1945 Rocky Graziano KO 10 Freddie Cochrane 1946 Tony Zale KO 6 Rocky Graziano 1947 Rocky Graziano KO 6 Tony Zale 1948 Marcel Cerdan KO 12 Tony Zale 1949 Willie Pep W 15 Sandy Saddler 1950 Jake LaMotta KO 15 Laurent Dauthuille 1951 Joe Walcott KO 7 Ezzard Charles 1952 Rocky Marciano KO 13 Joe Walcott 1953 Rocky Marciano KO 11 Roland LaStarza 1954 Rocky Marciano KO 8 Ezzard Charles 1955 Carmen Basilio KO 12 Tony DeMarco 1956 Carmen Basilio KO 9 Johnny Saxton 1957 Carmen Basilio W 15 Ray Robinson 1958 Ray Robinson W 15 Carmen Basilio 1959 Gene Fullmer KO 14 Carmen Basilio 1960 Floyd Patterson KO 5 Ingemar Johansson 1961 Joe Brown W 15 Dave Charnley 1962 Joey Giardello W 10 Henry Hank 1963 Cassius Clay W 10 Doug Jones 1964 Cassius Clay KO 7 Sonny Liston 1965 Floyd Patterson W 12 George Chuvalo 1966 Jose Torres W 15 Eddie Cotton 1967 Nino Benvenuti W 15 Emile Griffith 1968 Dick Tiger W 10 Frank DePaula 1969 Joe Frazier KO 7 Jerry Quarry 1970 Carlos Monzon K0 12 Nino Benvenuti 1971 Joe Frazier W 15 Muhammad Ali GOT 1972 Bob Foster KO 14 Chris Finnegan 1973 George Foreman KO 2 Joe Frazier GOT 1974 Muhammad Ali KO 8 George Foreman GOT 1975 Muhammad Ali KO 14 Joe Frazier GOT 1976 George Foreman KO 5 Ron Lyle 1977 Jimmy Young W 12 George Foreman 1978 Leon Spinks W 15 Muhammad Ali 1979 Danny Lopez KO 15 Mike Ayala 1980 Matthew Saad Muhammad KO 14 Yaqui Lopez 1981 Sugar Ray Leonard KO 14 Thomas Hearns GOT 1982 Bobby Chacon W 15 Bazooka Limon 1983 Bobby Chacon W 12 Cornelius Boza-Edwards 1984 Jose Luis Ramirez KO 4 Edwin Rosario 1985 Marvin Hagler KO 3 Thomas Hearns GOT 1986 Steve Cruz W 15 Barry McGuigan 1987 Sugar Ray Leonard W 12 Marvin Hagler GOT 1988 Tony Lopez W 12 Rocky Lockridge 1989 Roberto Duran W 12 Iran Barkley GOT 1990 Julio Cesar Chavez KO 12 Meldrick Taylor GOT 1991 Robert Quiroga W 12 Akeem Anifowoshe 1992 Riddick Bowe W 12 Evander Holyfield GOT 1993 Michael Carbajal KO 7 Humberto Gonzalez 1994 Jorge Castro KO 9 John David Jackson 1995 Saman Sorjaturong KO 7 Humberto Gonzalez 1996 Evander Holyfield KO 11 Mike Tyson GOT 1997 Arturo Gatti KO 5 Gabriel Ruelas GOT 1998 Ivan Robinson W 10 Arturo Gatti GOT 1999 Paulie Ayala W 12 Johnny Tapia GOT 2000 Erik Morales W 12 Marco Antonio Barrera GOT 2001 Micky Ward W 10 Emanuel Burton GOT 2002 Micky Ward W 10 Arturo Gatti GOT 2003 Arturo Gatti W 10 Micky Ward GOT 2004 Marco Antonio Barrera W 12 Erik Morales GOT 2005 Diego Corrales KO 10 Jose Luis Castillo GOT 2006 Somsak Sithchatchawal KO 10 Mahyar Monshipour GOT Which ones should I be looking forward to getting?
I think he gets plenty of credit. What about that 1 million dollar payday he received against Gatti in the trilogy match? What kind of fringe contender gets a 1 million dollar payday? He is what he is, a tough as nails fringe contender who was lucky enough to earn a mill by facing Gatti..
Some of the worst choices: 1977: Young-Foreman. Terrible choice. Muhammad-Johnson 1 is light years better. 1996: Holyfield-Tyson I. Barrera-McKinney, Liles-Littles 2, Bowe-Golota 2, Kelley-Gainer 1, and Gatti-Rodriguez were all better. 2003: Gatti-Ward 3. Toney-Jirov was better than the one-sided Gatti-Ward 3. Definitely get 1976, 1980, 1982-1984, 1993-1994 winners. I didn't like Monzon-Benvenutti that much, but the KO made it all worth it. Frazier-Quarry I was good too, great first round. Every boxing fan/historian should watch at least one Matthew Saad Muhammad classic before they die. Saad-Lopez 2 won FOTY for 1980, but I thought his first fight in 1977 against Marvin Johnson (when his name was Matthew Franklin) was even better. Definitely watch those. The ones I listed above that were better choices for fight of the year, you should watch them too.
Ward was good, and gets a ton of credit, but the one who does not is Ivan Robinson... The two Robinson/Gatti fights IMO were better than the Gatti/Ward trilogy. And Robinson is one of them sad, very good fighters who still (has to?) fight, despite having little left.
Agree with all of those. Also (if you can stand black & white footage) I'd recommend Basilio vs Robinson I and Basilio vs DeMarco.
Foster-Finnegan was good, but Onba-Amores was a better fight in 1972, and is well worth getting. And, as much as I liked the ending of Castro-Jackson in 1994, I still think it was too one-sided in general to be considered FOTY.
Kid Akeem/Quiroga was a fine fight that is overshadowed by its sad ending. And although Akeem lived, he was dead within four years and Quiroga is no longer with us either...
