Tampering with the Heavyweight Timelines again...

One server crash ago I was screwing with the heavyweight timeline via Title Bout Championship Boxing game and I posted the results with some interesting rules.

1. One title for the division. So there's no confusion. The man that beats the man, is the man.
2. All title bouts are 15 rounds. All eliminators are 12 rounds. The rest are set up based upon a fighter's experience points.
3. The locations, refs, announcers, trainers, and judges should be the ones that were enlisted for the actual time period to reflect as much accuracy as possible.
4. Alternative outcomes is the goal here so certain theories were implied. Like Ali's exile, Foreman beating Ali instead of losing in Zaire, Tyson beating Douglas (except it never happened, Tyson lost to Douglas again), Cuban boxers, what-if's like Mitch Green and Gerry Cooney, etc, etc.

Now I have another tiimeline that I just finished messing with and here's the results...

This might sound like an exercise in boredom, but I retooled the concept I introduced a couple years back. Just for fun. I changed some things around, stayed a lot closer to detail, and this time I got a really interesting version of the division. I figured out how to implement the “what if” type fighters (Savon, Stevenson, Exile Ali, Prison Tyson, etc, etc). And I started the heavyweight division earlier than Ali’s first fight. I choose Sonny Liston’s first fight as a jump off point. Also I tried to include more cruiserweights and fighters that crossed over into heavyweight. Another thing is I retired Rocky Marciano after his first two losses. Also, at least four defenses a year.

Here is the heavyweight title lineage.
Rocky Marciano: 1953 to 1956, defended against: (1953) Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott, Harold Johnson x2 (1954) Clarence Henry, Ezzard Charles, Nino Valdes, Jersey Joe Walcott II (1955) Jack Gardner, Roland LaStarza, Archie Moore II, Ezzard Charles II

1956: Rocky Marciano loses two fights to Floyd Patterson. The first fight by majority decision, and the second by cuts in the 9th round. My goal was to see Rocky defend against as many contenders as he could manage, but somehow Floyd won and made his spot in history.

Floyd Patterson: 1956 to 1959, defended against: (1956) Rocky Marciano II, Archie Moore, Tommy Jackson, Bob Baker (1957) Nino Valdes, Eddie Machen, Bob Satterfield, Roy Harris (1958) Henry Cooper, Brian London, Harold Johnson (1959) Ingemar Johansson, Sonny Liston [draw], Eddie Machen

1959: Ed Sanders defeats Floyd Patterson via TKO in the 2nd round. Sanders gets dropped in the opening seconds of the 2nd round only to come off the canvas and then drop Patterson. Then Sanders forced Patterson to the ropes and battered him until ref Ruby Goldstein called it 12 seconds before the round ended.

Ed Sanders: 1959 to 1960, defended against (1960) Floyd Patterson II [awesome fight 15rd split decision], Zora Folley, Ingemar Johansson [draw]

1960: Ingemar Johansson KO’s Ed Sanders in the 5th round. Sanders didn’t defend the title for more than one year so he has to earn a rematch through a crossroads fight rather then receiving an immediate rematch.

Ingemar Johansson: 1960, defended against (1961) Lost 1st defense to Sonny Liston

1961: Sonny Liston crushes Ingemar Johansson in 3rd round KO. Johansson goes back to the contender’s pool to earn an eliminator.

Sonny Liston: 1961 to 1963 , defended against (1961) Floyd Patterson II, Henry Cooper, Eddie Machen (1962) Pete Rademacher, Doug Jones, Bob Cleroux, Ingemar Johansson [1st KO] (1963) Ernie Terrell

pt.2 coming soon (currently compileing information)

 

1963: Muhammad Ali defeats Sonny Liston via TKO in the 14th round. Liston actually had the early rounds and looked to win after dropping Ali twice in the 7th. However, Ali pulled out the victory.

