Leavander Johnson vs. Jesus Chavez. Johnson had no business being in a championship fight as he was shot and died as a result. The matchmaker/promoter, not to mention his corner, should be haunted for allowing that to proceed.
He held a paper title, boxing politics. They got him to win a "title" fighting a nobody over in Italy. The title gave the illusion to a stupid public that he must be at the top of his game because he is a champion. The reality of it was, he was shot, and was KO'ed in three previous attempts to win a belt. Then they match him against Jesus Chavez, (who could fight) and you saw the result. The people in the boxing business are heartless. Anything for the dollar.
This is true. He had been a contender for awhile but when he won the title he was past his prime. He knocked out Shamba Mitchell when Mitchell was unbeaten. But while he was past his prime he could still fight- think he held Augusta to a draw previous. They just let his fight go on way past the point of being safe vs Chavez.
I think anytime a boxer who was at the top of his game hangs around to long is sad. Johnny Owen vs Lupe Pintor was sad. Watching Ken Buchanan being reduced to fighting on the clubfighter circuit was sad. Evanders recent outing was sad. Watching Benitez get beaten up by Pat Lawlor would be sad. Watching Duran get battered by Joppy was sad.
Liston in distress, swollen and swallowing his own blood from a nose cut before being leveled by Leotis Martin. Still , a great gutsy performance by Martin. Ultimately, no winners since Liston still managed to detach Martin's retina which forced the latter's retirement. Some older boxing publications suggested that the KO was "dubious" but they obviously hadn't even reviewed the films. That's giving them the benefit of the doubt for if they had seen the film, then I would have to say that the only thing "dubious" was their ability to analyse a fight. Martin simply hung in there, sticking to a solid strategy and eventually landed a perfectly timed, ATG counter right hand. Quarry being brutally pounded by Frazier (II) and Norton, all the hurt and pain showing on his face. Far far too tough for his own good. A great chin can sometimes be a curse, especially when it's the only thing that sees you continue in a match that has long ceased to be competitive and often compounded by referees who seem to forget that they are there to protect the fighters also.
Drew Docherty-James Murray. That was a real heartbreaker. I read so much about it at the time and since that my memory is a bit ****ed up, and of course I've never watched it again, but it was so - they were just boys. Working men. Not world champions or ranked. And they were kind to each other, glove taps, respect. Working men. It was very, very hard what happened.
I am very happy that was called off after the promoter saw his "training" video. Take your average old man, tell him to shadow box for 30 seconds, record it, and you'd get about the same results. Yech. I understand some of these old guys need a way to make a living. I wish these freakshow fights could just use these old guys as guests and commentators, not competitors. Get Bowe and Holyfield in front of mics, have them re-watch clips of their fights and joke / talk **** about it before some dumb Jake Paul celebrity boxing match. Would be a great piece, and NOT have to involve an old legend getting hurt. Just because Jones and Tyson were still capable of fighting doesn't mean the rest of them will be.
Excluding fatalities Louis v Marciano,Ali v Holmes,Ali v Berbick,Holyfield's recent debacle,and those you mentioned.
Walker-Schmeling is epic for Walker's bravery. But it is sad to see the state he's in. He took a severe and unnecessary beating. And while a sober and properly trained Walker would still have been too small, I suspect it wouldn't have been such a life-altering drubbing.
