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I was sitting down the other day thinking about some of the fights that I have seen since I started watching boxing. And I wondered to myself what were my very favorites? Well, I thought it through and I came up with the top twenty. These are fights that I saw as they happened, thus being of my time. And not all were really "great fights" per say, but they all at least had some nostolgia of some sort that put them over the top in comparison to others I had seen.
(#20) Daniel Edouard KO4 Willie Gibbs, 08-27-04
I turned on ESPN's Friday Night Fights not really expecting anything special but was treated to a knockdown filled back and forth bout between a couple of middleweights who made the most of their limited chances to be on TV. I went from thinking Gibbs was going to close the show early to wondering when Edouard would be fighting again. Nothing better in boxing when you are suprised by a couple of unheralded fighters who put on a great show.
(#19) Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis, 04-22-01
When I was on April break in highschool in North Carolina I saw that Lewis was defending his title and convinced my old man to find a sports bar that would let a 17 year old in so he could see the fight. I was glad he did because I got to see Hasim Rahman absolutely suprise me and leave me wondering who this 'Rock' guy was, and how exactly he became champion of the world. This was one that I did not see coming from a mile away, at that point all my young heavyweight interest was still waiting for Lewis to take on Tyson. But on this night in South Africa it was Rahman that put on the real show.
(#18) Diego Corrales KO7 Roberto Garcia, 10-23-99
By this time Corrales had already earned me as a huge fan with his action packed fights on ESPN. On the undercard of Mike Tyson and Orlin Norris it was Chico that I was tuning in to see as he was challenging for the IBF title. I kept telling my father, who was watching the Showtime card with me, that Diego's power was going to catch Garcia sooner or later. And in the seventh round he proved me to be correct. I was very proud to call this guy my favorite fighter.
(#17) Jorge Arce KO10 Hussein Hussein, 03-19-05
This was the first time I had ever been to a fight card in person and I was not too sure what to expect from the undercard. But Arce and Hussein practically stole the show away in front of thousands of screaming fans in the MGM Grand. Back and forth action, a brutal cut, and finally an abrupt KO, you can not ask for too much more from a couple of fighters.
(#16) Zab Judah KO9 Cory Spinks, 02-05-05
I was starting to get real sick of having to defend Judah to all of my friends. I had been hearing it ever since the Kostya Tzsyu fight and I had been frustrated after I thought that Zab might have even won Spinks/Judah I. But Zab proved that he was more then just wasted talent, he proved he also had the determination needed to be a champion. Zab went into Spinks' hometown, on short money, and in front of an arena of hostile fans he took the titles from Spinks and cemented his position atop the division. I was not suprised so much as very relieved. But it felt great to see Judah finally get to the top of the division.
(#15) Felix Trinidad KO8 Ricardo Mayorga, 10-02,04
Maybe it was the fact that Tito had been out of action for so long. Maybe it was Mayorga's pink hair or crazy in-ring antics, or maybe it was just the screaming fans of MSG. But something made this fight seem alot more exciting then the somewhat one-sided pounding may actually should have been. One of the first PPV's that I got my college buddies to watch and after the first round they said "That was the craziest thing that I have ever seen", while I may not have agreed with them to that extent, Tito's comeback trail certainly started off with one heck of a fun night.
(#14) Marco Antonio Barrera UD12 Erik Morales, 06-22-02
After the first fight these two put on, my expectations were really high. After the fight I was convinced that Morales had one, my friend was convinced Barrera had won. But we both agreed while not the equal of the original, both guys had managed to put on another classic. This fight was close, had some moments of boxing strategy and some of pure punching action that was similar to their first encounter. And in retrospect if the decision had gone Erik's way we might not have gotten to see them fight a third time.
(#13) Joel Casamayor KO6 Diego Corrales, 10-04-02
This fight had to have something really good going for it if I was going to enjoy it because Diego lost and still it cracks the top fifteen. Fact is that it was Chico's first big fight since he had gotten out of the pen, both guys hit the canvas, there was a nasty cut, and it left me really excited for them to do it again. I had always respected Casamayor and thought he had beaten Freitas, but I did not realize he would have the power to drop Diego like he did. This was a great little scrap.
(#12) Lennox Lewis KO8 Mike Tyson, 06-08-2002
I was one of those ****** Tyson fans who had been practically begging for this fight for a couple years. But the fight was going off on the day that I was graduating high-school so I was going to be out all night and would miss the fight. As a graduation present my parents taped the PPV for me and I would not let anybody discuss the fight that night. The next afternoon when I rolled out of bed I turned on the tape and my hopes were quickly stunted by Lewis. But the pure crackle, anticipiation, and excitment for that fight were some of the most electrified moments I have experienced as a fight fan.
(#11) Naseem Hamed KO4 Kevin Kelley, 12-19-97
Saw this fight on HBO during Christmas break and it almost single handidly got me hooked on boxing. I did not have too much in the way of expectations going into it, but after it was over I demanded to know more about the sport and this fighter that they called 'The Prince'. It would be called the Hearns/Hagler of featherweights, but for me at that time it was just that really cool boxing match between the two little guys on HBO. It will always have a special place reserved in my memory.
