By Brent Matteo Alderson
1. Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier
So much has been said about this rivalry that there’s really nothing that I can add to it because the combination of their two names, Ali-Frazier is synonymous with the word rivalry, and what a rivalry it was. Frazier won the legitimate linear heavyweight title by a 15 round decision that was punctuated by a knock down in the fourteenth round. The second fight was the worst of the bunch with Ali winning handily. The only point of contention in the second fight is whether Ali would have been able to stop Frazier in the second round if the referee hadn’t intervened when Ali had Joe hurt.
Their third fight, the Thrilla in Manila, is unquestionably one of the greatest fights in history and was hotly contested until the bitter end when the venerable Eddie Futch wouldn’t let Joe come out to finish the fight after seeing a blinded Frazier get pummeled the round before.
2. Tony Zale-Rocky Graziano
This trilogy set the standard for all trilogies there after. Going into their first fight Zale was coming back from a long hiatus after serving in the Second World War and was defending his Middleweight title for the first time in almost five years. And the two power punchers immediately went at it with Zale flooring Rocky in the first then getting floored himself in the second before stopping Rocky in the sixth. The rematch a year later was similar, but this time Rocky reversed their roles and ended up knocking out Zale in the sixth after being down in the third. Even though Zale ended up winning the series with an emphatic third round knock out in their last fight, Graziano’s victory in the second fight is the one that is most talked about since Rocky’s demeanor and performance that night caused people to compare him to a mad man on a mission to massacre.
Referee Johnny Behr even commented that he felt Rocky would have killed Tony if he hadn’t stopped the fight and if you’ve seen the famous photo of Rocky coming at Zale with blood streaming down his face and the devil in his eyes you would probably agree. Universally recognized as one of the top three trilogies in boxing history because it had the violence of Ward-Gatti along with a genuine world championship in a day when there was only eight divisions. Simply a classic!
3. Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield
This was one of the greatest trilogies in the history of the heavyweight decision and the only reason it rates behind Ali-Frazier is due to the social importance of that clash not because of the fights themselves. I was lucky enough to have gone to the first fight as a junior in High School and what a fight it was. Bowe and Holyfield went at it for 12 rounds, but Bowe’s thirty pound weight advantage along with his devastating right uppercut enabled him to dominate the fight. The 10th round stands out as one of the greatest rounds in history because after being hurt and battered from pillar to post Holyfield actually staged a mini-come back of sorts and hurt Bowe at the end of the round. Riddick won the decision that was punctuated by a knockdown in the eleventh. To this day I don’t know what Holyfield’s camp was thinking because the Real Deal came in at 205 pounds, the lightest that he had been in quite some time and probably would have benefited if he had came in a few pounds heavier.
The second fight was also special and surprisingly it’s my favorite one. Bowe came in kind of fat; weighing a career high 241 and Holyfield came in heavier and the two traded punches for twelve rounds. There weren’t any knockdowns, but there was some drama when the fan man landed in the ring and the contest had to be stopped. Riddick had a pretty good career, but I’ll always hold two things against him. First that he didn’t defend the title against Lewis after he beat Holyfield in the first fight and secondly, that he didn’t come in shape for the second Holyfield fight.
The fight was close and Bowe lost the decision by one point. You have to think that if Bowe had ran; let’s say an extra 50 miles, that he might have pulled it out. The third and final bout was breathtaking and they went to war again with Holyfield having Bowe out on his feet before getting knocked out in the 8th.
4. Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera
This trilogy was an epic and even the second fight, which paled in comparison with the first and third, was still a pretty good affair. The first fight happened at 122 pounds in Erik’s last defense of the WBC title and although boxing insiders expected it to be a brawl, no-one imagined the magnitude of brutality the was going to be displayed that night at the Mandalay Bay. In fact both fighters reportedly only earned 250 thousand dollars for their efforts and they earned every penny. They went at it toe to toe and Barrera scored a questionable knock down In the last round and ended up losing a controversial decision which led to a fight against the Prince the very next year. After establishing themselves as more marketable fighters, Morales and Barrera duked it out at the MGM Grand in 2002 at 126 pounds and although the fight was good, it was a little more passive and this time Morales was at the wrong end of a controversial decision.
The third fight happened in November of 2004 and was a war of monumental proportions with Barrera breaking Erik’s nose on his way to the most convincing win of the series. It’s kind of funny how Morales has done so much for Barrera’s’ career. In the first and third fights Barrera’s status as an elite fighter was in question after losses to Jones and Pacquiao and in both cases Marco’s performances against Morales re-established his status as a boxing superstar. Still this rivalry was special and along with Naseem Hamed’s flare for pizzazz helped establish a bigger market for the divisions below 130 pounds. Really how could you go wrong with this match up, two of the six best Mexican fighters in history going at in their primes? Too bad the Zamora-Zarate clash didn’t come close to matching up with this one.
5. Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson
This series was a war and there were enough knockdowns to make people think that it was Yo-Yo World Championship and the series was significant for a number of reasons. First of all Ingemar’s knock-out victory over Patterson in the third round with his “Tunder” rand hand was the first time since Max Schmeling in the early thirties that a non-American had won the heavyweight title. Secondly Patterson’s victory in the third fight made Floyd the first heavyweight champion to regain the heavyweight title after a plethora of great fighters had failed for sixty years. And to top it all off it was a great match up that resulted in one hell of a thrillology.
Johansson had been ridiculed for years for being disqualified in the Olympics and didn’t start to erase the memory of that experience until he knocked out the undefeated Eddie Machen in the first round. Now say what you want, maybe Eddie was cold or was surprised by Ingo’s power, but until the end of his career no other man rendered him unconscious in the first three minutes of a contest. Liston couldn’t do it and had to go the distance with Machen and Smokin Joe needed ten rounds to do it. I just feel like people take significance away from this trilogy due to the fact that they didn’t view it as a fight between the world’s top two heavyweights since Liston had already established himself as the number one contender with knockout victories over a prime Cleveland Williams. Still it was a great series and based on excitement and historical importance deserves to be ranked as one of the greatest trilogies in history.
6. Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran
This was such a great match up on paper and the fight lived up to its billing. Duran had been the Lightweight champ for six years and established the Lightweight record for title defenses and had looked impressive at Welterweight while Leonard was the undefeated Olympic pretty boy who had proved his mettle by stopping the great Wilfredo Benitez for the WBC title. And to make things even more interesting, Duran verbally attacked Ray in a manner similar to the way that Mayorga badmouthed Oscar, even calling Leonard’s wife a whore. Because of Duran’s antics Leonard abandoned his stick and move boxing style and went toe to toe with the Panamanian legend and ended up losing a close competitive decision.
The rematch that took place later that year will be forever known as the “No Mas Fight” due to the fact that Roberto quit in the 8th round. Duran said that he had stomach cramps, but most boxing insiders believe that Duran couldn’t deal with the mind games Leonard was playing and felt so frustrated and demoralized that he just quit. Take a look at the tape, Leonard was doing the Ali shuffle, sticking his tongue out, and twirling one hand around in the air while he hit Duran with the other. The third fight was a bore and it seemed like Duran was just happy to get the multi-million dollar payday he earned by upsetting Barkley for the Middleweight title the fight before. Their third and final bout was also the last win of Leonard’s hall of fame career.
7. Joe Gans-Battling Nelson
Joe Gans is almost universally recognized as the greatest lightweight in history right along side Roberto Duran and his three fight series with Nelson is also important historically because it’s the longest fight ever to take place under the Queensbury of Marquise rules lasting until the forty-second round when Battling Nelson was disqualified for repeated low blows. Two years later Nelson avenged that defeat with two knockout victories.
8. Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton
Norton was an enigma. Put him in with a gifted boxer like a Jimmy Young, a Larry Holmes, or a Muhammad Ali and he would give them hell, but put him In with a puncher, someone who had exceptional power and he’d almost fall over. Eddie Futch always felt that “Norton would freeze up against punchers,” but if you couldn’t hurt him you were in for a long night. Just ask Ali. Norton won the first fight by decision in a major upset. Incredibly he broke Ali’s jaw in the second round and the Greatest who had underestimated Norton fought hard for another 10 rounds.
Six months later they fought a rematch and Ali won a close decision. The third fight took place in 76 after Ali was already dissipated from the Thrilla in Manila and Ali was allowed to win a very controversial decision when Norton’s corner told him he had the fight won and he went to survival mode which enabled Ali to capture the final frame and a close controversial decision in a situation that was very similar to De La Hoya-Trinidad. Hey guys it’s not over until it’s over.
9. Mickey Ward-Arturo Gatti
These three fights were awesome and established both Ward and Gatti as hall of famers (At least according to today’s standards) in probably one of the most brutal trilogies in boxing history. The first fight was breathtaking and probably one of the twenty best fights ever. The reason I don’t rate this series higher is that even though they brought a lot of positive attention to the sport, Ward and Gatti aren’t great fighters, just good ones, and the outcome of the bouts wasn’t going to affect the course of boxing history like Ali-Frazier or Duran-Leonard. Still at the end of the day they put on a great show and it was nice to see a good working class pug like Ward get a chance to earn the big money his gargantuan heart deserved.
