Best fight of 2005: Arce vs Hussein, Pacquiao vs Morales 1, Corrales vs Castillo 1, Cotto vs Torres

@George Crowcroft here's an Arce bout.

 

I know I've started watching it already, Philly told me in the FOTW.

Once I've watched that I'll have an answer

 

Corrales vs. Castillo is the answer. It is still the best fight of this millenium in my opinion. Vasquez vs. Marquez III and Morales vs. Barrera I are the closest competitors, but the epic ending to Corrales vs. Castillo leapfrogs it over those two (even though Vasquez vs. Marquez III did have its own Hollywood ending).

I also think Corrales vs. Castillo had a special vibe about it. Those two guys had been funneled into what was a legit super fight for hardcore fans by way of a lengthy, informal 130/135 lbs. tournament. It was sort of the like the events of seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones culminating in the Battle of the Black Water

Keep in mind Castillo had had a major resurgence, beating Juan Lazcano, Julio Diaz, and Joel Casamayor while Corrales had beaten Casamayor at 130 and then smashed his way through Accelino Freitas. It was like both guys had bumped off the pretenders, and now it was a showdown for all the marbles. Epic. Still gives me chills.

It really felt like Castillo and Corrales were fighting for their special spot in lightweight history that night and the ghosts of the old lightweight greats like Leonard, Gans, and Williams were watching and enjoying it from the nosebleeds.

 

Morales vs Pac is my favorite but Arce vs Hussein might have been the best (if such an opinion based concept could be determined as a fact?).

the other 2 are not as high on my list, of great fights personally,

edit: But Ricky Hatton vs Kostya Tszyu is the best fight of the decade and 2005!

 

Cotto vs. Torres had some absolutely hair-raising moments, made even more electrifying by the unexpectedy competitive nature of the fight. Big George Foreman summed it up perfectly when he compared it to his own fight with Ron Lyle. It felt like that. But although we had several Bowe vs. Holyfield Round 10 style rounds during the early part of the fight, in rounds 6 and 7 Cotto was basically stalking Torres with impunity. Torres was exhausted, so even though the fight ended in a finish, it wasn't a particularly dramatic finish. That detracts from the fight a little.

Pac vs. Morales was great with lots of swings in momentum, and it was book ended by mesmirizing stanzas in the 1st and 12th, I think it was clearly not quite as good as Corrales vs. Castillo. Think of 2005 being to epic fights what The Godfather 1 was to acting. Morales vs. Pac was sort of like James Caan's performance; clearly deserving of an Oscar nomination, but not in the same category as the performances by Duvall or Pacino (in my opinion). And Morales is my favorite fighter.

What can I say about Arce vs. Hussein? Absolute madness. I was going crazy with this one. It was a comain event which upstaged the main event (Morales vs. Pac). I think it took everything out of Hussein because he didn't really show up for the rematch.

 

Chico cheated just like Acelino did to him. Weeks blew it!!!!! Ruins fight for Morlocks and Moleman alike.

 

I enjoyed Pac Morales the most

 

Pac vs Morales

 

1. Pac vs Morales I
2. Castillo vs Corrales I
3. Arce vs Hussein
4. Cotto vs Torres
5. Hatton vs Tszyu

 

I enjoyed Arce Hussein the most out of the ones you mentioned but I'm admittedly a bit of a contrarian

 

corrales castillo. i get the pac morales picks but holy **** corrales did something special on the human level, morales just did something special on the boxing level.

 

1 Corrales vs Castillo
2 Pacquiao vs Morales 1
3 Cotto vs Torres
4 Arce vs Hussein

Honestly I've only seen Arce vs Hussein once when I was a kid so I've forgot alot of it, and maybe I'm selling it a bit short I'll probably rewatch it soon to refresh my memory.

But Cotto vs Torres felt like Foreman vs Lyle, knockdowns in almost every round, both fighters staggered in every round on the edge of seat stuff.

 

Corrales-Castillo 1