30 of the most pivotal fights In your time watching boxing. For me no order. Tyson vs Douglas Tyson vs Holyfield 1 Lewis vs Holyfield Tyson vs Lewis Kostya vs Judah Mayweather vs De La Hoya Mayweather vs Pacquaio Mayweather vs McGregor Mayweather vs Canelo Mosely vs Margerito Margerito vs Cotto Crawford vs Spence Horn vs Pacquaio Tszyu vs Horn Tszyu vs Harrison Tszyu vs Mendoza De la Hoya vs Trinidad De La Hoya vs Mosely Hopkins vs Trinidad Green vs mundine Green vs Jones Jnr Calzaghe vs Kessler Calzaghe vs Jones Calzaghe vs Lacey Loma vs Teo Loma vs Haney Kambosos vs Teo Prince vs Barrera Green vs Beyer Tszyu vs Gausha Honourable mentions Wright vs Mosely Forrest vs Mosely GGG vs Canelo
Muhammad Ali-Ron Lyle (First fight I ever watched live on my own.) Muhammad Ali-Leon Spinks 1 (Couldn't sleep that night. Ali had been the only heavyweight champ I could remember.) Larry Holmes-Ken Norton (Watched this at a bar with my grandpa) Leon Spinks-Gerrie Coetzee (Totally shocked. I'd never heard of Coetzee before this.) Larry Holmes-Earnie Shavers II (Remember my dad jumping off the couch when Shavers floored him ... thought that was it) Gerry Cooney-Ken Norton (Couldn't imagine Cooney losing to Holmes after watching this live at my uncle's house - seemed to be a sure-fire future champ) Marvin Hagler-Sugar Ray Leonard (Worked as security at a bar showing this while I was in college) Michael Spinks-Gerry Cooney (Couldn't believe Cooney lost ... again) Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks (Again, shocked at how quickly it ended ... couldn't see anyone beating Tyson) Mike Tyson-Buster Douglas (Missed it. Went out on a date with my fiance. Only found out the next morning when I bought a Chicago Tribune) Evander Holyfield-George Foreman (Hosted a big watch party) Ray Mercer-Tommy Morrison (I told a friend to bet his whole week's paycheck on Morrison. We're still friends.) Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield I (Another watch party) George Foreman-Michael Moorer (great night) Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield I (The biggest upset I ever watched live up to that point - missed Tyson-Douglas live. I think Evander opened as a 25-1 underdog.) Mike Tyson-Evander Holyfield II (It was insane how that fight ended ... even the President commented on it the next day) Riddick Bowe-Andrew Golota I - (I took a break from painting my bathroom to watch this. Couldn't believe the riot. Jim Lampley crying on camera because his daughter was lost in the crowd.) Will Grigsby-Carmelo Caceres - (A friend of mine lived in Minneapolis at the time, so a bunch of went to his house to play cards and go to the fights. The undercard was loaded. Henry Akinwande, Larry Donald, Byron Mitchell, Randall Bailey in separate fights. A Don King special. His live cards back then were always fun. This stands out because the ring caved in on one corner at a certain point and they asked people if they had jacks in their cars to help prop up the corner of the ring. Totally nuts.) Lennox Lewis-David Tua - (Attended the fight with my wife on our 10th anniversary trip) Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman I - (I jumped up when Rahman KOed Lewis, with my son watching me. Reminded me of me watching my dad when Shavers floored Holmes.) Kendall Holt-Thomas Davis - (Just a routine ESPN show. But I covered it for a boxing website at the time. And it was a crazy night. Holt was knocked out in one round. People went nuts. Huge upset. Holt ended up fighting with one of the athletic commission people backstage while I watched. The Commission person yelled back that Holt was banned from fighting in Illinois again. Holt had to be held back. It was an ugly scene. Also, a guy named Rudy Cisneros, who was a recently signed top amateur at the time, fought a guy with 30 losses to open the card. And Cisneros got stopped in one round. People were shocked. I remember David Diaz, Fres Oquendo and a bunch of name Chicago fighters at the time just laughing with their friends. I don't think any of them liked Cisneros, who was new but supposedly a big deal. I believe Cisneros ended up being cast on one of the seasons of The Contender - and lost then, too. And what made it most memorable was Bernard Hopkins' brother Demetrius fought in the main event against a local Chicago guy, who was stopped on cuts, and the crowd went crazy. A riot broke out in the stands. Lou Duva was working Hopkins' corner. And people were directing their anger at Hopkins and Duva. It was