Great Sportsmanship Moments In Boxing

I can't remember if this happened. If it did, that's absolutely disgusting and they should be ashamed for life.

 

Can't remember which round it was, but Joe Frazier had Bugner in a world of trouble, hurt and on his way down. Bugner almost got turned full circle by a Frazier left (I believe) and was stumbling down to the canvas quite slowly - totally ripe for a free shot of Frazier had wanted. But Smokin' Joe seemed to make a conscious decision against throwing what would have been a nasty (though perfectly legal) extra shot against a defenceless Bugner. Probably the difference between the fight going the distance and not.

Again, can't remember the round, as many of them looked the same in this fight, basically one guy getting his arse kicked badly over and over again. But during Gavilan's title defence against Bratton (who got nowhere near enough protection from the referee or his corner), Bratton took such a shellacking in one round he started walking to the wrong corner as the bell ended it, completely dazed and barely able to keep upright. Gavilan put his arm round his shoulder and guided him back to the correct corner.

 

Good call On Bugner/Frazier. It was round 10 and a Frazier hook had Bugner melting to the canvas slowly. One more hook and it would have been like Dokes/Ruddock or Cooney/Norton.
I thought Joe Frazier lost his killer instinct after seeing that. Bugner hurt Frazier at the end of the same round. I can't picture 71 Frazier holding up like that.

Along the same lines Joe Louis could have ended Billy Conn's night before the drama started when Billy slipped near the ropes and Joe didn't execute him. That was just how the Brown Bomber was.

 

Joe Frazier was a good man. In the second fight with Quarry it started to go really bad for Quarry and Frazier was gesturing to referee Joe Louis (he never refereed another fight after) to stop the fight. Louis seemed oblivious and Frazier was caught between trying not to hurt Quarry and somehow preventing the fight from going much further and having Quarry sustaining further damage. The fact that he showed restraint was a true sign of sportsmanship and character.

 

Floyd Patterson was of course, famous for doing this very same thing.

 

Wasn't there an Australian bout, where it was a complete mismatch and the boxer winning was kind of holding back and then shouting at the ref to stop it?

 

Sportsmanship from someone not generally associated with being nice in the ring: Wilfredo Gomez grabs for Eddie Ndukwu to prevent him from falling out of the ring and getting injured, and then when Ndukwu is out on his feet, Gomez mercifully just lets him fall rather than delivering what would have obviously been a brutal KO punch:

This content is protected

 

Alexis Arguello post fight with Ray Mancini was as classy as it gets but you could say that about his entire career. The only thing greater than Arguello's ability as a fighter was his class and sportsmanship.

 

Thomas Hearns attended James Shuler funeral after Shuler tragic death a week after their
Las Vegas fight. Hearns donated the NABF MW belt he won and it was buried with Shuler.

 

One of his seconds got his pocket picked as he escorted the stricken fighter out.

 

Jack Johnson paying for Sam McVey's funeral.

 

Pintor is a class act!

 

Sugar Ray Robinson refusing to KO Henry Armstrong

 

Henry Armstrong carrying Barney Ross.

 

Genardo Hernandez, a class act from beginning to end, refusing a clear way out when he was punched in the neck by Azumah Nelson, continuing the fight for the rest of the 12 rounds.
When Hernandez was announced as the new champion, he put his new championship belt back round Azumah's waist and told him 'You came to the ring as a champion, you deserve to leave as one.' It gets no classier. RIP Genaro.