EDIT MARCH 4, 2021 - Here are the final results! This content is protected ----------------------------------------------------------- This Survey will be far more subjective than the last one, which was already rather subjective to begin with. MUST WATCH BOXING MATCHES That’s the theme. What does it mean? That’s for you all to decide. But basically I'm looking to rank fights that you believe EVERY BOXING FAN needs to watch! The four main guiding principles are: The fights MUST be readily available on video (minimum 50% of the fight) Both participants NEED to at least have been championship caliber boxers at some point in their careers. Professional Matches ONLY Do not exceed 5 bouts involving the same fighter. The first point should be self explanatory. If it’s a John L Sullivan legendary bout you’ve read about in intricate detail, that does not count. If you and your uncle found secret footage in some old relative’s attic of one of the Tunney vs Greb or Charles vs Moore bouts that only you have access to, those do not count. They MUST be on video/film and MUST be the type of fights that most people around here would reasonably have had a chance to watch. Understanding that some filmed bouts don’t have every round available - I’m setting the bare minimum at AT LEAST 50% of the rounds must be available for viewing. (Ideally these filmed fights should be available in a capacity where you can see the action unfold - meaning stuff that is SUPER old with terrible image quality - I’d prefer those be ignored, although off the top of my head, most of those fights probably don't meet the 50% round prerequisite). The second point is that both participants in the fight NEED to have been championship caliber at some point (meaning, a reasonably strong case for Top 10 [or a major world title challenger] at SOME point in their careers, not necessarily WHEN they fought). The reason for this is to avoid action packed slugfests between two club fighters that were never on an elite radar. That’s not the purpose of this exercise, as entertaining as some of those may be. They don’t need to be championship fights, however. Also, the fourth point, please limit fights from a specific fighter to 5 MAXIMUM! Meaning, if you’re a huge fan of a certain BOXER X - I don’t want anyone just listing nothing but fights that involve BOXER X. I think 5 is a fair maximum number, where you can highlight examples of true greatness, without making a list that lacks in some diversity. And finally this Survey is for professional boxing only. WHAT IS A MUST WATCH BOXING MATCH? Again, that is for you to decide. Perhaps it’s a fight of great historical significance? An action packed war? A tactical chess match of elite level operators? A battle of heart and determination filled with momentum shifts? A brutal early knockout in a devastating display of power? A workmanlike effort in a 15 round decision? Excitement? Drama? A surprising one sided upset? A come from behind knockout? The types of matches that make you love being a boxing fan. For those who would like to participate, I am asking for a TOP 25 LIST (in order, no ties). The SCORING SYSTEM will be exactly the same as the ALL TIME list in the previous Survey, with the addition of a BONUS multiplier for each mention a fight receives with a 25x factor. So a fight that gets a single mention will get an additional 25 points, a fight that gets two mentions will get 50 additional points, and a fight that gets 10 mentions will receive an extra 250 bonus points, etc. MANDATORY GUIDELINES! For this to work I need people to STRICTLY ADHERE to these GUIDELINES! So any lists that DO NOT adhere to the guidelines will be dismissed at the DEADLINE WINNER FIRST NAME AND LAST NAME vs LOSER FIRST NAME AND LAST NAME (and if applicable, if they fought more than once, you must note which fight 1, 2, 3, 4, etc). Lists MUST be numbered. So, using a fictional example (and just doing it sequentially in the order of the movies): RUMSFELD 1. Rocky Balboa vs Spider Rico 2. Apollo Creed vs Rocky Balboa 1 3. Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed 2 4. Clubber Lang vs Rocky Balboa 1 5. Rocky Balboa vs Clubber Lang 2 6. Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed 7. Rocky Balboa vs Ivan Drago 8. Mason Dixon vs Rocky Balboa (your list will extend to 25) If anyone has any questions, DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK! DEADLINE - the official DEADLINE is January 20, 2021 at 11:59pm EST
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Rummy, just to clarify, is this in order of our preference, for example number 1 is the fight above all others that I think people should watch?
Lufcrazy 1 Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali 1 2 Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier 3 3 Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman 4 George Foreman vs. Joe Frazier 1 5 George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer 6 Larry Holmes vs. Ray Mercer 7 Mike Tyson vs. Trevor Berbick 8 Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks 9 Rocky Marciano vs. Archie Moore 10 Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Walcott 1 11 Rocky Marciano vs. Ezzard Charles 2 12 Joe Walcott vs. Ezzard Charles 3 13 Joe Louis vs. Joe Walcott 2 14 Joe Louis vs. Billy Conn 1 15 Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko 16 Lennox Lewis vs. Shannon Briggs 17 George Foreman vs. Ron Lyle 18 Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Firpo 19 Max Baer vs. Max Schmelling 20 Ezzard Charles vs. Joe Walcott 1 21 Larry Holmes vs. Ken Norton 22 Riddick Bowe vs. Evander Holyfield 1 23 Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe 2 24 Riddick Bowe vs. Andrew Golota 2 25 Ike Ibeabuchi vs. David Tua
Yes! Think of it as a Checklist you'd recommend that every boxing fan should watch, numbered by priority. In other words, the #1 selection will be worth significantly more points than the selections below. The higher your selections appear in your order, the more weight they will be given.
I've actually been crafting a top 100 for a while now and I currently have 76 so I have a top 25 ready to go - will post shortly.
JEL 1. Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello 1 2. Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon 4 3. Bobby Chacon vs Cornelius Boza-Edwards 2 4. Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2 5. Archie Moore vs Yvonne Durelle 1 6. Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier 3 7. Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor 8. Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson 9. Carmen Basilio vs Tony DeMarco 2 10. Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley 11. Felix Trinidad vs Fernando Vargas 12. Alexis Arguello vs Alfredo Escalera 2 13. Chartchai Chionoi vs Effren Torres 1 14. Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo 1 15. Marco Antonio Barrera vs Kennedy McKinney 16. Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera 1 17. James Toney vs Mike McCallum 1 18. Matthew Franklin vs Marvin Johnson 1 19. Victor Galindez vs Richie Kates 1 20. Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1 21. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns 1 22. Jung Koo Chang vs Katsuo Tokashiki 23. Israel Vasquez vs Rafael Marquez 3 24. Fighting Harada vs Eder Jofre 1 25. Arturo Gatti vs Wilson Rodriguez
I'm definitely NOT going to go through them with a fine tooth comb. I'm going to largely trust the judgment of those of you submitting lists, as well as the judgment of those with a keen eye who might notice something doesn't qualify. When I get to the final tallies, if I come across any such lists where it impacts the high end (the portion I'll later reveal), I'll ask for revisions where applicable.
Strictly speaking, there is no rule against it (so long as it adheres to the other guidelines, such as the 5 max per boxer, more than half the fight being available, professional matches, etc).