a bad situation, and we couldn't get back to the dressing room. So, I took cover with Duva and Hopkins (can't remember where). Lou was asking me what "newspaper" I worked for - newspapers weren't covering boxing anymore at that point. But he was genuinely rattled. I think he said something about being too old for this anymore.) Antonio Tarver-Reggie Johnson - (The fight was held on a weekday by O'Hare airport, near my work. So, a few of us decided to go to the fights. It was freezing that January night, and the undercard had already begun. We weren't sure which door to go in. The door we tried was locked. But a guy saw us outside struggling with the door and walked over to open it. IT was GENARO HERNANDEZ. All-time great. He was working Tarver or Johnson's corner that night. Couldn't believe it. Genaro saved me from "freezing." The Ring Card girls were strippers from a local club. They handed out free entrance cards to everyone. At the time, the Roy Jones-Dariusz Michalczewski arguments were happening online. I was pro-Jones. Tarver-Johnson was an unofficial eliminator of sorts. Both were highly ranked. On the undercard, some local bum Joey DeGrandis fought in a four-rounder. Three months later, Dariusz picked Joey to defend his title against. Not Tarver or Johnson. I was relentless on the message boards after that.) Lamon Brewster-Andrew Golota - (Attended the fight with my old college roommate. Massive live card. Lasted all afternoon and into the late night. I think we were there for seven or eight hours. The main event only lasted a round, which my friend was happy about.) Hasim Rahman-Monte Barrett - (I covered this card and the next week's Fernando Vargas show - both in Chicago - for a now-defunct website. I remember spending the week meeting fighters and writing about boxing. Loaded card. Just a really fun 10 days or so.) Humberto Soto-Rocky Juarez - (This was on the undercard of the Fernando Vargas show I covered in Chicago. When Soto won, I followed him and his team back into their dressing room and celebrated with them. Everyone was so happy. Took photos of him and the WBC belt. But I don't speak Spanish. When the doctor entered to give him a post-fight check, everyone began looking at me wondering who I was. So, I bid a hasty retreat. The main event was about to start anyway. And I had ringside - press row - seats.) David Diaz-Erik Morales - (Took my son to see the fight. We met David Diaz afterward. Fun night.) Fres Oquendo-Bruce Seldon - (Took my son to see this show, as well. I met Fres a couple times at different cards. Really nice guy.) Lucas Matthysse-Devon Alexander/Bermane Stiverne-Ray Austin - (I attended this show in Missouri to cover it for another site. Recorded most of the fights on my phone. Again, loaded card. One of the last big regular HBO shows (not PPV). It stands out because there was a flash flood as the night ended. I was back in the press conference area with all the fighters. We were stuck at the arena because the shuttles from the hotel couldn't get through the flood waters. Spent a long time with Stiverne just shooting the ****. Nice guy. I also was standing behind Matthysse when he was interviewed by Argentina TV. Never saw the footage, though. The young prospect Omar Henry fought on that show. I think I still have the fight I recorded. Henry was having a great time backstage. He died not to long after that from a sudden illness.) Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury I - (Two of my favorite fighters at the time. Watched it with my wife. I figured Tyson would jump out to a lead and Wilder would KO him late. Should've happened - if not for the ref. Still, I was happy with the draw.) Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury III - (One of the great cards and great boxing nights in recent memory. I watched it alone in the country on my parents' deck on an illegal stream, while reading the round-by-round thread here. I thought Wilder had him. Again, long count changed history. Wilder should've had two stoppage wins over Fury.)
Good question: Tyson v Bruno 2 Lewis v Holyfield 1 Lewis v Holyfield 2 Rahman v Lewis 1 Lewis v Rahman 2 Lewis v Kitschko Barrera v Naz Hopkins v Trinidad Forrest v Mosley Jones Jnr v Ruiz Toney v Jirov Lewis v Tyson Tarver v Jones Jnr 2 Hopkins v Tarver Sanders v Klitschko Trinidad v Mayorga Mayweather v Corrales Corrales v Castillo 1 Hatton v Tszyu Pacquiao v Hatton Mosley v Margarito Mayweather v Pacquiao Hopkins v Pascal Haye v Valuev Froch v Groves 2 Usyk v Fury 1