IT HAS TURNED OUT THAT THIS POST IS TOO LONG SO THE REST IS IN THIS NEXT POST BELOW!
(#20) Daniel Edouard KO4 Willie Gibbs, 08-27-04
I turned on ESPN's Friday Night Fights not really expecting anything special but was treated to a knockdown filled back and forth bout between a couple of middleweights who made the most of their limited chances to be on TV. I went from thinking Gibbs was going to close the show early to wondering when Edouard would be fighting again. Nothing better in boxing when you are suprised by a couple of unheralded fighters who put on a great show.
(#19) Hasim Rahman KO5 Lennox Lewis, 04-22-01
When I was on April break in highschool in North Carolina I saw that Lewis was defending his title and convinced my old man to find a sports bar that would let a 17 year old in so he could see the fight. I was glad he did because I got to see Hasim Rahman absolutely suprise me and leave me wondering who this 'Rock' guy was, and how exactly he became champion of the world. This was one that I did not see coming from a mile away, at that point all my young heavyweight interest was still waiting for Lewis to take on Tyson. But on this night in South Africa it was Rahman that put on the real show.
(#18) Diego Corrales KO7 Roberto Garcia, 10-23-99
By this time Corrales had already earned me as a huge fan with his action packed fights on ESPN. On the undercard of Mike Tyson and Orlin Norris it was Chico that I was tuning in to see as he was challenging for the IBF title. I kept telling my father, who was watching the Showtime card with me, that Diego's power was going to catch Garcia sooner or later. And in the seventh round he proved me to be correct. I was very proud to call this guy my favorite fighter.
(#17) Jorge Arce KO10 Hussein Hussein, 03-19-05
This was the first time I had ever been to a fight card in person and I was not too sure what to expect from the undercard. But Arce and Hussein practically stole the show away in front of thousands of screaming fans in the MGM Grand. Back and forth action, a brutal cut, and finally an abrupt KO, you can not ask for too much more from a couple of fighters.
(#16) Zab Judah KO9 Cory Spinks, 02-05-05
I was starting to get real sick of having to defend Judah to all of my friends. I had been hearing it ever since the Kostya Tzsyu fight and I had been frustrated after I thought that Zab might have even won Spinks/Judah I. But Zab proved that he was more then just wasted talent, he proved he also had the determination needed to be a champion. Zab went into Spinks' hometown, on short money, and in front of an arena of hostile fans he took the titles from Spinks and cemented his position atop the division. I was not suprised so much as very relieved. But it felt great to see Judah finally get to the top of the division.
(#15) Felix Trinidad KO8 Ricardo Mayorga, 10-02,04
Maybe it was the fact that Tito had been out of action for so long. Maybe it was Mayorga's pink hair or crazy in-ring antics, or maybe it was just the screaming fans of MSG. But something made this fight seem alot more exciting then the somewhat one-sided pounding may actually should have been. One of the first PPV's that I got my college buddies to watch and after the first round they said "That was the craziest thing that I have ever seen", while I may not have agreed with them to that extent, Tito's comeback trail certainly started off with one heck of a fun night.
(#14) Marco Antonio Barrera UD12 Erik Morales, 06-22-02
After the first fight these two put on, my expectations were really high. After the fight I was convinced that Morales had one, my friend was convinced Barrera had won. But we both agreed while not the equal of the original, both guys had managed to put on another classic. This fight was close, had some moments of boxing strategy and some of pure punching action that was similar to their first encounter. And in retrospect if the decision had gone Erik's way we might not have gotten to see them fight a third time.
(#13) Joel Casamayor KO6 Diego Corrales, 10-04-02
This fight had to have something really good going for it if I was going to enjoy it because Diego lost and still it cracks the top fifteen. Fact is that it was Chico's first big fight since he had gotten out of the pen, both guys hit the canvas, there was a nasty cut, and it left me really excited for them to do it again. I had always respected Casamayor and thought he had beaten Freitas, but I did not realize he would have the power to drop Diego like he did. This was a great little scrap.
(#12) Lennox Lewis KO8 Mike Tyson, 06-08-2002
I was one of those ****** Tyson fans who had been practically begging for this fight for a couple years. But the fight was going off on the day that I was graduating high-school so I was going to be out all night and would miss the fight. As a graduation present my parents taped the PPV for me and I would not let anybody discuss the fight that night. The next afternoon when I rolled out of bed I turned on the tape and my hopes were quickly stunted by Lewis. But the pure crackle, anticipiation, and excitment for that fight were some of the most electrified moments I have experienced as a fight fan.
(#11) Naseem Hamed KO4 Kevin Kelley, 12-19-97
Saw this fight on HBO during Christmas break and it almost single handidly got me hooked on boxing. I did not have too much in the way of expectations going into it, but after it was over I demanded to know more about the sport and this fighter that they called 'The Prince'. It would be called the Hearns/Hagler of featherweights, but for me at that time it was just that really cool boxing match between the two little guys on HBO. It will always have a special place reserved in my memory.
IT HAS TURNED OUT THAT THIS POST IS TOO LONG SO THE REST IS IN THIS NEXT POST BELOW!
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