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Joe Gans vs Joe Walcott (1904)
Lightweight champion Joe Gans was the master boxer while welterweight champion Joe Walcott was an aggressive fighter whose nickname, The Barbados Demon, had been well-earned.
The Bulletin reported: "It was a great fight. Gans was the clever ring mechanic. Walcott was the same old Barbadoes hurricane. He carried the fight to Gans from the start and didn't seem to mind the facers that would either have slowed up the average fighter or put him out of commission."
Jimmy McLarnin vs Pancho Villa (1925)
Jimmy McLarnin was an up-and-coming featherweight prospect when he faced flyweight champion Pancho Villa in a catchweight bout. The great Filipino fighter Villa had the experience, but the 18-year-old McLarnin had youth and physical advantages in his favor. McLarnin weighed 122 pounds to Villa's 114.
The Sun reported: "The dark-haired, short-armed fighting demon from the Philippines, the boss of the flyweights, could not penetrate the McLarnin defense. Jimmy smiled through the 10 rounds, fought carefully and didn't let the champion gain an advantage."
Henry Armstrong vs Lew Jenkins (1940)
Welterweight champion Henry Armstrong was obliged to weigh in 7 pounds under the division limit against lightweight champion Lew Jenkins. Armstrong, is a featherweight champion who was small for a welterweight. Armstrong came in at 139 pounds, while Jenkins was just a half-pound over the lightweight limit of 135.
The New York Times reported that Armstrong was winning the fight even though Armstrong's left eye was almost shut. He took command from the fourth round and Jenkins was down seven times, unable to hold the stronger, superior fighter in Armstrong. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight at the end of the sixth.
Emile Griffith vs Dave Charnley (1964)
Dave Charnley, a world-class British lightweight of the 1950s and early '60s, fought the welterweight champion, Emile Griffith at Wembley.
The Times reported: "Charnley was never in with much of a chance against the champion of the division above him."
Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio Cesar Chavez (1993)
Catchweight at 145 lbs. Welterweight Whitaker was seen to be one slickest boxers at the time and Jr. Welterweight Chavez was an undefeated fighter who had already won titles in three weight divisions. This bout marked Chavez's desire to win a title in a fourth weight class. It ended in a controversial draw.
Sports Illustrated repoted: "In the end, of course, it is the fighters who suffer the most. The Chávez record now bears a tainted gift that is far worse than any defeat... Whitaker knew he had won, but the record books will say he didn't."
Lightweight champion Joe Gans was the master boxer while welterweight champion Joe Walcott was an aggressive fighter whose nickname, The Barbados Demon, had been well-earned.
The Bulletin reported: "It was a great fight. Gans was the clever ring mechanic. Walcott was the same old Barbadoes hurricane. He carried the fight to Gans from the start and didn't seem to mind the facers that would either have slowed up the average fighter or put him out of commission."
Jimmy McLarnin vs Pancho Villa (1925)
Jimmy McLarnin was an up-and-coming featherweight prospect when he faced flyweight champion Pancho Villa in a catchweight bout. The great Filipino fighter Villa had the experience, but the 18-year-old McLarnin had youth and physical advantages in his favor. McLarnin weighed 122 pounds to Villa's 114.
The Sun reported: "The dark-haired, short-armed fighting demon from the Philippines, the boss of the flyweights, could not penetrate the McLarnin defense. Jimmy smiled through the 10 rounds, fought carefully and didn't let the champion gain an advantage."
Henry Armstrong vs Lew Jenkins (1940)
Welterweight champion Henry Armstrong was obliged to weigh in 7 pounds under the division limit against lightweight champion Lew Jenkins. Armstrong, is a featherweight champion who was small for a welterweight. Armstrong came in at 139 pounds, while Jenkins was just a half-pound over the lightweight limit of 135.
The New York Times reported that Armstrong was winning the fight even though Armstrong's left eye was almost shut. He took command from the fourth round and Jenkins was down seven times, unable to hold the stronger, superior fighter in Armstrong. Referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight at the end of the sixth.
Emile Griffith vs Dave Charnley (1964)
Dave Charnley, a world-class British lightweight of the 1950s and early '60s, fought the welterweight champion, Emile Griffith at Wembley.
The Times reported: "Charnley was never in with much of a chance against the champion of the division above him."
Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio Cesar Chavez (1993)
Catchweight at 145 lbs. Welterweight Whitaker was seen to be one slickest boxers at the time and Jr. Welterweight Chavez was an undefeated fighter who had already won titles in three weight divisions. This bout marked Chavez's desire to win a title in a fourth weight class. It ended in a controversial draw.
Sports Illustrated repoted: "In the end, of course, it is the fighters who suffer the most. The Chávez record now bears a tainted gift that is far worse than any defeat... Whitaker knew he had won, but the record books will say he didn't."
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