What are some of the most soul-crushing beat downs you've seen in a boxing match? I mean the kind of fight where a normally iron-hearted fighter comes in guns blazing but slowly realizes throughout the course of the fight that he is out-classed in every way and just about resigns himself to taking a beating.... and where you just know that he will never psychologically be the same fighter again. One example is Bernard Hopkins vs. Felix Trinidad, where B-Hop took all of Trinidad's best assets away from him and absolutely broke him down psychologically. Despite trying to look game and tough throughout the fight, you could easily sense a foreboding sense of dread growing in his eyes as the fight went on and a realization that no matter what he did, he was up against a far better man and stood no chance of winning. Another example for me would be the Roberto Duran vs. Davey Moore fight... I will never forget the expression of utter hopelessness and defeat in Moore's eyes in the last few rounds.... What are some other examples?
Those were the two I immediately thought of, as well. To Trinidad's credit though, he looked fairly rejuvenated against Cherifi. Obviously a much lesser fighter, but he didn't look timid or gunshy at all, just same old Tito. I guess the retirement soon after would suggest otherwise though. Mosley-Margarito applies I think.
He gets due credit for heart, but you could see Chuck Wepner slowly breaking as Muhammad Ali turned it on in the late rounds of their fight. He became a punching bag by the final round. I don't count coming forward getting punched in the face a display of anything but toughness; He had stopped trying to win. Arturo Gatti knew he was in with nothing resembling a chance versus Floyd Mayweather, and you saw it in his face as early as the bell ending the third round.
Especially in light of this week's events Hopkins vs Pavlik is probably one of the more visible examples of how 36 minutes can put a man's life into a complete nosedive. Pavlik didn't take nearly the physical beating like someone like Vargas against Trinidad but he looked like a man who had been completely psychologically and emotionally ruined after the final bell and everything that has happened since has reinforced that conclusion. When you look at someone like Amir Khan or Lennox Lewis compared to guys like Jeff Lacy or Pavlik or Felix Trinidad you really start to understand that sometimes it is better for a guy to get blown out in a round or two than to get completely stomped for 12 rounds.
Though he did good in the first half of the fight, the demise of Meldrick Taylor in the JCC first fight. You could see the man falling apart. McGuigan in the Steve Cruz fight.
Chavez-Camacho might be the gold standard for soul-crushing beatdowns. Ali-Terrell is close. So is Jones-Hall (which is the funniest beatdown in history). Terry Norris-Ray Leonard is up there too. But Chavez-Camacho is still the best. It effectively ended Camacho's career. Nothing he did mattered after that. I'll add this: if Larry Holmes hadn't decided to pull his punches after three or four rounds, Holmes-Ali would be at the top of the list. I'm not an Ali fan. Never have been. But that fight is among the saddest in history. I refuse to even watch it again.
Excellent choice! :good Bowe-Golota and Bowe-Golota II Prince Charles Williams-Merqui Sosa *Edit: didn't read the whole thread. I guess these bouts can be included. Mayweather-Corrales Hatton-Tszyu
