BOXING - What Happened On This Day???????

Seems like yesterday doesn't it Bollox.

Doubt we'll see the likes of another era like that where we had Duran, Hearns, Leonard and Hagler all pretty much prime and dangerous.

 

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Muhammad Ali v Ken Norton - Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, USA.

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Ali retains his World heavyweight title by UD over 15 rounds.

Norton was right in this one and the score cards later showed if he'd won the final round the title was his.

This was the 3rd meeting between the pair, and though I'm a big Ali fan, I reckon he was extremely lucky to get out of it 2 wins to 1.

 

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Muhammad Ali v Earnie Shavers, Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA.

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Ali retains his World heavyweight title on PTS over 15 rounds.

Ali's

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victory in a world heavyweight championship fight. Ali always maintained Shavers was the hardest puncher he ever faced.

 

Ha, ha! ...and those were the days when the 'world' titles were infinantly simpler!

Fair call though - that's what you get for sometimes blindly following published assessments of history - that are factually wrong.

Good pick-up Ippy!

 

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Jermain Taylor v Kelly Pavlik - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA.

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Pavlik wins the World middleweight title by TKO in round 7 of 12.

The pair would meet again a few months later with Pavlik AGAIN prevailing - this time on PTS.

 

Was watching a video the other day about the 3 round epic between Hagler and Hearns. In the build-up footage they showed the scenes immediately following Minter v Hagler (which was of course 5 years prior). The Wembley crowd weren't too keen on the cuts stoppage Josey!

Yeah, you're right about Shavers. Will see what I can dig up mate - thanks for the tip.

 

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Benny Paret v Emile Griffith - Madison Square Garden, New York, USA.

Benny 'Kid' Paret regains the World welterweight title he lost to Griffiths in his previous bout on PTS over 15 rounds.

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This was the second of their very spirited trilogy of bouts - Griffith would prevail 2/1 -but sadly the 3rd bout would bring a tragic end to Paret's life.

The final seconds of this bout with Griffith pounding a defenceless Paret in the corner, and referee Goldstein nowhere to be seen, are as tragic as boxing gets.

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If unfamiliar with this story would recommend the doco Ring of Fire.

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Anniversary of The Thriller in Manila.


Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier - Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

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Ali retains his WBC & WBA world heavyweight titles when 'Smokin' Joe is unable to come out for the 15th and final round.

The Thriller in Manila - the 3rd bout in the trilogy - enough said!

 

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(30 years ago today)


Larry Holmes v Muhammad Ali - Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

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Holmes retains his WBC world heavyweight title by the round 10 forces retirement of Ali.

Sad that Ali kept going past Norton III in my opinion - some would argue for much earlier than that. I guess those early years he lost (perhaps his prime we never saw) were a factor in him trying to eke out more than he should have at the end.

 

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Koichi Wajima v Matt Donovan - Nihon University Auditorium, Tokyo, Japan.

Waijima retains his WBC & WBA light middleweight titles by KO in round 3 of 15.

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...pictured Koichi Wajima.


Trinidadian Donovan was a dubious world title challenger, not unfamiliar with counting the holes in the stadium roof. He would challenge our own Tony Mundine for the Commonwealth middleweight title a year later and again not see the 4th round.

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....Koichi Wajima is at left in the top right hand picture vs Jae-Goo Yuh - 1976.

 

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Birthdate of 'Irish' Micky Ward.

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Ward, the Massachusetts born light welterweight is best remembered for the final 3 fights of his career - the trilogy of trilogies against Arturo Gatti.

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There is a film being released soon on Ward's life called 'The Fighter', starting Mark Wahlberg. It is unlikely to be seen in Oz until the first quarter of 2011, and probably under an alternate movie name.

 

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(25 years ago today)


Hilario Zapata v Alonzo Ganzalez - Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, Panama City, Panama.

Zapata wins the vacant WBA world flyweight title by UD over 15 rounds.

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Zapata received his first pair of boxing gloves at age 12 from none other than Roberto Duran. He was a two time world junior flyweight champion, first winning the title in only his 12 professional fight.