27 years ago today: Adrian Carl "The Cat" Thompson vs. Ralf "Rocky II" Rocchigiani II

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Setting the scene: both the Cruiserweight division and the WBO sanctioning body were new entities in the world of boxing, and neither had quite been fully embraced. The belt on the line in this match-up - Rocchigiani's seventh defense of the WBO cruiserweight title - had changed hands for the seventh times in as many years since its 1989 inception at the start of the Italian-German's reign. Of the previous six, Rocchigiani had previously come up short against two (Booze & Bott). The biggest name by far to hold the championship had been Dariusz Tomasz "The Tiger" Michalczewski - but just a couple of months after defeating Argentinian spoiler Néstor Hipólito "Tito" Giovannini for it, he cast it aside to resume campaigning in a proper weight class steeped in history and tradition: light heavy. Smart move in hindsight, as he is a consensus top 5 all-time in the 175lb category.

In fact most contenders in that first decade of CW's existence were former light heavies - or else the shrimps of heavyweight, if they could make the cut. Thompson was the rare natural 200lber in the rankings - and his road to contention was a hard one. Pivoting after initially failing in a bid to make waves in pro Muay Thai kickboxing - and that only after unsuccessfully trying his foot at soccer - he got off to fits & starts under Queensberry rules. He breezed through his first eight assignments on England's small hall circuit (fighting mostly in hotel ballrooms) - then summarily lost his 9th, 10th, and 12th pro bouts. An upset kayo against previously unbeaten Nicky Piper started a four-year run of form that brought him the vacant BBBofC and then EBU cruiserweight titles - until the big test in 1995 against Rocchigiani.

...which he failed. Granted, the stoppage was due to a dislocated shoulder while Thompson was up wide on all three judges' scorecards - but it was a fair & square result nonetheless. Rocchigiani got him against the ropes and in enough of a panic to launch a right hand with poor form - resulting in an official knockdown and Thompson sheathing the right arm for the remainder of the round/fight. The lapse in discipline showed he wasn't quite ready yet.

28 months then passed. Thompson fought thrice, against no-marks but keeping busy. Rocchigiani - now the champ as the first bout with Thompson was for the vacant title - logged double the shifts, making six defenses. He was by '97 winding down, however - just as Thompson was maturing into the world class fighter that would later post two victories over Chris Eubank Sr. and one against upcoming prospect David Haye.

Ralf had always been a level below his kid brother Graciano, and though both started to peter off in the late nineties his deterioration was more rapid and pronounced. A strong finish by The Cat in the championship rounds - using a ramrod jab, looping body shots, and tanklike pressure to disrupt the rather basic color-by-numbers boxing of the incumbent - was enough to seal the deal, avenging '95 and bringing home the gold. It had been clear Thompson had Rocchigiani's number two years earlier, and now the matter was made academic with a dominant performance that laughably ended in a split decision (with the card from José Luis Souza of Spain - an inexplicable 115-113 in favor of Rocchigiani - being among the most widely ridiculed of the decade). No call for a rubber match - they were on very opposite trajectories from this point forward. One man's business in the ring was all but concluded, and the other had plenty of meaningful work to do.

 

"Surely everyone in the Hanover venue and those, like myself, who watched on television thought Thompson won by an overwhelming margin.

Two of the judges scored the fight 119-109 and 117-111 in favour of the English boxer, but when the Spanish judge, Jose Luis Souza, gave it as 115-113 to the German there was laughter, even from the home fans. Rocchigiani himself gave a little shake of the head and a wry grin."

- The Scotland Herald, October 10th 1997.