Greatest fight of 1986? Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi Evander Holyfield vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi 1 Or the best of the rest? Steve Cruz vs Barry McGuigan Or other.... AND WHY?
Been re watching classic fights to see what I think the real FOTY was. Ring listed Cruz-McGuigan as FOTY. And I can see why... 9-1 underdog drops the champion 2 x's in the final rd to overcome a 3 pt deficit t become Featherweight champion. Great fight. Cruz the slick counter puncher, and McGuigan pressuring him the whole fight. If only he could have avoided the left hook, stayed away in the 15th, & maybe not fought a daytime fight in the blazing Nevada sun, he probably would've retained his belt. Then there's Holyfield Qawi 1. And I mean what can I say. The last great 15 rd war! And one many still think was the true FOTY in '86. Holyfield with only 11 professional fights challenges Qawi for the WBA cruiserweight title. This war was so taxing on Holyfield he lost 15 lbs afterwards and was hospitalized for severe dehydration, the man was urinating his own muscle mass. Crazy. Qawi never takes a step backwards for 15 and truly tests Holyfields heart. A mini thrilla in Atlanta. But the fight I've had as FOTY for quite awhile, as well as the KO Boxing Magazine FOTY, was Hagler-Mugabi. Not sure why John. Mugabi was coming up to 160 since he spent his entire career up to that pt at 154. Either way the man was 26-0 (26KOs) monster. And Hagler was Hagler. No one ever tested Haglers admantium chin like the Beast did that night. Rd. 6 is one of the greatest ever. And Hagler walks through hell and out strikes, out works, and stops the Beast inside 11. Amazing brutal stuff. So I'm pretty torn upon re watching I just don't know if Holyfield-Qawi or Hagler-Mugabi deserves the nod? What do you guys think?
I think they're both great fights, however I have to choose Hagler-Mugabi by the slightest of margins. Mugabi put forth such a valiant effort and Hagler battled back with so much intensity.
Holy-Qawi I think. Hagler-Mugabi was surprisingly competitive for a bit and had that terrific sixth round, but aside from that and the first two rounds it was almost all Hagler, with Mugabi occasionally landing a big haymaker. Holy-Qawi had constant turns in momentum, bristling exchanges, and virtually no clinching. Just a savage two-way fight, and competitive all the way. It was additionally dramatic because it was the first coronation of a 1984 Olympic team member as a professional world champion.
