Some really great boxing matches

**johnevans** · Posted On: 10/05/2009 10:53am

There have been at least two boxing threads recently (Mike Tyson's Hook Combo's, and Favorite Pugilists) which have tended to drift towards discussions of some of the really great fights that have happened in the past. Let's just have a thread devoted to that!

Post clips if you can find them. Say what you thought was great about the fight. If you have a clip and have the time, give some examples of the parts of the fight you thought were the most awesome (cite round numbers or time if you want to).

To start off, I'm going to go with a relatively recent match-up: Pacquiao vs. Marquez I.

To me this was a great fight because we see two of the pound-for-pound best fighters around lighting up an already impressive division. This wasn't a one-sided brawl, this was a true fight to the finish. Marquez coming back from being knocked down three times in Round 1, to controlling and setting the pace for the fight for many of the later rounds, and Pacman demonstrated his ability to use head movement, and the crippling power and speed of his straight left. Add in a controversial decision, and you have one of the best fights that I can remember watching. Ever.

YouTube - HBO Boxing Classic: Pacquiao vs. Marquez (HBO)

**thorthe power** · Posted On: 10/05/2009 11:37am

I really wish I could post vids from work...I think my all time fav would have to be Hagler -v- Hearns. That was the fastest three rounds of of two top boxers beating the snot out of each other I've seen. I'll try to post it later unless someone who can beats me to it:-)

**johnevans** · Posted On: 10/05/2009 4:21pm

Originally Posted by thorthe power

I really wish I could post vids from work...I think my all time fav would have to be Hagler -v- Hearns. That was the fastest three rounds of of two top boxers beating the snot out of each other I've seen. I'll try to post it later unless someone who can beats me to it:-)

I found this little mini-documentary about the fight, but most of the action is interspersed with commentary and interviews, which I find annoying. The actual scenes from the fight start around 16:00.

I leave it to you to find a better clip. Man, what a fight.

YouTube - Legendary Fights"Hagler -vs- Hearns"

**thorthe power** · Posted On: 10/05/2009 7:12pm

**Lights Out** · Posted On: 10/06/2009 9:53am

Wow, Heanrs vs. Hagler. It is one of those fights you don't know who to cheer for.

But one of the most impressive fights I've ever seen was Hearns vs. Leonard in 1981.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN26fJqvoRQ

ATTENTION: SPOILERS!!

Two outboxers known for thier footwork? On paper it would seem more like a dance contest, but none of it happened. Leonard and Hearns, went at it trading blows an trying to win the pace. Hearns made good use of his superior reach to pummel Leonard's left eye. By the latter rounds, Leonard's eye was swelling and he knew it was a matter of time before he went blind from that side. That would mean Hearns would have a nice blind spot for escaping and he would lose the fight. He had to do something. In the thirteenth round, Leonard managed to pull off a double feint who got Hearns trapped in the ropes, his long legs and arms played againts him this time. Leonard then landed a left hook followed by a flurry of blows that ended in Hearns almost falling out of the ring, and getting his game broken. This lead to Hearns getting the fight stopped in the following round.

This fight truly showed how Leonard was a genius, even if boxing purists still despise him.

**johnevans** · Posted On: 10/06/2009 1:09pm

That. Was. Awesome. That makes me think of the Dempsey-Firpo fight where he actually got knocked out of the ring. Legendary.

YouTube - Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Firpo

The fight starts somewhere around 3 minutes. The famous ring-out happens just about at 5 minutes in the video. This was actually a pretty ugly fight now that I'm watching it. Epic Brawling.

**Lights Out** · Posted On: 10/06/2009 5:46pm

Man, compared to Firpo, Dempsey looks like a technician. Gotta remmember this fight for the next time somebody says that boxing hasn't evolved in the last century or so.

Still to this day some argentinians claim Firpo was robbed because Dempsey got help in getting back to the ring. Nevermind the beating he was taking.

Regarding boxing evolution, we can consider Joe Louis as the first "modern" heavyweight, in terms of guard, footwork, and strategy.

But Schmelling found a way around it. Prior to the fight, Schemlling said in an interview that he had seen the Louis vs. Paulino Uzcudun (spanish-vasque boxer) fight and that he found a weakness in his opponent, but "he wouldn't tell".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihT_ewxVko

Louis had, of course a weakness. His trademark combination was a short jab stepping in to dismantle his opponents guard followed by a devastating right cross, switching the weight. But at the moment he switched weight to throw the cross, he left his guard open for a right cross to the jaw. A flaw that he wouldn't be able to overcome in his career.

Not that it was of much use to Schmelling in their second fight, though, this time, with the title at stake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6StIjEli_vU

I take it you know the political significance of this second match.

**thorthe power** · Posted On: 10/06/2009 7:29pm

Sugar Ray Leonard was a tacticle boxing genius...that was also one of my favs!!

Here is another great fight that I believe started all the Rocky movies though:

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The thing I thought was amazing about this fight with Foreman was how easily Forman beat Joe Frazier...after Frazier proved to be a tri of the toughest fights for Ali...no one at the time was giving Ali a chance in this fight.

**Lights Out** · Posted On: 10/06/2009 8:03pm

Originally Posted by thorthe power

Here is another great fight that I believe started all the Rocky movies though:

Not exactly, the fight who inspired Stallone to write the Rocky script was Ali vs. Chuck Wepner in 1975.

Wepner was a second class boxer who nobody gave a dime for. But he managed to knock down Ali once in the fight, and survived until the last round. He would later admit that Ali's down was due more to a slip than anything else, but still, nobody thought he would make it that far.

I've heard somewhere that Wepner, maybe jocking or maybe not, told his wife before the fight "honey, tonight you'll sleep with the champion" and after the fight his wife said something like "so, where's Ali's room?". Hah, way to put a man down.

Originally Posted by thorthe power

The thing I thought was amazing about this fight with Foreman was how easily Forman beat Joe Frazier...after Frazier proved to be a tri of the toughest fights for Ali...no one at the time was giving Ali a chance in this fight.

Yeah, we were talking about it in the Mike Tyson thread, at the time Foreman was considered a beast, and a lot of people thought Ali would get destroyed.

**thorthe power** · Posted On: 10/07/2009 5:51am

Your right! I totally forgot about Wepner...and his wife either had funny sense of humer lol, or is a tougher opponent than any boxer I ever heard of!