(Which didn't involve life-changing injuries or fatalities.) For me, Sor Rungvisai stopping Chocolatito in the second fight just makes me deeply sad. Something about the calm, confident demeanour of Gonzalez being suddenly meekish and uncertain for the rematch spelled his defeat before he even stepped through the ropes. The way Gonzalez fell limply and almost confusedly towards the canvas is so crushing to see. Watching his frame seem so frail and small while crumpling under the weight of Sor Rungvisai's hellacious right hook - almost childlike in his descent - accentuated by his boyish features, I can't stop myself from frowning. The HBO crew panning to his girlfriend running away with tears streaming down her face makes the loss all the more bitter to watch. Just thinking about this fight sours my mood honestly. Which fights do you find get you sad?
If it doesn’t include a fighter within my own lifetime, it’s pretty hard to watch any Louis fight after 1948.
Duran vs Joppy,Leonard II and Hearns. The way the once used to be 72-1 welterweight champion gets defeated like that, it's damn painful. Another would be Chris John vs Simpiwe Vetyeka,looking at how John just gives up at the sixth after that long reign,the dragon was long gone.
Louis after 1948 was depressing to watch and so were the early boxing telecasts. The production values were primitive, the commercials were idiotic and some of the broadcasters themselves were a joke -- especially the pompous Ted Husing and that clod Steve Ellis.
Near the end of his career Harry Arroyo fought a Thai boxer who had only 1 fight. Harry won but it was a tough fight. In the ring afterwards he says if I can't ko a kid like this then I have no business boxing. Unfortunately he fought 3 more times, getting KTFO in two of them.
Both Bowe V Golota fights and Ali V Holmes. And most of Mike Tyson's last few fights. I defo wouldn't say I was sad but I was shocked at how poor Wilder's performance against Parker was - he was a complete shell of a fighter he had been. I hate seeing massively declined versions of fighters.
Arguello losing to Pryor. I know that Pryor was a great fighter but the very likelihood of his substance assistance and then the systematic breakdown of the great Arguello has never sat well with me. Growing up I was a big Benn fan - one of the very first fights that my dad actively encouraged me to watch with him was the Benn and Eubank fight. I didn't appreciate Eubank as a young kidda, but soon found it wasn't just talk - that he could back up his words with heart and character. When Benn was stopped, my heart sank and my dad smiled and said, I told you. Damn ... Rest in peace, Apollo Creed (I know it breaks the rules of the thread and it's fictional, but to a little Black kid in London, that one hit hard).
Chris Eubank Snr vs Carl Thompson was sad, very sad Eubank fell into the arms of the crowd with that one he took his beating and garnered a lot of Iove. Seeing Patterson lose always… you just know how much it affected him and Aaron Pyor vs Alexis Arguello, Alexis was much better then AP but he was old and shot.