Best fights to watch lasting 1 to 15 rounds: Ultimate Viewer’s Guide

EDIT FOR IMPORTANT PLEA:

1) If you contribute fights for this list, please follow the format below as the only way I can update the OP to have the list at the top is to copy and paste — so First Name Last Name vs First Name Last Name.

2) And if you list multiple fights, please group them by round and put a header above them with the round number, as is also done below.

3) Thanks for all the contributions!

Not sure I quite nailed the title, so let me explain.

Sometimes I’m sitting around and thinking I’d like to watch a fight, but maybe I’m short on time (or patience) so I want to find something around 4 of 5 rounds, or have a bit more but not enough for a full 12 or 15 and I’m looking for a good scrap that’s 8-9 rounds long.

But other than seeing random recommendations in random threads, or my own knowledge, I don’t know how to find a good list of fights (particularly ones that I’ve not yet seen) that would fit the schedule or attention span I’ve decided upon.

So I figured, why not take it to the internet’s greatest collection of boxing wisdom assembled in one place: the Classic Forum!

In short, my hopes are that we can create a thread that becomes an ever-growing resource with fights collated in a way that currently doesn’t exist. Our non-Dewey decimal system will sort by rounds, rather than weight classes or time periods.

We list by round the fight ended — so someone gets stopped in the seventh or doesn’t answer the bell for the eighth, it goes under 7 Rounds. If it’s a 10-rounder that goes the distance or a 15-rounder stopped 22 seconds into the 10th, it goes under 10 Rounds. And so on.

The caveat: they must be on video and easily found … no point listing Harry Greb fights of which we have no visual evidence of how good/entertaining they are to watch.

My point here isn’t to rank them — a fight can be worth watching even if not competitive because of a dominant virtuoso performance or because it’s an interesting clash of styles with a puzzle for each to try to sort, or perhaps it’s a fight with dramatic twists. Your call on why you’d include a fight.

Obviously 10, 12 and 15 we’ll have a lot of distance fights from which to choose, thus a lot more candidates.

I’ll get us started, but I haven’t researched this or thought it through to come up with a fight for every distance.

1 Round:
Ray Mancini vs Art Frias
Kendall Holt vs Ricardo Torres
Manuel Gomez vs Jeffrey Hill
Michael Bentt vs Tommy Morrison
Herol Graham vs Jimmy Price
Nigel Benn vs Iran Barkley
Errol Christie vs Jose Seys
Mike Tyson vs Nichael Spinks
Ray Leonard vs Andy Price
James Kirkland vs Allen Conyers

2 Rounds:
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Oliver McCall vs Lennox Lewis I
Mike McCallum vs Julian Jackson I
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Kostya Tszyu vs Zab Judah
Nigel Benn vs Anthony Logan
Tony Sibson vs John Collins
Alan Minter vs Billy Knight
Jeff Harding vs Tom Collins
Park Chan Hee vs Guty Espadas
Jack Dempsey vs Luis Firpo

3 Rounds:
Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns
Soo Hwan Hong vs Hector Carrasquilla
Iran Barkley vs Thomas Hearns I
Oscar De La Hoya vs Giorgio Campanella
Tony Sibson vs Alan Minter
Alan Minter vs Marvin Hagler
Manny Pacquiao vs Erik Morales III
Sonny Liston vs Cleveland Williams I
Alex Stewart vs Ezra Sellers
Antwun Echols vs Charles Brewer
Jose Napoles vs Billy Backus I
Frankie Liles vs Tim Littles II
Terry Norris vs Troy Waters

4 Rounds:
Jose Luis Ramirez vs Edwin Rosario II
Frank Fletcher vs William “Caveman” Lee
Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley
Carlos Zarate vs Alfonso Zamora
Kennedy McKinney vs Junior Jones
James Toney vs Tim Littles
Roy Gumbs vs Ralph Hollett II
Herol Graham vs Julian Jackson
Mark Kaylor vs Bobby Watts
Ezra Sellers vs Carl Thompson
Kennedy McKinney vs Junior Jones

5 Rounds:
William “Caveman” Lee vs John LoCicero
David Haye vs Derek Chisora
Mike McCallum vs Don Curry
Gerald McClellan vs Julian Jackson I
Jose Luis Lopez vs Yori Boy Campas
Junior Jones vs Marco Antonio Barrera I
Tony Sibson-Frank Lucas
Mark Kaylor-Roy Gumbs
Mark Kaylor vs Alfonso Redondo
Roy Gumbs vs Ralph Hollett I
Alan Minter vs Sugar Ray Seales
Alexis Arguello vs Andy Ganigan
Ray Mercer vs Tommy Morrison
Dmitry Pirog vs Danny Jacobs
Bert Cooper vs Michael Moorer
Kostya Tyszu vs Diosbelys Hurtado

6 Rounds:
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Ruben Castillo
Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Klitschko
Marcos Maidana vs Victor Ortiz
Joel Casamayor vs Diego Corrales I
Michael Watson vs Nigel Benn
Tony Sibson vs Marvin Hagler
Mark Kaylor vs James Cook
Ron Lyle vs Earnie Shavers
Humberto Gonzalez vs Rolando Pasqua
Tommy Morrison vs Razor Ruddock
Conor Benn vs Cedric Peynaud I
Jamie Moore vs Michael Jones III
Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Richie Kates
Derrick Jefferson vs Maurice Harris
Matty Clarkson vs Travis Dickinson
Marcos Maidana vs Victor Ortiz