Muhammad Ali: 1963 to 1969, defended against: (1963) Sonny Liston [via split decision], Floyd Patterson (1964) Gregorio Peralta, Cleveland Williams, Eddie Machen, Santo Amonti (1965) Bob Foster, Sonny Liston III, Jose Torres, Ernie Terrell II (1966) Zora Folley, Oscar Bonavena, Pete Rademacher, Karl Mildenberger (1967) Sonny Liston IV, Thad Spencer, Henry Clark [flash KO’s Ali in 5th Rd, but loses via TKO in the 9th RD], Jimmy Ellis (1968) Bob Foster II, George Chuvalo, Jack Bodell, Leotis Martin (1969) Buster Mathis, Henry Clark II, Henry Cooper, Lost to Joe Frazier

1969: A young Joe Frazier puts Ali into a defensive shell for the last half of the match giving Smokin’ Joe the win over 15 rounds finally ending Ali’s seemingly endless 25 title defenses.

Joe Frazier: 1969, defended against: (1970) Lost 1st title defense to Muhammad Ali

1970: Muhammad Ali uses the sweet science to his advantage and dominates all but two rounds. Joe goes right back down to earn another eliminator for ta shot at the title. Ali becomes the first two time heavyweight champion.

Muhammad Ali (2nd): 1970 to 1971 , defended against (1970) Sonny Liston V, Henry Cooper II, Jerry Quarry (1971) Lost to Mac Foster

1971: Mac Foster KO’s Ali in the 5th round. Ali claims retirement due to an injury, but since Ali wasn’t able to make his 2nd defense last longer than a year Mac Foster fights the next possible contender.

Mac Foster: 1971 , defended against: (1971) Gregorio Peralta, Lost to Jerry Quarry

1971: Jerry Quarry quickly disposes of Mac Foster in four rounds, ending the curse of the “Great White Hope”.

Jerry Quarry: 1971, defended against: (1971) Lost 1st title defense to Joe Frazier.

1971: Proves to be an eventful year seeing three different champions with Joe Frazier regaining the title putting Jerry Quarry away in 12 rounds via KO.

Joe Frazier (2nd): 1972 to 1973 , defended against: (1972) Muhammad Ali III [won via 15th rd KO], Bob Foster, Ernie Terrell, Ron Lyle, Floyd Patterson (1973) Joe Bugner, Bunny Johnson

1973: Muhammad Ali evens the scores in the fourth match up against Joe Frazier and becomes the first three time titleist.

Muhammad Ali (3rd): 1973, defended against: (1973) Lost 1st title defense to Ken Norton

1973: Ken Norton defeats Ali over 15 rounds in the last match of 1973. The 1970s seem to be quite the tumultuous era for the heavyweight champ. At least Norton gets his due a lot earlier. However, Foreman is looming in the rankings.

Ken Norton: 1973 to 1975 , defended against: (1974) Henry Clark, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier (1975) Jimmy Young [won via 15 rd SD]

pt. 3 on the way

 

1975: George Foreman dominates Ken Norton in the 1st round to get the title. Norton lasts a little longer in the rematch, but barely makes a showing out of it going seven rounds.

George Foreman: 1975 to 1978 , defended against: (1975) Ken Norton II, Joe Bugner (1976) Duane Bobick, Muhammad Ali, Jerry Quarry, Ron Lyle (1977) Roy Williams, Kallie Knoetze, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers (1978 ) John Louis Gardner, Lost to Larry Holmes

1978: Larry Holmes outshines George Foreman over two 15 round matches. George fought till he tired out, and Larry picked away at his worn foe. Both fights seemed to be exactly the same. Foreman’s 12th title defense wasn’t to be.

Larry Holmes: 1978 to 1979 , defended against: (1978) George Foreman II, Jimmy Young (1979) Ossie Ocasio, Ron Lyle

1979: Teofilo Stevenson TKOs Larry Holmes with a heavy one-two combo in the 9th round at Yankee Stadium. Referee Mills Lane called the match, but had Larry Holmes up on the cards. Larry Holmes unfortunately doesn’t get more than a year as a champ and goes back to the contender pool instead of receiving a rematch.

