Anyone have any good recommendations of fights, at any weight class, where the difference in skill is just ridiculous? I don't mean fights that end in a quick KO. I mean fights like Holmes-Cobb, where Holmes looked like the God of Boxing in terms of skill compared to Cobb.
Most fighters we consider ATG's on their way up the ranks prior to their world title wins..... Ali, Leonard , Hearns, Duran, etc. The skill level difference are so obvious it's scary at times......
Nicolino vs Fuji. It wasn’t as if Fuji was a bum or anything like the Cobb vs Holmes fight, Nico created a gulf in skill so absurd he allegedly let Fuji make contact a few times not to embarrass him in front of his people.
Eubank-Cronin The skill was countering in combination with speed, power and timing at all ranges. So it didn’t last long against a come-forward, aggressive powerhouse.
Chuck Wepner was very much at the short end v Liston and Ali. The difference between Ali v Chuvalo in 66 was one of the more substantial. Also watch Liston v Besmanoff - completely ONE way, an absolute clinic put on by Sonny - stunning fusion of pure skill and bone crunching power - how Besmanoff stayed on his feet and lasted as long as he did is anybody’s guess.
Actually a number of Ali`s early fights were close, like v Banks and Jones. The first time Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was ever knocked down was by Sonny Banks in the first round of their fight in 1962. It was just Ali's 11th fight. Ali was knocked down for the second time by British fighter Henry Cooper at the end of the fourth round in 1963.