7 Rounds:
Kelly Pavlik vs Jermain Taylor I
Rafael Limon vs Chung Il Choi
Merqui Sosa vs Charles Williams I
Michael Carbajal vs Humberto Gonzalez I
Saman Sorjaturong vs Humberto Gonzalez
Nigel Benn vs Reggie Miller
Tony Sibson vs Brian Anderson
Mark Kaylor vs Buster Drayton
Mike Tyson vs Razor Ruddock I
Paul Hodkinson vs Goyo Vergas
Merqui Sosa vs Charles Williams I
Marvin Johnson vs Leslie Stewart I

8 Rounds:
Salvador Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez
Felix Trinidad vs Oba Carr
Terry Norris vs Donald Curry
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Frankie Randall II
Felix Trinidad vs Oba Carr
Giovani Segura vs Ivan Calderon I
Yuri Arbachakov vs Hugo Rafael Soto
Kevin Kelley vs Derrick Gainer I
Mark Kaylor vs Errol Christie
Errol Christie vs Charlie Boston
Tony Sibson vs Don Lee
Herol Graham vs Chris Johnson
Chul Ho Kim vs Koki Ishii
Antonio Avelar vs Wilfredo Vazquez


9 Rounds:
Ray Leonard vs Ayub Kalule
Ray Leonard vs Donny Lalonde
Sung Kil Moon vs Nana Konadu I
Chris Eubank vs Nigel Benn I
Juan Manuel Marquez vs Michael Katsidis
Alberto Jimenez vs Robbie Regan
Jorge Castro vs John David Jackson I
Chris Eubank vs Nigel Benn I
Herol Graham vs Frank Grant
Herol Graham vs Rod Douglas
Robin Blake vs Tony Baltazar
Juan Manuel Marquez vs Juan Diaz I
Jung Koo Chang vs Katsuo Tokashiki
Charles Williams vs Bobby Czyz I
Thomas Tate vs Merqui Sosa
Daniel Zaragoza vs Paul Banke II

10 Rounds:
Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I
Mando Ramos vs Sugar Ramos
Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo I
Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi
Joel Casamayor vs Michael Katsidis
Kostya Tszyu vs Hector Lopez
Herol Graham vs Charles Brewer
Alan Minter vs Mustafa Hamsho
Alfredo Marcano vs Hiroshi Kobayashi
Alexis Arguello vs Jose Luis Ramirez
Jose Stable vs Charley Scott
Gaspar Ortega vs Charley Scott I
Gaspar Ortega vs Benny (Kid) Paret I
Robin Blake vs Adolfo Medel
Alberto Jimenez vs Artur Johnson
Mickey Ward vs Emmanuel Augustus
Julio Cesar Gonzalez vs Julian Letterlough
Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz I
Carl Williams vs Jesse Ferguson
Jamie Moore vs Matthew Macklin
Michael Brodie vs Neil Swann
Arturo Gatti vs Ivan Robinson I
Troy Dorsey vs Harold Rhodes
Nigel Benn vs Gerald McClellan

11 Rounds:
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Edwin Rosario
Thomas Tate vs Joseph Kiwanuka II
Vic Darchinyan vs Jorge Arce
Michael Watson vs Mike McCallum
Archie Moore vs Yvon Durelle I
Carlos Palomino vs Dave Boy Green
Kennedy McKinney vs Welcome N'Cita I
Juan Lazcano vs John-John Molina
Dillian Whyte vs Derek Chisora II
Anthony Joshua vs Wlad Klitschko
Guillermo Jones vs Denis Lebedev
Kid Gavilan vs Gil Turner
Derrell Coley vs Kip Diggs

12 Rounds:
Larry Holmes vs Mike Weaver I
Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley
Floyd Patterson vs George Chuvalo
Robert Quiroga vs Akeem Anifowoshe
Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Berrera I
Bobby Chacon vs Cornelius Boza Edwards II
Cristobal Cruz vs Thomas Mashaba
Jorge Arce vs Wilfredo Vasquez jr
Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield I
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor I
Mark Johnson vs Alberto Jimenez
Chris Eubank-Michael Watson II
Chris Eubank-Nigel Benn II
Muanchai Kittikasem vs Jung Koo Chang
Felix Trinidad vs Fernando Vargas
Nestor Garza v Kozo Ishii
Johnny Tapia vs Paulie Ayala I
Giovani Segura vs Hernan Marquez
Hector Camacho vs Edwin Rosario
Acelino Freitas vs Jorge Barrios
Michael Brodie vs In Jin-Chi I
Kevin Kelley vs Troy Dorsey
Marco Antonio Barrera vs Kennedy McKinney I

13 Rounds:
Ray Robinson vs Jake LaMotta VI
Marvin Johnson vs Jean Maria Emebe
Rocky Marciano vs Joe Walcott I
Fidel Bassa vs Dave McAuley I
Chartchai Chionoi vs Efren Torres I
Alexis Arguello vs Ruben Olivares
Alexis Arguello vs Alfredo Escalera I
Alexis Arguello vs Alfredo Escalera II

14 Rounds:
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor
Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns I
Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier III
Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez II
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I
Alexis Arguello vs Ray Mancini

15 Rounds:
Ray Leonard vs Wilfredo Benitez
Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon IV
Marvin Hagler vs Roberto Duran
Roberto Duran vs Ray Leonard I
Evander Holyfield vs Dwight Qawi I
Danny Lopez vs Mike Ayala
Alan Minter vs Kevin Finnegan II
Alan Minter vs Vito Antuofermo I
Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali I
Myung Woo Yuh v Benedicto Murillo
Barry McGuigan v Stevie Cruz
Carlos Palomino vs Amanda Muniz I
Jorge Paez vs Calvin Grove I
Victor Galindez vs Richie Kates I
Larry Holmes vs Ken Norton

Let’s see your nominees!

 

Yes. Won’t be up to the minute, obviously, but I will definitely keep adding as people suggest.

I’d be grateful if people would include first names to keep me from having to look them up.

I’ll get what’s here updated sometime before end of day.