Teofilo Stevenson: 1979 to 1980, defended against: (1979) Mike Weaver (1980) Michael Dokes, Gerrie Coetzee

1980: Larry Holmes KO’s Teofilo Stevenson in the 11th round in the Cuban Gran Stadium.

Larry Holmes (2nd): 1980 to 1983 , defended against: (1980) James Tillis (1981) John Tate, Trevor Berbick, Leon Spinks, Greg Page (1982) Renaldo Snipes, Mike Weaver, Randall Cobb, Michael Dokes (1983) John Tate II, Greg Page II, Gerrie Coetzee, Gerry Cooney

1984: Tim Witherspoon defeats Larry Holmes over 15 rounds via split decision, and then wins the rematch also in 15 rounds, but this time Terrible Tim wins nearly all the rounds.

Tim Witherspoon: 1984 to 1986 , defended against: (1984) Larry Holmes II, Pinklon Thomas, James Broad (1985) Tony Tubbs, Michael Dokes, Steffen Tangstad, Larry Holmes III (1986) Michael Spinks, James Smith

1986: Frank Bruno KO’s Witherspoon in the 7th round for the upset vistory. However, Bruno fails to defend in the rematch, and could setup a rubber match as soon as the opportunity presents itself.

pt. 4 coming soon...

 

I didn't select these guys to win, the game did. There's nothing to really criticize when you look at this. I'm aware of boxing history, and this is just how things went. I didn't favor any fighter, and some fights in the division never got to line up like they originally did in history. Ed Sanders survived, that and I think the fighter's packet with his name in it is a little embellished. It's something I'll look into when I get around to setting all this up again. However, these results are based upon simply matching the fighters against each other. All of this is based upon how many times they fought in actual years, minus the champion and his defense schedule. Plus I tried to keep some boxers in the game longer by using the age of 40 as a perfect time to stop, unless the fighter actually went beyond that age.

As for Floyd, I matched him up with those fighters and somehow he won. I expected Floyd to get dominated against Rocky, and somehow he was able to out box Rocky, but not out slug. I think what happened is that the version of Floyd that is in the game is the craftier 1970s version of him, rather than the untested 1950s version. That's basically the one thing you can't really add a lot of detail to. How good the fighter actually was during a certain time period, is gauged differently in the game. So, maybe that's something else I should tweak.

I'm satisfied by a lot of the results. Much more than last time. Last time felt a little weird and biased. Now I'm getting champs that seem a little more 'realistic'.

Edit: I'll try to break a lot more of this down, also I'll be adding the rest of the champions up to 2007.

 

Frank Bruno: 1986 , defended against: (1986) Lost 1st defense in rematch with Tim Witherspoon

1986: Tim Witherspoon regains his title against Frank Bruno after tiring Bruno out in 12 rounds.

Tim Witherspoon (2nd): 1986 to 1987 , defended against: (1987) Tony Tucker, Gerry Cooney, Pinklon Thomas II, Lost to Mike Tyson in 4th defense
1987: Mike Tyson KO’s Tim Witherspoon in the 13th round.

Mike Tyson: 1987 to 1994 , defended against: (1988) Tyrell Biggs, James Smith, Michael Spinks, Evander Holyfield [draw] (1989) Tim Witherspoon II, Gary Mason, James “Buster” Douglas, Orlin Norris (1990) Evander Holyfield II [draw], Donovan Ruddock, Carl Williams, Pierre Coetzer (1991) Tony Tucker, Francesco Damiani, Larry Holmes, Ray Mercer (1992) Donovan Ruddock II, Michael Moorer, Frank Bruno, Tim Witherspoon III (1993) Evander Holyfield III [won via DQ on a Holyfield headbutt], Oliver McCall, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe (1994) Herbie Hide, Ray Mercer II, lost to Riddick Bowe via 14th round TKO.

