Boxing history articles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC8sAf0ROwE
Who are the best heavyweights in boxing history? This timeless question has been a recipe for countless discussions. The long running debate is something that has captivated boxing fans and historians alike. Ranking athletes from different eras is a tricky business that usually boils down to personal preference and opinion, and this is just as true in professional boxing as it is in any other organized professional sport.
The “Fab 4” is the nickname that refers to the four elite Hall of Fame boxers – Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Marvelous Marvin Hagler. These four men are widely regarded as four of the very best who ever competed in the long rich history of professional boxing.
It was a real jump from the couch moment in sports, and fight fans were almost certain a huge upset, even an unthinkable sight was mere seconds away. It was seven years ago today in Las Vegas when a 40-0(25) Floyd Mayweather Junior met a 46-5(39) “Sugar” Shane Mosley in defence of both his unbeaten record and his lofty pound-for-pound status.
Plenty of white heavyweight brawlers have, over the years, ever since Sly Stallone’s creation hit the big screen, been given the unofficial nickname of “The Real-Life Rocky” – Chuck Wepner arguably being the most deserving of the tag, as it was his ring exploits that inspired the struggling, out of work actor to put pen to paper and come up with his masterpiece.
But one other fighter, hailing from the tough streets of New York, made the nickname his own during the mid-to-late 2000s. Vinny Maddalone of Queens, who made his debut 18 years ago today, won over those fight fans who saw him slug it out, and he won them over with his sheer heart, his honest, down to earth approach and his fearlessness. Maddalone was never a fighter blessed with natural boxing skills, but he had a ton of guts, he was willing to fight anyone his promoter Joe DeGuardia put him in with, and he could really crack, with either mitt.
Imagine if, right now, you were eagerly awaiting the big fight tonight and it was Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns. Back when this one was coming up, fans everywhere knew they would get a great fight; they just didn’t know how great. For the three utterly explosive rounds these two special fighters gave us shocked even hardened fight experts, as the terrific HBO “The Tale Of Hagler-Hearns” show explains.
Often voted as THE greatest fight in boxing history; the result of the eight minutes of furnace-like warfare – a whole 15 rounds of action crammed into eight minutes – Hagler-Hearns has reached a near mythical status. Turn it on right now, and see if you still get shivers down your spine when watching that opening round; this without a doubt THE greatest opening three minutes in all of boxing (name a better, greater, more unbelievably exciting opening round if you can!)
The date of April 6, 1987 is etched firmly in the memory banks of all boxing fans who were of sufficient age to have been aware of “The Superfight” – the astonishing world middleweight title fight between defending champ Marvelous Marvin Hagler and underdog challenger Sugar Ray Leonard – when it took place.
The fight caused an enormous stir when first made official; in large part due to the perceived “crazy” decision former welterweight king Leonard was making in attempting to come back, after almost five years out of action, to challenge the formidable Hagler – this after having undergone major retinal surgery. But the debate that followed – one that continues to rage a full three decades later and shows no sign of fading away – proved absolutely monstrous.
Back in 2015, when Floyd Mayweather tied beloved heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record, the late ex-champ’s brother, Peter Marciano, was less than moved. It would have been better, more newsworthy, more impressive, he said, if another heavyweight champion had equalled his brother’s astonishing numbers, not a welterweight.
Just recently, little star Roman Gonzalez was getting a ton of press as he closed in on “The Rock’s” record, but as we know, “Chocolatito” lost in a big upset and fell to 46-1 in the process. Now publications and boxing sites are talking about Thailand’s Wanheng Menayothin, the reigning WBC minimumweight champ who yesterday improved to 46-0 with a non-title six-rounder victory. Can he break Marciano’s record they are asking (or, in a sacrilegious move, some have asked if Menayothin can break Floyd’s 49-0 record!)
Former two-time heavyweight champ “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon was a guest of honour in a pub in York, UK last night, promoting his excellent and revealing biography “Terrible Times.”
The Philly legend spent around four hours chatting with a surprisingly small number of fans (making the experience all the more intimate and special); telling us so many stories from his great career: like the time he was thrown out of Gerry Cooney’s gym for being too rough and tough a sparring partner, how he was so massively inspired by sparring and training with the great Muhammad Ali (even though, as Tim said, he knew Ali “was sick” at the time; in the early ’80s), about how he would have loved to have fought Mike Tyson in the 1990s, about how great his era of heavyweights was in comparison to today’s.
It took place on Monday, April 6, 1987 at Caesars Palace and it was promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank®. The SuperFight: Hagler vs. Leonard, with Marvin Hagler defending his middleweight title against Sugar Ray Leonard, making a return after a three-year absence from the ring and a big question mark about his surgically-repaired eye. It was one the biggest and most successful sporting events of that era. Caesars Palace was sold out with 15,000 spectators and an estimated 400 million more watching worldwide via closed-circuit or on pay-tv. The media credentialed for fight week was close to 1,1000. It was the quintessential promotion of that time and the foundation on which mega fights are now promoted. And the result? It is as hotly debated today as it was 30 years ago when the judges’ scores were read that night. Dave Moretti scored it 115-113 for Leonard. Lou Fillippo scored it 115-113 for Hagler. Jo Jo Guerra scored it 118-110 for Leonard, making him the new middleweight champion, and completing one of the greatest career comebacks in boxing .
One year short of two full decades ago today, WBC heavyweight king Lennox Lewis met lineal ruler Shannon Briggs in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and a surprisingly fun fight took place. The two men with a big punch and a big personality, Briggs especially when it comes to the latter, slugged it out for five thrilling rounds.