...only to come out so disillusioned. This is quote-ish of something Mickey Duff once said after his charge Bunny Johnson lost in a Euro title challenge at 175 to Aldo Traversero. The line always stuck with me and I sat down today just thinking of me as a fan. How many fights was I looking forward to only to end up sitting there with my mouth hanging open at the TV or a magazine or a newspaper with a result that went awry (for me anyway). Here's a smattering of fights I was sooooo sure the loser would win. Hedgemon Lewis - John Stracey Armando Muniz - Carlo Palomino I Victor Galindez - Mike Rossman I Ruben Castillo - Juan LaPorte Donald Curry - Rene Jacquot John Conteh - Mate Parlov Bennie Briscoe - Rodrigo Valdes II Ronnie Shields - Tsuyoshi Hamada Rodolfo Gonzalez - Ishimatsu Suzuki I & II Ken Buchanan - Ishimatsu Suzuki (clearly I didn't think much of Suzuki) It probably hurt worse if you were a fan of the losing fighter, but I think you get my drift. I'm not just talking about upsets, but those that really hit home. How many have you got?
The John H. Stracey v. Hedgemon Lewis fight is probably an underrated/forgotten performance from a British fighter. I'm guessing Hedgemon was some degree past his prime but for Stracey to beat a fighter as classy as that, having already dethroned the great Jose Napoles, he deserves plenty of credit. A year later he's losing to Dave "Boy" Green, so go figure.
I think Duane Thomas v John Mugabi fits the bill. The ending was controversial but Mugabi looked poor from the opening bell. It was not just an upset but a real disappointment.
Don't read anything into it, it was strictly out of fandom. I was a big fan of Briscoe's and read reports that he may have been robbed against Valdes in New Caledonia. Bennie had momentum going after the Mundine fight and I just worked myself into total belief that he was going to take Valdes.
The big one for me is Spinks-C00ney. I just knew Gerry would steamroll Spinks, much like Tyson did a year later (when I bet a few bucks with a friend on Spinks, though not confidently). I've told this story before - I was in the Navy out at sea when Spinks-C00ney happened. The first rumors to circulate on the ship were that C00ney KO'd Spinks in round 2, severely breaking his jaw. My first thought was, "Poor Michael. He was bound to get blasted out when he went up against a big, powerful heavy." Imagine my surprise when the real result came through.
Foreman - Moorer for me. All the way until the 10th round of the fight... Not a huge upset or anything but I was a big Moorer fan and didn't think much of Comeback George, especially at that point.
agreed. i was totally confident that gerry would blast him. hardly the last time i've been wrong, though.. you win some, you lose some. for example: i was 98% sure holyfield would beat tyson
Micky Duff and George Franicis probably thought the same after their heavily favored charge, Tony Sibson, lost to "Dangerous" Don Lee. That was a huge upset. Or, when heavily favored Cornelius-Boza Edwards was surprisingly stopped by Rolando Navarrete.