Greatest single performance in divisional history (original 8)

I had a brain fart and couldn't think of any better lightweight wins. I'm sure there are some.

 

HW: Dempsey/Willard, it was a one-sided beat down of a much larger man who had never been manhandled that way…by a much smaller underdog.

LHW: Greb w15 Tunney, was the very first Ring Fight of the Year in 1922. Middleweight Greb dished out a one-sided beating to undefeated LHW Tunney, handing him his first and only loss of his career.

MW: Hagler/Hearns, both men let it all hang out, neither held back, two all time greats went head to head in a heated slugfest, until one was able to impose his will and come out the victor.

WW: Duran/Leonard I, no one expected the smaller Duran up from lightweight just a few fights prior, to defeat the Olympic hero and undefeated champion. He proved them all wrong with a dominant performance, outboxing the boxer.

FW: Pep w15 Saddler II, smaller great defensive boxer outboxes larger great boxer-puncher in a performance that couldn’t be less than perfect to win.

BW: Harada w15 Jofre I, Jofre was undefeated champion, 50-0, when he lost a close decision to underdog Harada. Jofre is considered by many to be the best Bantam of all time, and Harada beat him first, and in the rematch.

 

Just to be that guy i think you could add Scypion in very easily and for other reasons you could actually name the Hearns defence.

 

Flyweight : Benny Lynch vs Peter Kane.
Kane flew out of the traps in the first round right onto a perfect Lynch left hook.
The fight was keenly contested till the last couple of rounds.
Kane was only 19 but had ko'd Lynch's bogeyman Jimmy Warnock

Bantam : The Zed men, Zarate koing Zamora

Feather : The relentless non stop Henry Armstrong winning the first of his world titles by stopping the uber tough Petey Sarron in 6.

Lightweight : Tony Canzoneri flattening Jack 'kid' Berg in 3 rounds with one punch.

Welter : Leonard stopping Tommy Hearns was an absolute epic and the first time any of the big 4 had squared off, I think.

Middleweight : Sugar Ray Robinson stopping Jake LaMotta in the 13th round in their 6th and final fight.
LaMotta fortified by a large brandy in his dressing room takes the fight to Robinson in typical bull-like fashion.
Robinson targets the bull's weight weakened body so Jake offers his head as an alternative target and tucks his elbows into his ribs.
Robinson duly obliges and wings lefts and rights at LaMotta's bull like head.
Personally I've never seen anyone take those sort of punches off a puncher of Ray Robinson's calibre, it was jaw dropping how LaMotta stayed vertical.

Light Heavy : All time greats and p4p notables Ezzard Charles squaring off in any of their 3 fights.
The cobra slayed the mongoose 3 out of 3 including a knockout.
It's my opinion that both could have won the 160lb title earlier in their careers and both deserved a shot at the light heavy crown earlier.
Charles was a beautifully smooth boxer-puncher and if Moore didn't invent ring science, he certainly wrote the forward in the book

Heavyweight : The fight of the century, which was 51 years ago.
Frazier vs Ali featuring a knockdown in the 15th round when both should have been exhausted.
Where did smokin' Joe drag that left hook up from vs how the f*** did Ali get up ?

 

Heavyweight: Frazier versus Ali I
Light-Heavyweight: Eddie Mustafa Muhammad versus Marvin Johnson
Middleweight: Monzon versus Benvenuti I
Welterweight: Napoles versus Cokes I
Lightweight: Duran versus De Jesus III
Featherweight: Sanchez versus Lopez I
Bantamweight: Rose versus Harada
Flyweight: Ohba versus Chionoi.

Came very close to opting for Pacquiao versus Cotto at Welter, mind you. Pacquiao was sensational that night and it's one of the most thrilling experiences I've ever had following the sport, witnessing him on that occasion.

 

I was unaware footage of this fight existed. Did you see this live?

 

Not a single mention of Schmeling vs Louis I? It's definitely up there and it meets all criteria.

 

You just made my day!

 

RGS and @Hannibal Barca, my apologies, guys. I just checked out that series 'The Way it Was' that I watched as a kid that I believed they aired the second Pep-Saddler fight. Well it was actually their 4th fight that was aired. My bad, guys. You just can't trust a 50 year memory.