Boxing history articles
In the rich history of professional boxing, there have been many champions, especially in the last 30 to 40 years when things evolved to the point where we now have 4 major sanctioning bodies. We don’t have many undisputed champions in boxing these days, and in the rare instance that one emerges, boxing politics and the corrupt nature of sanctioning bodies usually make for short-lived undisputed reigns.
Boxing fans across the globe have asked, and will continue to ask, if Sonny Liston took a dive, or dives, in his two bouts with Ali, and to this day we have no definitive, universally accepted answer. However, there is one other fight that is still even more of a mystery so many years ater it took place. What really happened that November 25 day of 1980 when Duran and Leonard met in their New Orleans rematch?
Has there ever been a more cerebral fighter than the legendary Archie Moore? One of the finest light-heavyweights in the sport’s long history, Moore, a master at placing a punch – hence his astonishing number of KO wins – used his brains as much as he used his physical prowess.
Smarter than his ring rivals, most of them anyway, Moore enjoyed a long, long career – during which he gave his sport some unforgettable moments.
25 years ago today, a great, great heavyweight trilogy began, as reigning and undefeated heavyweight king Evander Holyfield met unbeaten challenger Riddick Bowe in Las Vegas; the venue for all three epic rumbles “The Real Deal” and “Big Daddy” would engage in.
During his legendary, and very long career, the simply incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson fought many hard-hitters – fellow greats like the recently departed Jake La Motta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer and many, many more.
Despite his willingness to face the most dangerous, heavily-equipped sluggers of his day, however, Robinson was stopped just once: this by light-heavyweight Joey Maxim, when the torturous heat got the better of Robinson, forcing him to remain on his stool after the 13th-round of a fight he was winning handily on points.
WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder scored that quite special thing this past Saturday night: a first-round knockout in a world heavyweight title fight. It’s a sight to behold: one man, defending or challenging for the (one-time) biggest prize in sports and putting on an utterly destructive performance that sees him walk away the victor inside a mere three-minutes.
Joe Calzaghe, arguably the finest super-middleweight in history, scored a huge win a decade ago today when he decisioned Danish hero Mikkel Kessler over 12 gripping rounds. Today when looking back, Calzaghe, who of course retired at a perfect 46-0, has a number of fights to look back on and feel very, very proud.
But Joe has one fight as his pick for his finest, his best; the one he is most proud of. It is the win over Kessler that took place in Cardiff in front of around 50,000 fans. Some fans may point to Calzaghe’s great win over Jeff Lacy as his finest showing, some to his win over Bernard Hopkins.
Sometimes in heavyweight boxing a fighter, with just one win, arrives on the world stage and captures the attention of anyone and everyone interested in boxing in a massive way. This was exactly what happened on this day, Halloween, in 1992. Lennox Lewis may already have been known to a good share of fight fans, due to his winning the Olympic gold medal in 1988, but his performance on this night really catapulted the Brit to superstardom.
In the list of infamous, never to be forgotten fights, the world heavyweight title fight taht took place 35 years ago next month – between defending champ Larry Holmes and unimaginably tough challenger Randy “Tex” Cobb – holds its own distinctive place in fans’ memories.
Defining fights: they’re something all great fighters have on their record. But when you hear the name James Douglas, or Buster as the former heavyweight king was/is known, it’s tough to pick his defining fight. Was it that stunning night in Japan when Douglas fought his defining fight, or was it that weak night in Las Vegas, a few months later when Buster gave us the fight he is today best remembered for?