What was the biggest boxing match of the 80s? Hype, anticipation, ticket sales, PPV, aftermath etc. What got people talking the most?
Biggest fight on a social, crossover sort of level? For reasons good and bad, Holmes-Cooney for sure. It was huge.
Other is my vote. I understand the argument on why Tyson vs Spinks over rides the match against Berbick but the truth is Tyson made history in 1986 against Berbick. That was Tysons break through fight telling the world "look at me"!
I heard the most about Cooney and Holmes, and learned a lot from the HBO Legendary Nights program about it. But I feel like Ray Leonard vs. Hagler was the biggest fight having read about boxing from the 80s, then Cooney - Holmes, then Leonard - Duran 2. I wasn't there to feel the energy, so I defer, but that's my 2 cents.
This poll completely ignores Julio Cesar Chavez. He might not be such a big deal north of the Rio Grande, but he was the biggest sporting star in Mexico by a huge margin, and he got the publicity and ticket sales that American boxers could only dream of. Admittedly, his biggest fight, in terms of ticket sales and publicity (vs Greg Haugen) was in 1993, but his fight with Edwin Rosario was in the 1980s. Just as Chavez was the number one sportsman in Mexico, Edwin Rosario was huge in his native Puerto Rico. Millions of people really cared about the fighters and the fight. In that context at least, it transcends most of the voting options.