos (2004) – WBO Welterweight Title
  • Jackie Nava vs. Alesia Graf (2005) – WBC Female Super Bantamweight Title
  • Miguel Vazquez vs. Ameth Diaz (2012) – IBF Lightweight Title
  • Luis Nery vs. Arthur Villanueva (2017) – WBC Bantamweight Title (Non-title bout due to Nery missing weight, but significant)

21. Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT

  • Sergio Martinez vs. Sergiy Dzinziruk (2011) – WBC Diamond Middleweight Title
  • Demetrius Andrade vs. Walter Kautondokwa (2018) – WBO Middleweight Title
  • Angelo Leo vs. Tramaine Williams (2020) – WBO Super Bantamweight Title
  • Jermell Charlo vs. Jeison Rosario (2020) – WBA, WBC, and IBF Light Middleweight Titles Unification
  • Stephen Fulton vs. Angelo Leo (2021) – WBO Super Bantamweight Title

22 The Dignity Health Sports Park – Carson, CA

  • Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez III (2008) – Super Bantamweight Title
  • Abner Mares vs. Anselmo Moreno (2012) – WBC Super Bantamweight Title
  • Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares I (2015) – WBA Super Featherweight Title
  • Srisaket Sor Rungvisai vs. Juan Francisco Estrada I (2018) – WBC Super Flyweight Title
  • Gennady Golovkin vs. Vanes Martirosyan (2018) – Middleweight Titles

23. Royal Albert Hall – London, England

  • Frank Bruno vs. Oliver McCall (1995) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Lennox Lewis vs. Gary Mason (1991) – British and European Heavyweight Titles
  • Howard Winstone vs. Mitsunori Seki (1968) – WBC Featherweight Title
  • Joe Calzaghe vs. Peter Manfredo Jr. (2007) – WBO Super Middleweight Title
  • Terry Downes vs. Paul Pender (1961) – World Middleweight Title

24. Echo Arena (M&S Bank Arena) – Liverpool, England

  • Tony Bellew vs. Ilunga Makabu (2016) – WBC Cruiserweight Title
  • Callum Smith vs. Erik Skoglund (2017) – Super Middleweight Bout (World Boxing Super Series Quarter-final)
  • Liam Smith vs. Liam Williams (2017) – WBO Light Middleweight Title (Interim)
  • Derry Mathews vs. Emiliano Marsili (2012) – IBO Lightweight Title
  • David Price vs. Sam Sexton (2012) – British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Titles

25. Copper Box Arena – London, England

  • Billy Joe Saunders vs. John Ryder (2013) – British and Commonwealth Middleweight Titles
  • Anthony Yarde vs. Travis Reeves (2019) – WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Title
  • Daniel Dubois vs. Nathan Gorman (2019) – British Heavyweight Title
  • Lee Selby vs. Romulo Koasicha (2014) – WBC International Featherweight Title
  • Kevin Mitchell vs. Daniel Estrada (2015) – WBC Silver Lightweight Title

26. Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham, England

  • Carl Froch vs. Lucian Bute (2012) – IBF Super Middleweight Title
  • Carl Froch vs. Yusaf Mack (2012) – IBF Super Middleweight Title
  • Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell (2009) – WBC Super Middleweight Title (Super Six World Boxing Classic)
  • Esham Pickering vs. Sean Hughes (2004) – British and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Titles
  • Jason Booth vs. Jamie Arthur (2010) – British Super Bantamweight Title

27. First Direct Arena – Leeds, England

  • Josh Warrington vs. Lee Selby (2018) – IBF Featherweight Title
  • Josh Warrington vs. Carl Frampton (2018) – IBF Featherweight Title
  • Josh Warrington vs. Sofiane Takoucht (2019) – IBF Featherweight Title
  • Josh Warrington vs. Kid Galahad (2019) – IBF Featherweight Title
  • Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara (2021) – Featherweight Bout (Non-title fight but significant)

28. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – London, England

  • Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk (September 25, 2021):
  • Tyson Fury vs Derek Chisora (2022)

29. Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany

  • Wladimir Klitschko vs. Eddie Chambers (2010) – WBO, IBF, and IBO Heavyweight Titles
  • Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson (2012) – IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring Heavyweight Titles
  • Wladimir Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter (2005) – IBF Heavyweight Title Eliminator
  • Max Schmeling vs. Steve Hamas (1932) – Non-title Heavyweight Bout (Historical significance)
  • Arthur Abraham vs. Khoren Gevor (2007) – IBF Middleweight Title

30. Lanxess Arena – Cologne, Germany

  • Felix Sturm vs. Javier Castillejo (2007) – WBA Middleweight Title
  • Vitali Klitschko vs. Shannon Briggs (2010) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Marco Huck vs. Ran Nakash (2011) – WBO Cruiserweight Title
  • Felix Sturm vs. Ronald Hearns (2011) – WBA Super Middleweight Title
  • Zsolt Erdei vs. DeAndrey Abron (2008) – WBO Light Heavyweight Title

31. Max-Schmeling-Halle – Berlin, Germany

  • Sven Ottke vs. Thomas Tate (2003) – IBF Super Middleweight Title
  • Arthur Abraham vs. Raul Marquez (2008) – IBF Middleweight Title
  • Marco Huck vs. Ola Afolabi (2009) – WBO Cruiserweight Title
  • Steve Cunningham vs. Yoan Pablo Hernandez (2011) – IBF Cruiserweight Title
  • Robert Stieglitz vs. Mikkel Kessler (2006) – WBA Super Middleweight Title

32. Hallenstadion – Zurich, Switzerland

  • Vitali Klitschko vs. Kevin Johnson (2009) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Vitali Klitschko vs. Albert Sosnowski (2010) – WBC Heavyweight Title
  • Muhammad Ali vs. Jürgen Blin (1971) – Heavyweight Bout (Non-title but significant due to Ali’s stature)
  • Fritz Chervet vs. Walter Seeley (1966) – European Flyweight Title
  • Stefan Angehrn vs. Armand Krajnc (2000) – WBO Middleweight Title