Had a turning point or decisive moment early on which if it had gone differently or hadnt happened could have resulted in a completely different fight or maybe even the opposite outcome. Bad example: Tyson spinks, even if Spinks had fought the perfect fight he would have gotten caught. Good example: Jones Tarver 2. I think Jones taking the punishment he took in the first fight while drained hurt his ability to take tarvers punch, but he was looking pretty good right until Tarver closed his eyes and landed that wild haymaker. Now i dont believe in lucky shots, but had that punch missed i think Jones had a very good chance of pecking his way to a decision. The Johnson KO loss while obviously still physically damaged and recovering from the Tarver rematch completely finished his career. Norris Brown 1. I think Norris should have respected Browns power the first time Brown hurt him, and he would have won easily. but he kept showing him no respect and after hurting him a few more times Brown took him out. Alot of times these chinny fighters walk a tightrope and its just one pivotal moment that decides if they put on the performance of a lifetime or get blown out. Also Golota vs Lewis and Tyson, I think if he had managed to make it through the early rounds his nerves would have calmes and he would have realized that hes in a winnable fight and could have started showing those considerable skills he had. But against Lewis he was already panicked before the bell rang and apparently had a seizure and he froze in the first round and Lewis pounced on him. Against Tyson he was calm at first, got Dropped and you could see he was panicked in the second round. Had he stuck in there Tyson would have slowed down considerably after tge 3rd or 4th.
Roger Mayweather v. Rocky Lockridge. It wasn't really a "decisive moment" per say, but if Mayweather had moved and boxed the first round instead of trading in close with Lockridge, he likely would have set the tone of the fight and then boxed his way to a decison or at least made the fight go into the later rounds. It was scheduled for 15 rounds and I am not sure the spindly legged Mayweather was built for 15 round fights.
What might have happened in Hagler v Hearns if Tommy hadn't broken his hand? Or not have had that leg massage that weakened him? Could Marvin have taken umpteen blows from a healthy right hand? I personally think he had the defence to change strategy, rather than keep taking shots, if he kept getting hurt but that would have meant standing off Tommy and possibly losing on points. As for the leg massage. If Tommy had just been able to hang in there for another round, the ref may have had to stop the fight on a cut. In a rematch, Marvin would have been that bit older and would probably not have been able to summon that level of intensity again so Tommy could have successfully defended, again probably on points. Without the massage, does Tommy make it to round 4? With that cut, Marvin probably doesn't. Where would Tommy be rated all-time in that scenario? Indeed, without the Hearns win, where would Marvin be rated all-time among middleweights? A lot hinged on the intangibles in that fight, not just during the action but also in the fighters' legacies after the dust had settled.
I think Hearns had the ability to stop Hagler.. Not as much on one punch as on cuts.. He broke his hand and fought a stupid fight. A great fight. both guys fought a great fight but they fought stupid. Both risked that anything could happen. And when they did that whoever took the better punch would win.. one of the best fights ever, but really a dumb fight for both Marvin and Tommy. Sometimes great fights are not fought with the best tactics. The risks make them great.