10. Barney Ross-Jimmy McLarnin
Barney Ross is a legend whose name is regularly mentioned when fight fans talk about the Junior Welterweight greats or Henry Armstrong’s ascension to the Welterweight throne. Before those two career milestones Barney Ross and Jimmy McLarnin fought three times in exactly a one year span. In the first bout, Ross was the reigning Lightweight and Junior-Welterweight champion and moved up to take the Welterweight title. In the second bouts McLarnin regained the title and in the third fight Ross got it back. All three bouts went the distance and the first two ended in split decisions. In their last encounter, the referee, the legendary Jack Dempsey scored seven of the fifteen rounds even.
11. Emile Griffith-Benny Paret
If you saw Ring of Fire, the documentary on Emile Griffith you saw a number of clips of the tragic ending of this brutal trilogy. Griffin won the first fight with a twelfth round TKO victory that earned him the Welterweight title and Paret won it back in the rematch. In their third and final fight, Griffin knocked Paret out in the twelfth after being down in the third. It was the first time that the American public witnessed a boxing related death on live television. Watch the movie. It was well-done and boxing fans should always support endeavors that bring attention to our great and noble sport.
12. Roberto Duran-Esteban DeJesus
A lot of people forget about this trilogy, but it helped cement Duran’s status as arguably the greatest lightweight in history. DeJesus won the first fight at Madison Square Garden, knocking Duran down in the first and winning an upset decision in a non-title bout that was supposed to be a showcase type of fight. The rematch took place two years later in Panama and was also hotly contested and again Duran suffered a knockdown in the first, but instead of losing, he was spurred on by his countrymen and won a decision. The third fight occurred four years later in Las Vegas and was supposedly a unification fight since DeJesus won the title that the WBC had stripped from Duran. It was one of Duran’s finest performances as he knocked Esteban out in the 12th. It was Duran’s last defense of the lightweight title and established the record for consecutive defenses in that division at eleven.
Random Notes:
Floyd Patterson was the first person to regain the Heavyweight title and since then, there has been way too many fighters claiming to have won the title more than once. Was Bowe a two time champ since he won the WBO title from Hide in 95? How about Moorer? Is he a three time Heavyweight champ since he won the WBO title from Cooper, then the legitimate world championship from Holyfield, and then the vacant IBF strap. No I don’t think so.
I only recognize the linear heavyweight title and under that criteria only Patterson, Ali, Foreman, Holyfield, and Lewis have regained the title. And Ali is the only Heavyweight Champion to regain it twice. Some historians consider Holyfield a legitimate three time world champ on the basis of his win over Mike Tyson, but Iron Mike never won the linear heavyweight title in his return. Forman had it the entire time before losing it to Shannon Briggs who then lost it to Lennox Lewis.
I love Mike Tyson and I rate him higher than most historians and consider him to be one of the ten greatest heavyweights of all time, but I don’t think Mike would have beaten a prime George Foreman. Nobody beats George coming forward, even if they are bobbing and weaving with a peek-a-boo style defense. Foreman circa 1974 would have knocked Tyson out, but I think Tyson would have beaten Joe Frazier, maybe by second round knockout since it was always Joe’s bad luck round.
I always wondered why Frazier and Norton never fought each other. From what I read they didn’t have to because a number of people have said that Frazier used to beat Norton up in the gym.
I may not have covered as many fights as lot of these scribes, but I’ve been to a lot of great fights before the internet-boom that included Holyfield-Bowe One, Morales-Barrera One, Gonzalez-Sorjaturong, and Kennedy McKinney-Barrera. Probably the only regret I have is not seeing live is Corrales-Castillo one.
Supposedly Antonio Margarito is going to fight Sharmba Mitchell on August 12 and I think it’s a travesty. If Margarito does that he’ll be a hypocrite trying to protect his status just like Floyd’s trying to protect his. Come on Margarito if you want to complain and cry about being ignored go out and make a statement and take on Paul Williams. If you win that fight there will be a ground swell of support for you getting a title shot and Mayweather will almost be forced to fight you.
Mixed Martial Arts tough guy Siala Siliga got beat up in his pro-debut, losing a lop-sided decision to Lamar Stephens who came in with a record of 6-2-1. It’s nice to see these MMA guys get beat up for a change since boxers haven’t been too successful in MMA contests.
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