BOXING - What Happened On This Day???????

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Sugar Ray Leonard was born Ray Charles Leonard in Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.

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Career record: 36 wins (KO 25), 3 losses (KO 1) and 1 draw, and more World titles than you could poke a stick at!

 

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Fighting Harada v Eder Jofre - Nihon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan.

Harada wins World bantamweight title by UD pts decision over 15 rounds, and inflicts the first loss of Jofre's long career. Harada would beat Jofre again a year later, these being the only two losses of Joffre's 78 fight career.

Our own Lionel Rose would rest Harada's tilte in Feb 1968, also in Japan.

 

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'Sugar' Ray Robinson v Carl 'Bobo' Olson - Los Angeles, California, USA.

'Sugar' Ray retains his World middleweight title.

 

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Phillip Holiday v Jeff Fenech - The Glasshouse, Melbourne, Aust.

Fenech makes an unsuccessful attempt at Holiday's IBF lightweight title, losing by KO in round 2 of 12.

Aside from his comeback farce against Nelson in 2008, this was Fenech's last bout. Holiday of course recently made a comeback of his own fighting out of Queensland.

 

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Kostya Tszyu v Ben Tackie - Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Kostya retains his 3 versions of World super lightweight title with a very decisive UD pts win.

 

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Mickey Ward v Arturo Gatti - Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut, USA.

Fight of the year 2002, and the first of 3 wars between ‘Irish’ Mickey & ‘Thunder’ Gatti.
On this ocassion it would be Ward prevailing by MD pts decision over 10 rounds.

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Their subsequent two ring wars would both result in UD pts wins to Gatti.

Surely one of the best fight trilogies of all-time. 30 rounds of hand to hand war.

 

...another one of those great boxing questions that we'll never know the answer to mate.

 

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Laszlo Papp v Alois Brand - Eisstadion, Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Papp in his pro debut at 31 years of age, defeated journeyman Brand, on pts over 4 rounds.

Papp a 3-time Olympic Champion and 2-time European Champion would go on to an undefeated pro career of 27 wins (KO 15) and 2 draws.

 

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Wilfredo Gomez v Rocky Lockridge - Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

Gomez wins WBA super featherweight title on PTS over 15 rounds, in what was described by some as ‘the robbery of the decade’. Haven't seen the fight myself so can't offer a view.

Gomez, now a three-division titlist, wins by MD by the margin 146-142, 145-144, 144-144.

 

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Pernell Whitaker v Azumah Nelson - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

‘Sweet Pea’ Whitaker wins on PTS over 12 rounds, retaining his WBC/IBF lightweight titles.

Prior to the fight, Whitaker’s trainer, George Benton, instructs him to “box him like you got bad breath.”

 

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Evander Holyfield v Ray Mercer - Atlantic City, USA.

The 32 year old ‘Real Deal’ Holyfield’s first fight, since losing the title to Michael Moorer a year earlier, results in a PTS win over 10 rounds.

 

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Pipino Cuevas (Mexico) v Billy Backus (USA) - Forum, Inglewood, California, United States

Cuevas retains his WBA welterweight title by TKO in round 2 of 15.

At the start of the first round the Mexican champion began a fearsome blitz. There was one knockdown, and before the round ended Backus was bleeding from cuts above and below his swollen right eye. Before the start of round two, referee Carlos Berrocal, acting on the advice of the ring doctor, called a halt to proceedings.

This would be the final bout of Billy Backus’ career.

 

Too true.

Look at Ali and Kenny Norton's bouts just as an isolated example. The results could easily have read quite differently and boxing history as a result read differently.

Ali, like many champions post & prior, often enjoyed the decided advantage of being the champ who you 'had to beat to take the title from'. A different concept entirely than just having to beat someone in a bout where no title was at stake.

(the 'beat the champ concept' of course wasn't a factor in the first two Norton fights as Ali wasn't the champ at the time)