1994: Riddick Bowe catches Mike Tyson off guard with a stunning uppercut, followed by some fast combos, leaving referee Richard Greene to call the fight in the 14th round via TKO. Mike Tyson’s title defense win streak is stopped at 26. Bowe successfully defends his title against Tyson over 15 boring rounds in the rematch.

Riddick Bowe: 1994 to 1995 , defended against: (1994) Mike Tyson III (1995) Frank Bruno, Evander Holyfield, Michael Moorer

1995: Lennox Lewis KO’s Riddick Bowe in the 12th round to take the title.

Lennox Lewis: 1995 to 1997 , defended against: (1996) Mike Tyson II, Henry Akinwande, Bruce Seldon, Oliver McCall (1997) Loses to Felix Savon in 5th title defense.

1997: Felix Savon defeats Lennox Lewis over 15 rounds in a boring grab fest.

Felix Savon: 1997 to 2000 , defended against: (1997) Michael Bentt, Mike Tyson, Riddick Bowe, Scott Welsh (1998) Larry Donald, Michael Grant, Lennox Lewis II [draw], David Tua (1999) John Ruiz, Ike Ibeabuchi, Evander Holyfield, Maurice Harris

2000: Lennox Lewis exacts his revenge against Felix Savon by brutally knocking him out in the 13th round. Judges had it a draw, and most of the rounds were counted as even. Also in the mandatory rematch, Lennox outjabbed his Cuban foe until the 6th round when he landed a wild uppercut that sent Savon on his back for good.

pt. 5 coming soon, and it will cover up to present day.

 

Lennox Lewis (2nd): 2000 to 2002 , defended against: (2000) Felix Savon II, Andrew Golota, Vitali Klitschko (2001) Chris Byrd, Kirk Johnson, Orlin Norris, Wladmir Klitschko (2002) David Tua, Juan Carlos Gomez, James Toney, Hasim Rahman (2003) Chris Byrd II
2003: Wladmir Klitschko KO’s the elder Lewis. The interesting thing is that Lennox seemed to struggle in his second time as champ. Klitschko would also be able to defend his title in a crazy rematch with more than four knockdowns for each fighter. What’s more interesting then that is the next title fight for Wladmir.

Wladmir Klitschko: 2003, defended against: (2003) Lennox Lewis III, Lost 2nd title defense to Vitaly Klitschko.

2003: Vitaly KO’s his own brother in the Ukraine captial of Kiev in the 9th round. No rematch needed, so Wlad gets thrown into the contender’s pool.

Vitaly Klitschko: 2003 to 2004 , defended against: (2004) Joe Mesi, Audley Harrison, Corrie Sanders, DaVarryl Williamson

2005: Wladmir gets his revenge in winning the title back from his brother in 15 hard fought rounds in Moscow.

Wladmir Klitschko (2nd) 2005 to 2007 , defended against: (2005) Lamon Brewster, Danny Williams, Nikolay Valuev (2006) Oleg Maskaev, Tony Thompson, Calvin Brock, Matt Skelton (2007) Vitaly Klitschko III, Audley Harrison, Ruslan Chagaev, Lost 11th defense to Samuel Peter

2007: The simulator ends with a bang...er...more of a KO. Sam breaks Wlad’s ribs to earn his first title. However, Wlad won every single round up until the KO in the 8th round. Peter scored some nasty body blow hooks and dropped Wlad. So with a rematch in Sam Vs. Wlad in the wings and men like Sultan Ibragimov, and returning contender Tony Thompson things are shaping up again. There’s the first three matches of 2008, and the fourth contender to be named with Jason Estrada and Odlanier Solis Fonte facing off to earn that position.

Samuel Peter: 2007 to present, defended against (2008) 1st defense to be made versus Wladmir Klitschko (second fight).

 

One thing I have to make clear. I only feed the names into the game, and this is the results.