Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Kid Gavilan 1 & 2 Definintely. Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Marty Servo 1 & 2. Harry Greb vs. Mickey Walker Any of Jake Lamotta's fights against the great black middleweights of the day (Holman Williams, Charley Burley, etc.)
LaMotta failed to fight Burley (though he certainly didn't duck him in the traditional sense) and left of fighting Williams until he was all but done.
Mitch Green-Greg Page (amateur) Leon Spinks-Michael Dokes (amateur) John Tate-Bernado Mercado Jeff Chandler-Johnny Carter Peter Jackson-Jim Corbett.
Jack Johnson vs. Sam Langford. the Sam Langford vs. Joe Jeannette series. Peter Jackson vs. James Corbett James Jeffries vs. Bob Fitzsimmons James Jeffries vs. Tom Sharkey the Gene Tunney vs. Harry Greb series
Eddie Gregory-Matthew Franklin: I only have the first four rounds of this bout, but from what I have been told by someone who was at the fight the decision could have gone either way. Matt played the role of the boxer in this bout (Saad was more of a boxer than brawler at this point in his career) whereas Eddie was the aggressor throughout. The first round I gave to Matt and in the 2nd round Eddie was winning the round until he walked into a right hand that dropped him for a two count, from which he got up on unsteady legs but survived the round. The 3rd was another close round that could have went either way, but in the 4th about halfway through the round Eddie stunned Saad with a left hook/right cross combination along the ropes. Matt was in big trouble and Eddie started to wail away on him looking for the finish, but Saad was countering off the ropes and doing well to survive the onslaught from Eddie, at which point the film cuts off with about 20 seconds to go in the round. The staredown between these two was fun to watch... both men nose to nose, forehead to forehead, smirking at each other and exchanging all kinds of unpleasantries. Clemente Sanchez-Kuniaki Shibata: I only have the 3rd round of this fight, but for whoever asked about it I can tell them that Shibata was KOed by a right hand from Sanchez that went through his guard and landed on the point of the chin. He got dropped onto the seat of his pants, got up at 4, took two steps forward and then suddenly both his legs gave way beneath him and he crumpled to the mat like a bag of bricks totally unconscious, it was kind of comical actually. This knockout to me is the definition of a delayed reaction, has to be seen to be fully appreciated. Galindez-Ahumada: This was a good fight, one of my favourites featuring Victor. He dropped Ahumada in the 3rd on a right hand, hurt him again in the 6th round I think, but then Jorge seemed to realize he was falling behind by a wide margin and so he mounted a comeback from the 7th round onwards. From rounds seven to eleven I had Ahumada winning every round, and he even inflicted a cut over Vic`s left eye in the 9th. In the 12th round Ahumada was doing well, forcing a noticeably tiring Galindez into the ropes, but then with about half a minute left in the round Jorge got caught by a left hook from Vic and was subsequently bulled into a corner by Galindez who was throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him and landing most of his punches. The bell rang to save Jorge however, who was definately on the verge of being knocked out had the bell not rang. Rounds 13 to 15 were all Galindez, and this allowed him to secure the decision. I do believe that Vic`s 12th round rally saved his title in the end however, as after that Jorge seemed much more tentative when coming in than he was in the previous rounds.
RB, I have only the first Rossman fight to go from concerning Galindez, and I noticed in that fight and from your description of this fight that he tired badly in both. Was this a regular concern with him? I know he battled weight issues, and eventually ended up as a cruiserweight.
I have only ever seen the first four rounds and thought both men split two rounds apiece, and the general consensus seems to be that the decision could have gone to either man. If the first four rounds I watched are any indication as to how the rest of the bout unfolded, I can see how it would have been a difficult fight to score. As to how it goes down in the school yard between these two, I say it`s a toss up.
Sal, A lack of stamina was not a regular occurence for Victor, but when he did tire late it was due to a lack of training, period. He did not like to train, never did, and this is one of the reasons why he was mainly a counter-puncher during his career. He did have some weight issues during his career like you say, but when he put in the necessary training to shed those excess pounds before a fight he would be fine, when he didn`t though that was another story. But Vic proved during his career that even when not at his best, he could still find a way to win down the stretch, which is the hallmark of a great fighter.
I saw, the televised tko victory of Eddie Mustafa Muhammed over Marvin Johnson back in 1980, and I remember how utterly brilliant Eddie looked. He took Johnson apart with skill as much as power, which he was also capable of. It seemed that he was experimenting with a way of taking apart, or dismantling Johnson in a way rather than just blowing him away. It was a thing of beauty that I'd love to see again.
