Famous sparring beatdowns

Great thread. I've like to see more videos with these stories.

I always admired the 17yr old Mosleys handling of Julio Cesar Chavez in Mexico. Not a 'beatdown' but definitely worth watching (on youtube)

Roberto Duran schooling Nigel Benn after retirement. Ali and Hearns is out there too.

 

Not sure if it was mentioned yet but...the guy who flash dropped Mike Tyson before the Douglas fight was Greg Page...

 

Thomas Hearns breaking Marlon Starlings jaw in sparring in 1981 getting ready for Sugar Ray Leonard and bruising Mike McCallum's ribs when getting ready to fight Luigi Minchillo.

 

I remember when that happened with Marlon and Tommy...to be fair, Marlon was young pro at the time and Hearns was the killer of 147...Marlon had an impacted wisdom tooth at the time also...

 

that wasnt a schoollage.

 

CURTIS COKES TOLD ME THE SAME THING.....ABOUT IKE AND KIRK....ITS NO LIE:rasta

 

hey John, nice to see you on here. On aol I am Mag6333. Take care.

 

No idea about Tony Tubbs, but the story about Raphael Butler and Travis Walker is assholery at its finest. Vitali had the ACL torn before the Rahman fight, and TRIED if he can walk in sparring with that knee just held up with bracers. The knee just gave out repeatedly when putting load on it moving, there was no punch necessary to "floor" him. As a result he cancelled the fight and took FOUR YEARS off. Only the most ardent stupids would cite that as "mighty Butler and Walker floored Klitschko and chased him into retirement ! I was there!".

On another note, it's also total crap when a pro fighter gets ready for a title fight, and his sparring partners who have NO fight coming up go at him as if in a title fight, at 100%. You simply cannot go 100% for 3 weeks every day preparing for a title fight, if your partners are good. I would kick the crap out of a sparring partner who goes at 100% power, instead of just 100% speed. That guy would get one reminder, one warning, and then he's out, forever.

 

Seems like a lot of people here think that sparring = fighting. It doesn't. Sparring is so that a fighter can work on his weaknesses before a fight. He's not fighting his best, he generally doesn't want to go all out, he's just training, getting sharp and getting in shape.

It's considered bad form most of the time to throw a bomb like you're trying to KO someone. You can't tell much from sparring unless it's a couple guys with a grudge really going after it.

 

Stories I have heard......

Joe Calzaghe battered Nicky Piper when he was preparing for Nigel Benn
Johnny Nelson chinned Axel Schulz before the Foreman fight - Nelson felt Schulz overtrained
Naseem Hamed decked Clifton Mitchell - think it was only supposed to be tough sparring
Robin Reid KO'd Ricky Hatton WBC 168lb champ vs young 140lb amateur
David Haye >>>>>>> Audley Harrison
Chris Eubank was supposed to have knocked out Herol Graham - conflicting tales

 

Actually, Axel Schulz never before and never again was as good as in his fight with Foreman. He was SHARP, and fast. He should have won with scores like 118-110.

 

I would of aswell! but I suppose Benn was flashin way too much, obviously trying to prove a point or something. I rekon Duran was getting pretty tired at the end there anyway.

 

They say that Mario Lopez KTFO of Zelenoff a few years ago.

Might be true as Zelenoff is in California.