Boxing Great Escapes

way behind on the cards then making a stunning comeback. What are some of the greatest escapes in boxing?

JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ v MELDRICK TAYLOR
Heading into the final round, Mexican legend Chavez, unbeaten in 68 fights, was behind against Taylor in their light-welterweight unification fight. He floored Taylor with a shot to the chin late in the round. Taylor rose on wobbly legs, but ref Richard Steele controversially waved the contest off. Chavez won with two seconds left.

JOE LOUIS v BILLY CONN, NEW YORK, 1941
Louis' 18th title defence would prove his toughest against former lightheavyweight champion Conn. Well ahead going into the 13th round, Conn hunted a knockout. But just as Louis looked set to fall, he blazed back with a big right hand. Another sent Conn to the canvas, where he was counted out.

DIEGO CORRALES v JOSE LUIS CASTILLO, LAS VEGAS, 2005
A brutal lightweight title fight ended in a 10th round commonly regarded as one of the finest rounds ever. Castillo twice knocked Corrales down with hard shots and Corrales was docked a point for spitting out his mouthpiece to buy more recovery time. Then Corrales connected with a crashing right hand, sagging Castillo into the ropes and ending the fight.

 

Jake LaMotta v Laurent Dauthuille, Detroit, 1950

LaMotta had been beaten by Dauthuille 19 months earlier and their rematch for the world middleweight title was heading the same way. The Frenchman was well ahead on all the judges' scorecards heading into the 15th and final round. LaMotta staggered his opponent with a booming left hand and went in to finish the job, eventually knocking Dauthuille cold with a left hook and retaining his title with a mere 13 seconds of the fight remaining.

 

Michael Carbajal v Humberto Gonzalez, Las Vegas, 1993

This light-flyweight unification fight threatened to be one-sided as Gonzalez floored Carbajal in the second round, cut him in the fourth and left him sagging on the brink of a knockout defeat in round five. Carbajal survived, and began frantically seeking a knockout. It came in round seven when Carbajal connected with a combination which flattened Gonzalez and saw him counted out.