Taken from a previous thread just reversed. I'd have to go with Joe Frazier during the Thrilla in Manilla. Clearly past his best Frazier put on an amazing performance and had argueable the most exciting fight ofnhis generation. Another more recent mention would be Eric Morales againt Marcos Maidana. Eye completely shut during the first round he battled back and put on an amazing show showing flashes of how amazing he was during his prime. Others?
Good one very amazing performance considering how dominate Hagler had been. Truely showed how legendary Duran was.
Duran and Frazier were clearly shot fighters - totally comparable to this guy in the clip below: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DwEkfU6pHA[/ame] While we're at it,let's give a round of applause to the completely decrepit Marvin Hagler for his brave,truly remarkable effort against Ray Leonard.How he managed to make it as competitive he did is anyone's guess.
I wouldn't say Frazier against Ali would be the best pick, as Ali was also well past his best. If you look at what Ali achieved afterwards you could give some credit to Frazier, but not a whole lot. It's not like a 74 Ali, let alone a 67 or 70 would take a close decision against Shavers, he'd would probably come close to a shutout.
Don't think Duran was shot against Hagler as he was against Barkley. I've heard a lot about Moore-Durelle, but not sure if Moore was shot or just old.
I was impressed with Howard Davis' 10 round draw with Meldrick Taylor and also, although I obviously never saw it, but Kid Berg's 10 round win over the hot Tippy Larkin always intrigued me. Davis and Berg were on the way down and pulled out something from the past.
I don't know if he was shot but Donald Curry had the KO losses to Honeyghan and McCallum and was definately past his best when he went to Italy to face Gianfranco Rosi for the Jnr Middleweight world title. Curry dropped Rosi 5 times and battered him en route to a 9th round stoppage. To be fair Rosi was a ways short of Curry's calibre but he did go on and regain his title whereas Curry didn't score another worthwhile victory.
September 30, 1975 Mike Quarry vs Mike Rossman I 'Mighty Mike' Quarry was a 24 1/2 year-old - 'beaten up and over-worked fighter', but still managed to embarrass a young Light-Heavyweight on the rise.