Fighters who had their finest hour in losing efforts

Yep as mentioned, as brave as Eubank was against The Cat, there were a few performances that were better. IMO Eubank's best was going to Berlin and decisioning the undefeated (35-0) Graciano Rocchigiani. Boy did the Eubank strut annoy them Germans!

 

I've developed an increasingly ambiguous opinion of Ali in recent years, but the way he managed to pick himself up so quickly from the round 15 knockdown in FOTC was one of his finest hours IMO, if not quite his finest. He proved the depth of his physical and mental toughness beyond all argument that night.

A few (arguable) others:

Finnegan vs Hagler and Minter
Stable vs Griffith
Valdez vs Monzon II
Farr vs Louis
McGowan vs Rudkin and Chionoi
Castillo vs Mayweather I

 

can't believe it took til now for tommy farr to get a shout out:thumbsup

 

Farr looked good against Louis.

 

Rosario was embarrassingly schooled and dominated vs Chavez :huh

I'm not sure he even won a single round.

Ones that come straight to mind

Witherspoon vs Holmes
Taylor vs Chavez
Mugabi vs Hagler

 

Oh and Whitaker vs Chavez was pretty impressive in a losing effort:smoke

 

Barrera vs Morales I

 

Oscar Bonavena vs Joe Frazier I

 

Tyson in his loss to Buster Douglas

 

You think that was a finer hour than crushing Berbick or Spinks ?

 

The bombs that landed on Chavez that night would have taken out most lightweights of that era. Chavez beat him but Rosario went out on his shield that night and I will always think of Rosario's performance that night above his Bramble, Ramirez, Garza or Jones victories. That was an amazing fight on both sides.

Scartissue

 

Despite winning a version of the Heavyweight Championship, I think Mike Weaver's finest hour was his losing effort to a prime Larry Holmes in '79 in MSG.

 

No ****ing way. atsch

 

It may not have been his "finest hour" but SSR's performance before losing to the heat vs Joey Maxim (Joey also had something to do with it) was very impressive.

 

thank you! how many other fighters could have withstood that heat when the ref and the great SRR couldn't?? joey maxim BEAT sugar ray robinson in a war of attrition, not the heat. and don't say SRR exerted more energy, that's why he lost...he should have used that energy to knock out maxim, which he couldn't. he lost, end of