Fights that changed a fighter (for the better)

Lewis - McCall = Lewis nabs a top trainer who shows him what world class facilities and preparation is as well as shoring up a reckless and flawed technique.

SRL - Hearns = Hearns thru necessity learns how to clinch and react better when hurt. It fared well for him in later bouts vs bigger men including ironically a rematch with Leonard.

Starling - Brown = Just a great learning experience for the talented Brown.

SRL - Duran = Leonard is given a crash course on psychological warfare among other things and shows he has the substance to back up the flash.

Hopkins - Mercado = This is the exact point where Hopkins turned the corner and went all out. From this point on we saw an ultimate professional at work.

Louis - Schmeling = Huge wake up call and one from which he never looked back.

 

Benn Watson.Nigel started being a bit more careful in fights

 

RJJ vs McCallum. Even though he won, he later said Mike gave him a greater appreciation for body shots. I think Virgil Hill can testify!

Pacman's loss to Morales. Thoroughly outboxed IMO. But it didn't deter him. As Roach said- they came up with a secret punch lol! Manilla Ice. Or basically making him a 2 handed fighter, not just a guy with a hard left.

 

Nigel Benn vs Micheal Watson. Benn punched himself out like Ali vs Foreman. After Benn became a better and more strategic boxer and his stamina improved and so did his career .

 

In September 1974, Mike Weaver fell to 6-6 when he was stopped in 7 rounds by Duane Bobick, who improved to 24-0.

Hercules got dropped in the second round by a short right, got his mouth busted up and suffered two cuts around his left eye in the seventh.

Weaver says he thought about retiring but Ken Norton talked him out of it. He ripped off eight wins in a row, including a couple of decent upsets, then lost decisions to Stan Ward and Leroy Jones ... and two fights later stopped Bernardo Mercado.

I don’t know what he learned about himself against Bobick, but it was clearly a turning point in his career. Seems like I recall him at some point saying that he didn’t take boxing seriously enough early in his career and didn’t dedicate himself to training, and the results coming off this fight suggest it’s where he decided to really give it his all to see if he could make it or not.

 

Vitali Klitschko vs Lennox Lewis
Mo Harris vs David Izon
Jameel McCline vs Michael Grant

All of them have gained much confidence - Vitali that he can comete with the best HW, Harris and McCline - that they can beat opponents who were considered much better than them.

As it has been said already, Louis - Schmeling, Lewis - McCall, SRL - Duran and others and I will add here Loma vs Salido.

Loma gained so much needed experience of a 12-round fight against tough and seasoned pro, who used every dirty trick of the book to win the fight. Loma lost, but it made him only better in the next fights.

Holyfield - Qawi - brutal 15-rds war where Holy gained as much experience as possible from 1 fight and improved after that.

 

Casamayor vs Corrales 1- Chico switched to Goosen after & went on a good little run.
Hopkins vs Echols 2- I think the experience of getting past a puncher like Echols served him well going into the Tito fight.

 

Not sure if this is relevant to the thread ,but I've often wondered if Cooper's kd of Ali actually taught him anything. It was a pretty bad knock down early in his career , did it make Ali do anything different ,to prevent this happening again?
After this only Frazier really dropped him hard ,and that was at the end of a gruelling fight ,not sure the wepner kd was a genuine one tbh.
Or was it just a case of Cooper almost finding the perfect shot to stop Ali and no one else bar Joe doing it ?

 

Sal Sanchez v Little Red 1/2. Nobody in USA had even heard of Sanchez pre-fight #1.
Jose Napoles vs Curtis Cokes. Napoles had not fought any Top 10 WW fighter in 1969, 1968
1967, or early 1966. Cokes was in for a "Big Surprise", thinking Napoles was grossly overrated.
Napoles' opponents:
(1969): Fate Davis
(1968): Lennox Beckles, Des Rea, Eddie Pace, Leroy Roberts, Peter Cobblah,
Herbie Lee, Mike Cruz, (1967): Charlie Watson, Johnny DePeiza, LC Morgan, Johnny Brooks,
(1966) Eugenio Espinoza, LC Morgan, Jimmy Fields, LC Morgan, Humberto Trottman,
Al Grant, Johnny Santos.

Ring Mag 1968 ratings Published March 1969
Curtis Cokes, Champion

1. Jose Napoles
2. Percy Pugh
3. Raul Soriano
4. Manuel Gonzalez
5. Ernie Lopez
6. Fighting Mack
7. Billy Backus
8. Johann Orsolics
9. Carmelo Bossi
10. Joe Shaw

 

MAB after the losses to Junior Jones

 

Great topic

I'll add Sanchez Nelson. Even in losing Azumah found his inner champion.

We may look back on Wilder Ortiz in the same manner. Time will tell.

 

Perfect choice Nelson Sanchez