Fights that Should Have/Could Have/You Wished Happened?

Fitzsimmons - Corbett II
Johnson - Langford II
Burns - Langford
Dempsey - Wills
Tunney - Sharkey
Schmeling - Carnera
Braddock - Schmeling
Patterson - Folley
Ali - Foreman II
Foreman - Holmes
Foreman - Shavers
SRR - Tiger
SRR - Basilio III
Duran - Arguello
....
to name a few

 

In the 1960s, a title rematch between Ali and Doug Jones would have been interesting. Ali would win, of course, but he wouldn't have enjoyed any kind of psychological advantage over Doug after their first bout.

Ali and Eddie Machen was another one which didn't come off.

Somewhat overlooked in Ernie Terrell's WBA title run is the fact he had three consecutive championship round decisions over contenders who I'm confident would have always taken peak Ali to the final bell. Terrell is considered a paper champion, but he did eliminate Jones and Machen from challenger consideration for Ali, and validated Chuvalo as an Ali challenger. It would have been good to see more of Ali in the ring prior to his exile, and I think Jones and Machen would have extended him accordingly.

Joe Frazier-Leotis Martin and Smoke-Mac Foster. These were the hardest punchers during Joe's peak which he did not take on, and both came agonizingly close to a shot. If any peaking HW contender could have floored and seriously staggered Frazier during that 1969-1971 time frame, these would have been the two likeliest candidates. [I don't think the Foreman of Peralta I & II was ready yet.]

Here's one out of left field, that was considered a viable rematch at the time. Max Baer-Carnera II. Primo won all rounds in which he kept his feet despite a bad ankle. What happens when he's better prepared, knows what to expect, and doesn't sustain an injury which requires hospitalization afterwards? As hard as Maxie hit him, he couldn't put Primo down to stay.

 

John L. Sullivan vs Peter Jackson 1891
Tommy Ryan vs Barbados Joe Walcott 1898
Sam Langford vs Jack Johnson II 1910-15
Jack Dempsey vs Harry Wills 1920-26
Gene Tunney vs Kid Norfolk 1922-26
Jimmy McLarnin vs Jack Kid Berg 1931
Henry Armstrong vs Kid Azteca 1940
Fritzie Zivic vs Holman Williams 1941
Ray Robinson vs Holman Williams 1941
Ezzard Charles vs Eddie Booker 1942
Jimmy Bivins vs Eddie Booker 1942
Tony Zale vs Holman Williams 1942
Tony Zale vs Jack Chase 1942
Ray Robinson vs Cocoa Kid 1943
Rocky Graziano vs Kid Azteca 1946
Ray Robinson vs Kid Azteca 1946
Joe Louis vs Elmer Ray 1946-47
Jake Lamotta vs Charley Burley 1947
Rocky Graziano vs Charley Burley 1947
Jersey Joe Walcott vs Archie Moore 1950
Rocky Graziano vs Jake LaMotta 1950
Ray Robinson vs Charley Burley 1951
Kid Azteca vs. Carmen Basilio 1953
Eder Jofre vs Jesus Pimental 1965
Ruben Olivares vs Ernesto Marcel 1973-74
Joe Frazier vs Ken Norton 1973
George Foreman vs Jerry Quarry 1973
Victor Galindez vs John Coneth 1974-78
Roberto Duran vs Antonio Cervantes 1975-77
Larry Holmes vs George Foreman 1977
Carlos Palomino vs Pipino Cuevas 1978
Wilfredo Gomez vs Danny Lopez 1979
Larry Holmes vs John Tate 1979
Lupe Pintor vs Jeff Chandler 1980-84
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza 1980-82
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello 1980
Roberto Duran vs Aaron Pryor 1980
Roberto Duran vs Alexis Arguello 1980
Roberto Duran vs Tony Ayala Jr. 1982
Dwight Qawi vs Eddie Mustafa Muhammad 1982
Larry Holmes vs Michael Dokes 1982
Aaron Pryor vs Ray Mancini 1982
Larry Holmes vs Greg Page 1983
Thomas Hearns vs John Mugabi 1984
Ray Leonard vs Donald Curry 1984
Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor 1984
Pinklon Thomas vs Larry Holmes 1984-85
Azumah Nelson vs Barry McGuigan 1985
Hector Camacho vs Livingstone Bramble 1985
Mike McCallum vs Thomas Hearns 1986
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Azumah Nelson 1988
Orlando Canizales vs Raul Perez 1988
Orlando Canizales vs Miguel Lora 1988
Jung-Koo Chang vs Myung-Woo Yuh 1989
Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield 1989
Mike Tyson vs George Foreman 1990
Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis 1990-91
James Toney vs Gerald McClellan 1992
James Toney vs Nigel Benn 1993
Riddick Bowe vs Lennox Lewis 1993-95
Gerald McClellan vs Roy Jones Jr 1994
Ricardo Lopez vs Michael Carbajal 1995
Riddick Bowe vs Mike Tyson 1995
Oscar De La Hoya vs Kostya Tszyu 1996
Mike Tyson vs David Tua 1996
Tito Trinidad vs Ike Quartey 1997-99
Johnny Tapia vs Mark Too Sharp Johnson 1998
Ike Ibeabuchi vs Mike Tyson 1999
Ike Ibeabuchi vs Evander Holyfield 1999
Roy Jones Jr vs Bernard Hopkins 2 2000
Roy Jones Jr. vs Dariusz Michalczewski 2000
Oscar De La Hoya vs Tito Trinidad II 2000-04
Shane Mosley vs Tito Trinidad 2000
Naseem Hamed vs Juan Manuel Marquez 2001
Naseem Hamed vs Erik Morales 2001
Kostya Tszyu vs Shane Mosley 2002
Ricardo Mayorga vs Antonio Margarito 2003
Juan Manuel Marquez vs Erik Morales 2003-05
Joe Calzaghe vs Sven Ottke 2004
Floyd Mayweather vs Kostya Tszyu 2004-05
Floyd Mayweather vs Antonio Margarito 2006
Floyd Mayweather vs Paul Williams 2007
Floyd Mayweather vs Miguel Cotto 2008
Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao 2009
Wladimir Klitschko vs Vitali Klitschko 2010

