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Banned
Join Date: Dec 2007
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This is NOT my list. I pulled this from ESPN's archives and thought some of you might be interested.
10. Jimmy Carter TKO14 Ike Williams, New York -- May 25, 1951
It was 17 months since Ike Williams had last made the lightweight limit when the great champ from Newark, N.J., defended his title against underdog Jimmy Carter. The day before the fight, Williams did a 15-round workout at his training camp in Pompton Lakes, N.J., plus the usual drying-out process, to shed weight prior to the next day's noon weigh-in. "The workout included no boxing but otherwise was a sharp departure from customary pre-fight training procedure," The New York Times reported.
Despite Williams' weight struggles, he remained a betting favorite. The boxing public had little faith in Carter, a Bronx resident born in South Carolina who had won only one of his past four bouts. A crowd of only 3,595 -- the smallest ever for a boxing match at the Garden up to that time -- saw one of the most notable upsets in lightweight history as Carter knocked down a weight-weakened Williams four times before referee Petey Scalzo stopped the fight at 2:49 of the 14th.
9. Julio Cesar Chavez TKO11 Edwin Rosario, Las Vegas -- Nov. 21, 1987
What had looked like a competitive, evenly contested bout on paper turned out to be a mismatch as Chavez, moving up from 130 pounds, methodically broke down and finally overwhelmed a game but outclassed Rosario in the Mexico versus Puerto Rico showdown.
"Chavez repeatedly trapped Rosario against the ropes or in Rosario's own corner and pounded away with hooks and combinations to the head," Royce Feour reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. By the 11th, Rosario's left eye was swollen shut and he was cut over the right eye and bleeding from the nose and mouth. Referee Richard Steele rescued him at 2:36 of the 11th round as the Puerto Rican's trainer got up onto the ring apron and waved a towel to signal surrender.
8. Alexis Arguello TKO14 Ray Mancini, Atlantic City, N.J. -- Oct. 3, 1981
Ray Mancini, left, gave almost as good as he got in dropping a title challenge to Alexis Arguello.
- Much was made of Mancini seeking to win the title for his father, Lenny, whose own career as a contender was ended by service in World War II. With his father watching from a wheelchair at ringside after undergoing coronary bypass surgery, the 20-year-old Mancini fought with great courage before being worn down and stopped by the much more experienced champion. The challenger from Youngstown, Ohio, was even on two judges' scorecards after 10 rounds, but referee Tony Perez intervened after Mancini, with blood coming from his mouth, had been dropped in the 12th and 14th rounds.
7. Roberto Duran TKO end of 13 Ken Buchanan, New York -- June 27, 1972
A 21-year-old Roberto Duran, right, showed signs of brilliance in beating Ken Buchanan in 1972.
A star was born when Roberto Duran hammered his way to victory over the more seasoned Scottish world champion Ken Buchanan. Although the ending was somewhat controversial, with Buchanan collapsing after being hit by a right that landed below the belt and retiring in his corner, Duran had dominated the fight. Things started badly for Buchanan when a right hand bowled him over in the first round, although he indicated that he had slipped. Things never improved. The more stylish boxer, Buchanan was overwhelmed by Duran's relentless aggression and fast, hard punching, while Hispanic fans chanted "Doo-ran, Doo-ran." Buchanan jabbed and hooked as best he could but the 21-year-old Panamanian challenger stormed past his defenses.
"I would say Buchanan has one hope, and that is that Duran may have punched himself out before the end," commentator Don Dunphy remarked in the ninth round. Unfortunately for Buchanan, that never happened.
6. Diego Corrales TKO10 Jose Luis Castillo, Las Vegas -- May 7, 2005
This fight is still fresh in our memories and it was such an incredible war of attrition that we couldn't leave it out of this list. The change of fortune in the 10th round was unforgettable. Corrales, down twice and looking on the very edge of extinction, somehow rallied to hurt and stop Castillo, to the amazement of the onlookers. Castillo's camp complained about Corrales getting a respite by dropping his mouthpiece (for which he was penalized a point) but all agreed that Chico showed the heart of a true warrior.
5. Ad Wolgast TKO40 Battling Nelson, Point Richmond, Calif. -- Feb. 22, 1910
Ad Wolgast, right, and Battling Nelson took turns teeing off on each other in their epic struggle in 1910.
The meeting of Wolgast and Nelson was one of the most brutal in boxing history, "one of the fiercest, longest and most grueling battles ever fought" as the old United Press news agency reported.
Nelson, whose toughness was celebrated in his nickname of "The Durable Dane," took terrible punishment but protested when referee Eddie Smith stopped the fight. Nelson's face was "pummelled beyond recognition" and his boxing trunks and legs were "covered with gore," that flowed from his nose, mouth and a badly cut ear. "It has been said by fistic experts time and again that the only fighter who could ever hope to beat the Dane would be one who would meet him at his own style of milling, and simply wear him out," UP reported. "Wolgast proved to be the man."
4. Bob Montgomery W15 Beau Jack, New York -- May 21, 1943
Two of the lightweight division's greatest fighters, Philadelphia's Montgomery and Jack from Augusta, Ga., fought each other three times in championship bouts in a 10-month span from May 1943 to March 1944. Montgomery came out ahead 2-1 -- then lost to Jack in a nontitle 10-rounder as the rivalry ended with two wins each. The initial meeting in May 1943 was considered the most dramatic because Montgomery was almost stopped in the first round, then rallied from the brink of defeat to stagger Jack before the bell ended a sensational three minutes of fighting.
"It was a pippin of a fight," Nat Fleischer reported in The Ring, "one of the best lightweight bouts seen in New York in many moons, and not a boo was heard when the officials unanimously declared Montgomery the new champ."
3. Tony Canzoneri W15 Kid Chocolate, New York -- Nov. 20, 1931
Making his third title defense in 12 months, Canzoneri fought a consistent, steady-pressure fight, but Chocolate tended to finish the rounds with spectacular bursts of punching which impressed the crowd of 19,000. The split decision in favor of Canzoneri was highly unpopular. "Catcalls came from all parts of the building," James P. Dawson reported in The New York Times. "Excited fans tossed papers and hats high in the air, some of the fans tossing cigarette and cigar stubs into the ring." Dawson, though, felt that the crowd's angry reaction to the verdict was unjustified. "Canzoneri never stopped tearing in on the attack," Dawson wrote. "He was like a bulldog in ferocity and determination, piling into Chocolate for most of every one of the fifteen rounds, only at times to be sidetracked by the counter-offensive of the desperate Cuban."
2. Benny Leonard W15 Lew Tendler, New York -- July 23, 1923
A crowd of 60,000 saw New York's brilliant Benny Leonard give the hard-hitting Philadelphian southpaw Lew Tendler a boxing lesson.
"Only a knockout victory for Leonard could have made more convincing the defeat of the challenger," The New York Times reported. It had been a classic display by the "wonderful Harlem lad" that was much appreciated by the huge assembly. "When the decision was announced all of that vast crowd that could push forward surged about the ringside to greet Leonard as he left the ring," the Times report noted. "The others simply stood in their seats and yelled themselves hoarse in acclaiming the conquering champion, with one of the wildest demonstrations Leonard, always a popular champion, ever received."
1. Henry Armstrong W15 Lou Ambers, New York -- Aug. 17, 1938
Despite dropping Lou Ambers twice, Henry Armstrong was considered lucky to be awarded the decision.
The astonishing Armstrong held the featherweight and welterweight titles and was seeking to become the first fighter in history to hold three championships simultaneously in three weight classes. A prefight contractual agreement stipulated that Ambers would not claim the welter title should he win. Armstrong achieved his historic victory with an unpopular split decision victory before a crowd of 20,000. Ambers was dropped twice, but Armstrong had three rounds taken from him for low blows. Blood flowed from an ugly slice on Armstrong's lower lip.
"Henry looked the vanquished instead of the victor as the conquered and conqueror left the ring," The New York Times reported, "Ambers to the ear-splitting cheers of partisan admirers; Armstrong to a demonstration of disapproval that was as unsportsmanlike as it was unjustified."
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11-19-2008, 06:59 PM
