I was just getting in a few miles' jog just now, and it's 90 degrees here. Not as scorching as some areas of the country or world certainly, but I was still hard-pressed to finish strong. It brought to mind a good thread idea. Name some fights held in extreme weather conditions or where geography held sway over the result. Ali-Frazier 3 in Manila in an un-air conditioned arena. No bueno. Or Hopkins-Mercado 1, where B-Hop sagged down the stretch because he was unaccustomed to fighting 47,000 feet in the air in Ecuador. Any others?
McGuigan-Cruz was 109° at ringside and obviously impacted McGuigan's performance, particularly in that final round.
Lewis-Rahman and Eubank-Schommer, in South Africa. High altitude, thin air. Both (Lennox and Chris) largely underperformed.
Sugar Ray Robinson vs Joey Maxim. That fight took place in 103 degree weather and SRR was forced to retire on his stool due to heat exhaustion. Barry McGuigan vs Stevie Cruz also took place in really hot weather. McGuigan suffered dehydration that affected his performance in the fight after being dropped twice. He ended up losing a close decision after leading halfway. Alberto Davila vs Enrique Sanchez took place during a heavy downpour and they let it continue. It was because of the rain that Davila was able to make a resurgence after trailing on the cards and stopped Sanchez in the late rounds. Davila even referred the heavy rain as "holy water".
Jimmy Carruthers v Chamroen Songkitrat fought in Thailand outdoors under monsoon conditions. The two combatants had to shed their boots and fight barefoot due to the slippery canvas. Also due to the rain the large arc bulbs started to burst causing another suspension of the fight until the Thai could have the glass removed from his foot.
Hi peeps, all the usual examples have been given like the Thrilla, McGuigan vs Cruz and Robinson vs Maxim but one of the lesser known examples was the world bantamweight title fights in Bangkok between Jimmy Carruthers of Australia and Thai fighter Chamroen Songkitrat which was fought in monsoonal rain. They fought in bare feet due to the slippery canvas and instead of having water poured on their heads between rounds their handlers were drying them off with towels. As anyone who has experienced a tropical monsoon knows the humidity must have been horrific. Cheers All.
Sullivan - Kilrain was fought at over 100 degrees in deepest malarial Mississippi. Johnson-Willard has various reports of the temperature but was at least in the 90's. Sullivan-Mitchell in Chantilly France was fought on rain-soaked turf turning to mud. Jeffries-Sharkey was fought under insanely hot lamps put in place for filming the bout. Dempsey-Tunney 1 in Philly was fought in rain. Half those outdoor Vegas fights from the 70's and 80's looked tortuous. Especially if one of the combatants was a pasty lad from the Isles.
I was just thinking about low temperature conditions for a moment. I recall watching the Patterson v Ellis bout from Sweden and wondering what the temperature was because you could see their breath. Also, I believe there was a Monzon bout - I think it was the Bouttier rematch but I may be wrong - where it was outdoors in winter and so cold that the cornermen had to wrap the fighters in blankets between rounds.
Muhammad Ali vs Karl Mildenberger, Sept 10 1966, Frankfurt West Germany, It was outdoors, it was raining outside. Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman, Oct 30 1974, Kinshasa, Zaire Africa, it was very hot and humid. Eusebio Pedroza vs Barry McGuigan, June 8 1985, London, England, it was very warm, it was fought outdoors