 

Ray Leonard vs Pipino Cuevas 1980
Hilmer Kenty vs Howard Davis Jr. 1980
Scott LeDoux vs Gerry Cooney 1980
DuJuan Johnson vs Johnny Bumphus 1981
Scott LeDoux vs Tex Cobb 1981
Gerry Cooney vs Mike Weaver 1981
Aaron Pryor vs Saoul Mamby 1981
Hilario Zapata vs Yoko Guishiken 1981
Bobby Joe Young vs Milton McCrory 1982
Greg Page vs Michael Dokes 1982
Jamie Garza vs Wilfredo Gomez 1982
Michael Spinks vs James Scott 1979
Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Eddie Mustafa Muhammad 1981
John Verderosa vs Ray Mancine 1981-1982
Renaldo Snipes vs James Tillis 1981-1983
George Foreman vs Mac Foster 1970-1971
Joe Louis vs Lem Franklin 1940-1941
Joe Louis vs Harry Bobo 1940-1941
Gerrie Coetzee vs Gerry Cooney 1981-1982
Alex Ramos vs James Shuler 1982-1985

 

When Graziano-LaMotta was announced in the papers, it was the only topic of conversation in social clubs, bars 'n barber shops.

 

In the eighties,Sanchez/Arguello, and Hagler/Qawi were my dream fights...

 

I'm just gonna pick fights that could have happened over the last 25 years.

Bowe vs. Lewis

Tyson vs. Bowe

Bowe vs. Foreman

Tyson vs. Foreman

Byrd vs. Jones

Byrd vs. Toney

Jones vs. Toney II at HW

Hearns vs. McCallum

Mosley vs. Trinidad

Morales vs. Hamed

Hill vs. Williams

Brewer vs. Tate

Lopez vs. Carbajal

Pac vs. Mayweather

 

Foreman vs. Holmes around '92 or '93... after both had a go at Holyfield.

McCall vs. Mercer

Tua vs. McCall

Lewis vs. W. Klitschko

Norris vs. Trinidad

A. Cole vs. O. Norris

 

Ali Foreman 2 in late 75/76.

 

Griffith-Archer III. Joey almost certainly would have gotten another crack at Emile had he stuck around. [Keep in mind he was only 27 when he called it quits.]

Liston-Pastrano. Willie had a heavyweight chin, legs, speed and championship distance stamina. He also had Angelo Dundee. Sonny might have gotten dizzy plodding after him. Patterson stupidly tried to slug it out with Liston. Machen didn't really run that much from Sonny. Pastrano was a seasoned veteran by the time he took the title at 175. He was no Bert Whitehurst who took Liston to the final bell twice. Pastrano was better than Leotis, Whitehurst, Joiner and Marty Marshall together. It was well established that one could weigh less than 200 pounds yet hang with Sonny throughout Liston's career span. Not saying Willie would beat Sonny, but this might be far more competitive than many suppose.

Robinson-Lausse. Would Ray have still been saying after his retirement that Artie Levine hit him the hardest of any opponent, if Eduardo had been one of his challengers?

 

Riddick Bowe vs Lennox Lewis 1993-4.

There was a window there where I though Bowe would've beaten Lewis. Had that fight been made there`s a strong possibility that Riddick Bowe`s career goes much differently. He might have gone down as one of the great champions.

Hard to say what Rock Newman`s ducking of Lewis did to Bowe mentally. If your own manager doesn`t believe in you might as well order a large Pizza.

Graziano vs LaMotta is an intriguing fight that never took place. It would have been interesting to see how long Rocky would have been able to stay in there with the Bull. At least until Jake ran him over.

 

I've mentioned this before, but a unification WBA/WBC Lt. Heavy scrap with Galindez & Conteh tops the list in my lifetime. One poster mentioned this fight with the time frame of 74-78. Forget that. By 76 John was having problems with his oft busted right hand and Victor was entering his attrition of wars with a variety (many the same) of fighters. IMO people historically put these two on the backburner of ATG Lt. Heavies because of their latter 70's performances.
Victor was war torn and burned out by 77. John's performance against Saad was not prime Conteh.
After Foster gave up the crown, Victor wore down a slick, tough MF Len Hutchins in Argentina for his piece and John won a hard-fought UD against a solid Ahumada in London. Their prime time to fight would have been the early summer of 75 but the ****-ass powers that be curtailed that possibility.
June 1975, Madison Square Garden for all the marbles; it could have been a barnburner!

 

amateur
Greg Page vs Teofilo Stevenson 1978
Hector Camacho vs Johnny Verderosa 1982