The 10 fights you've been searching for the most.

This is a difficult question... My current main "field" of interest is the decade of the 2000s. I'm very methodical in my studies of boxing history and I go back from my time, focusing on one division in one decade at the time. I'm trying to collect what I can from before then, but I'm not that knowledgable on what is rare.

In any case, finding those fights would most likely bring me the most joy:
- Celestino Cabellero vs Ricardo Cordoba (Short highlights were uploaded on Facebook while ago, so it was televised).
- Nobuo Nashiro vs Kohei Kono - Full version (Fight was shown in Japan, but as a re-broadcast and with plenty of rounds missing)
- Pedro Alcazar vs Adonis Rivas
- Adonis Rivas vs Jair Jimenez
- Rosendo Alvarez vs Beibis Mendoza II & IV. (Both fights were shown on Kingvision, I believe)
- Noel Arambulet vs Keitaro Hoshino I (Surely it must exist... All title fights in Japan are televised)
- Noel Arambulet - Juan Jose Landaeta
- Rodrigo Guerrero vs Juan Alberto Rosas (I'm not sure if it was taped tbh, but considering the styles of the two - I think it must've been a real banger.)
- Hekkie Budler vs Nkosinathi Joyi - Full version (That's quite an interesting case... fight was televised in the U.S on BeIn Sports, so it's widely avaible... but during the broadcast there were signal issues, so good half of the fight was lost. I'm sure it was televised in South Africa as well, so I'm still hoping to see it in full one day).

I'm currently working on a little project with one fellow boxing enthusiast. We're going to purchase together one enormous collection of VHS tapes and DVDs...

From the fights I've seen listed here, those are listed in the catalogue of the collection We'll be grabbing in couple months:
Yuh vs Salazar, Gamez vs Yong Kang Kim, Pipps vs Negron, Miller vs Cooper.. Highlights of Laciar vs Magri too... There are two versions of first Johnson vs Marquez fight as well, one listed as US TV, so hopefully it will be HBO.

We'll be splitting the collection for two of us and I'll be ending with more of the modern stuff, 2000 on - and I'm not sure what are my collegues plans for his share, but I hope to make what I'll get as widely avaible as possible. It will be a task for decades though, with 1000s of VHS tapes.

 

Wilder V Sconiers.
Sheeraz V Skeete.
Would love to see more of Sugar Ray Robinson.

Someone said Foreman v Shavers in sparring. Was there even footage of that? That would be absolute gold.

 

A few I’ve searched for and sometimes still do:

Pipino Cuevas vs Randy Shields — this used to be on YouTube and is still available in some career sets, but it has disappeared from the internet.

Ray Leonard vs Randy Shields — I think this was Ray’s first fight vs a ranked contender, but wasn’t televised. I believe there’s like one round shot from the stands out there. I’d love to see the whole thing.

James Scott vs Richie Kates, Ennio Cometti and Jerry Celestine — There’s a couple of rounds of the first one from CBS, like the first and last I think, but nothing in between. Scott vs the Italian champ Cometti was shown on NBC, iirc, but seems to have disappeared. Not sure the Celestine fight was televised, but should have been.

Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon I — Doubt this one was filmed, but dang it, I want to see it. Given their other three battles, no way it wasn’t a corker.

Danny Lopez vs Sean O’Grady — Sean was just 17 when Little Red beat him up. Surely it was filmed as others from that time period were. I don’t buy the “O’Grady’s had the film buried” line, as Sean’s papa didn’t have the power nor likely the money to buy the original and every copy … by now it should have surfaced.

Also: Bernardo Mercado vs Randall Cobb, John Tate and Trevor Berbick.

I will gladly trade my complete Harry Greb career set to anyone who unearths one of these gems.

 

There are about 5 out of 10 rounds of the Kates fight currently on YT.

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Canto vs. Gonzalez I/Oguma I/Takada/Hanagata/Vargas II/Oguma II/Park II

That's seven, all of which I know were filmed. For my last three I'll go Kalambay vs. Thomas, Marcel vs. Nemoto, and Zapata vs. Vorasingh. Someone on this site once said that they had a copy of Kalambay vs. Thomas, so that was probably filmed. Marcel vs. Nemoto was on the undercard of Duran vs. Kobayashi, so there's a good chance that was filmed. I don't know about Zapata vs. Vorasingh, but that's another great champion vs. tiny, tiny challenger fight that I'd to watch.

 

Was always curious what some of Mike Weaver's early loses looked like...particularly vs. Duane & Rodney Bobick, Billy Ryan, and Howard Smith ×2.

I wasn't at all familiar with Howard Smith, but he turned out to have wins over a few recognizable names from that era. Did a search for his fights on YouTube, and was surprised to find his fight with Ernie Shavers. Pretty fun fight while it lasted. Jerry Quarry was one of the commentators, and did the in-ring, post-fight interview.

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Im about 98% certain I have Miller - Cooper. I’ll have to double check.

 

I appreciate you specifying that the films listed should be only fights known to exist on film. Listing fights that are not known to be on film makes the the entire thread much less meaningful because then we don't know which ones to keep an eye out for.

 

I can confirm it does exist. Well, I did not see it myself (yet), but the source I trust 99.9%.

 

Also i want find:
Carlos Gonzalez vs Saul Duran
Tommy Ayers vs Bruce Finch
Frankie Warren vs Ozzie O'Neal
Ramon Garbey vs Saul Montana
Dwain Williams vs Fidel Avendano
Alfred Ankamah vs Oscar Gabriel Gonzalez
Rodney Jones vs Antonio Margarito
Roman Karmazin vs Antwun Echols
Diosbelys Hurtado vs Jaime Balboa
Dingaan Thobela vs Antonio Rivera
Quirino Garcia vs Miguel Julio

And many, many fights)

 

Damn you beat me to it, I really want to see Norris vs Baptiste as well

As for Norris vs Vaca, Vaca was an odd fighter, he could get blown out or give a guy a real rough time depending on the night. I remember him giving Jose Luis Lopez all he could handle and closing Lopez' eye before being stopped. Then later in the year David Reid stops Vaca in 1 round, so who knows, you either get the guy who wants to give you a fight or the guy who wants to pack it in earlyish

 

HBO didn’t televise it. The HBO card was Manfredy-Diaz & a replay of Hopkins-Tito.

 

Earnie Shavers vs Jimmy Young I & II
Henry Cooper vs Karl Mildenberger
Henry Cooper vs Zora Folley II
Tony Sibson vs Lottie Mwale

 

Juan Jose Estrada vs Pinango
Juan Jose Estrada vs Luis Mendoza
Luis Mendoza vs Fabrice Benichou
Estrada went on a mini tear up when he was a champion and he beat some really good fighters.
I thought for a brief period of time Luis Mendoza was at the very top of the jr.featherweights and really enjoyed his style.