Tweet
By Cliff Rold - Magnitude matters.
There are times a fight occurs a little off the radar and it’s so good that it doesn’t matter what happened among bigger stars or on bigger stages. 2001 was a little like that, Mickey Ward-Emmanuel Augustus beating out a Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad because it was just that good.
There are other times when an inferior action fight is just so big that it doesn’t matter what happened in the ring elsewhere. 1996 is a great example, Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson I getting the nod over Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez. The Heavyweight fight was plenty good; the other two were better in the ring.
But it was Holyfield, and Tyson, and it was huge.
In a 2012 with multiple high quality fights, the question of the very best of them came down to just two. Those two aren’t like the examples in 2001 or 1996. This was a choice between two fights that, on their own, were action classics. One was clearly bigger. The other, second for second, may have had a bit more violence.
This year, a fitting analogy might come from 1982.
In that year, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I and Bobby Chacon-Bazooka Limon IV stood out from the crowd. The latter took the nod at Ring Magazine only for the former to later be named that publication’s “Fight of the Decade.” Both were fantastic fights (and, admittedly, either would have won out over the choices this year). Chacon-Limon IV, blow for blow, may have been more violent. Pryor-Arguello I featured the higher quality pedigree.
The implication in the “Decade” selection was about a test of time. [Click Here To Read More]
There are times a fight occurs a little off the radar and it’s so good that it doesn’t matter what happened among bigger stars or on bigger stages. 2001 was a little like that, Mickey Ward-Emmanuel Augustus beating out a Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad because it was just that good.
There are other times when an inferior action fight is just so big that it doesn’t matter what happened in the ring elsewhere. 1996 is a great example, Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson I getting the nod over Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez. The Heavyweight fight was plenty good; the other two were better in the ring.
But it was Holyfield, and Tyson, and it was huge.
In a 2012 with multiple high quality fights, the question of the very best of them came down to just two. Those two aren’t like the examples in 2001 or 1996. This was a choice between two fights that, on their own, were action classics. One was clearly bigger. The other, second for second, may have had a bit more violence.
This year, a fitting analogy might come from 1982.
In that year, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I and Bobby Chacon-Bazooka Limon IV stood out from the crowd. The latter took the nod at Ring Magazine only for the former to later be named that publication’s “Fight of the Decade.” Both were fantastic fights (and, admittedly, either would have won out over the choices this year). Chacon-Limon IV, blow for blow, may have been more violent. Pryor-Arguello I featured the higher quality pedigree.
The implication in the “Decade” selection was about a test of time. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment