I'll start us off. Jerry Quarry vs Joe Frazier 1 yes the first round was great, but outside of that it was a pretty one sided fight. Not quite sure how this won Fight Of The Year. Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson 1 at the time this was a great upset, but i never really enjoyed the fight. And the fact it won Fight Of The Year, when you had fights like Kelley vs Gainer 1, Barrera vs McKinney, Gatti vs Rodriguez, the same year boggles the mind. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler Often talked about because of the controversy surrounding the decision, but the actual fight itself wasn't memorable. And the fact it won Fight Of The Year over Thierry Jacobs vs Kelvin Seabrooks is criminal. Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns This one is a bit controversial, watching it live and not knowing the result it was probably really exciting. Added with the fact it would be like Pacquiao/Mayweather now, two top P4P fighters fighting an amazing 1st round. Would be wow and the internet would go crazy. But with hindsight outside of the first round, the fight for me isn't that memorable. And with casuals and boxing fans alike calling it the greatest fight of all time still, i think that comment makes it an overrated fight for me. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 As i've said before maybe i'm just not a fan of the big Heavyweights now, but i didn't really enjoy this fight. For me it was very sloppy and if you look up on the internet. People are calling this one of the great fights in Heavyweight history, i have to say i strongly disagree. I didn't even think it was the best of the year, i much preferred Estrada vs Gonzalez 2.
I can kind of understand Duran vs Leonard 1 might not be to everyone's taste, there was a fair amount of clinching in the fight. Although i thought the last 4 rounds were pretty exciting, what i do find overrated about the fight. Is that people call this a masterclass from Duran, and Leonard got beat up that simply isn't true. I thought Leonard was very competitive with Duran, last time i watched it i only had Duran ahead by a single point. As for Pryor vs Arguello 1 i have to admit i haven't seen this fight in a long time, but what was overrated about this fight if you don't mind me asking ? if your tired of going over it just a short description if you don't mind.
Hearns-Leonard 1: Too much boxing, not much slugging. Boxing exhibitions should not in any list of great fights. Frazier-Quarry 1: Terrible beating. Not a slugfest Eubank-Benn 1: Dull exchanging. Sloppy punching. McClellan-Benn: The 1st round was epic and there were several good moments but I remember the fight ended up McClellan clinching a lot when Benn tried to force the action. Dempsey-Firpo: Just overrated. Simple Hagler-Mugabi: Round 6 was like 80% action of the whole fight. Imagine watching 11 rounds just to see round 6. Ali-Frazier 3: I simply never enjoyed it. Tua-Ibeabuchi: I know this might sounds controversial, but the fight wasn't a war. It's simply untrue. People talked about the fight like it was thrilling epic action packed fight but no. It's just a fight with high and consistent workrate to make you entertained throughout the whole bout but not much anything crazy happen during the "war". There's literally no part that'll make you scream or put you at the edge of your seats. And it's not like they're duking it out, they were cautious and picking their punches properly. Izon vs Wilson is an example of a plain slugfest but at least you can see that their duking it out in an intense way with non stop heavy punching and abandoning their defense. Some fights like Brewster-Liakhovich, Mesi-Jirov and Izon-Lewis that're WAY crazier and entertaining imo. Foreman-Lyle: I know their HWs, but why they gotta be that slow? They look like their fighting underwater. Louis-Conn: It was a great fight, but I've seen many fights that are just as good. People rate the fight way too highly. Basilio-Fullmer: Don't think it's deserving the FOTY tho. Not much slugfest in a 14 round fight.
I don't agree with all your choices but hey i respect your opinion, it's nice to see some different opinions and slightly controversial ones. I have to say i do agree with Ibeabuchi vs Tua. That fight never wowed me either, it was fought at one pace and never had any explosive moments or any stand out rounds.
Inoue v Donaire everybody raves over it but although a very good fight i preferred Spence v Porter that year
A lot of newer fights. I am with the OP in deeming Fury-Wilder III overrated. It was great for the times, but as was noted, it was sloppy as hell. Inoue-Donaire is another I find to be exaggerated. It was fun but Inoue was largely in control and Donaire didn't land that many clean shots. Joshua-Klitschko was mostly a jabbing contest at distance. There were good moments but not enough sustained firefighting for me to gravitate to it. I thought Breazeale-Ugonoh, which happened the same year, was more fun. A lot of people talk about how great the Gatti-Ward series was, but seemingly gloss over how Gatti dominated the second and was well on his way to doing the same in the third until he hurt his hand. I think Gatti got by with punching low quite a bit in the first, too, although I did like fights I and III.
I've always thought Gatti vs Ward is kind of overrated as a trilogy, the 1st fight is fantastic don't get me wrong. But the 2nd fight was completely one sided, and as you said the only drama in the 3rd was the broken hand. I mean in the last 2 fights out of the 20 rounds they fought Gatti lost like 3 or 4 rounds ?
Tyson Furi vs Wladimir Klitschko Probably the most important fight in the heavyweight category in the last ten years, but it didn't show us anything particularly good quality boxing. The fight is important in terms of importance, and it is irrelevant in terms of quality.
Agreed horrible fight didn't Klitschko only throw 6 power punches through 6 rounds ? absolutely pathetic.
Louis-Conn 1 is no war. Two really good final rounds, but the rest was all boxing. Great fight, but not action-wise.
I actually think Leonard vs Hagler is an underrated fight …that gets overshadowed by the controversy…it was one of the biggest boxing events of the 80s …its what I think about when I hear the word “ Megafight”
