It seems to me that many upsets that were huge at the time get downplayed by many afterwards due to new "insights" into the real state of the upset fighter. No one who was actually watching them closely at the time said Liston was past it in 1964 or Tyson in 1990, but now, years later, this is seen as fact by many, even if they weren't around at the time. So, what big upsets haven't been subject to this kind of revisionism?
Holyfield's loss to Bowe in the third fight is kind of strange revisionism. When it happened, Bowe didn't get much credit most ppl felt that Holyfield was having a cardiovascular problem and that he would of finished Bowe if not for that ailment. (Foreman if I remember correctly went as far as to say he was having a heart attack or something). However because Holyfield went on to defeat Tyson and fight many more years this win for Bowe has actually gained merit and you don't here about how poor Holyfield looked. Or if he did look poor it due to Bowe's body work. That wasn't the case when the fight occurred.
People forget that Lamon Brewster was an underdog against Andrew Golota, believe it or not. Brewster had looked AWFUL against Kali Meehan, who had no world class credentials, suffering a broken jaw and looking disinterested, fat, and listless en route to a gift split decision. Meanwhile Golota was enjoying a career renaissance of sort, with a draw against Byrd that was debatable and a robbery loss to Johnny Ruiz, both for alphabet straps. The logic was that Golota would use his newfound maturity and poise to outbox Brewster. Wrong. Brewster scorched Golota, emerging as a plausible world class threat while Golota never contended again. It remains Brewster's most complete performance. It wasn't a shocking upset, but it was big in its historical impact. Hopkins vs Pavlik Kessler vs. Froch Winky Wright vs Tito Trinidad
Foreman was the underdog against Frazier in their first fight. People forget that. I assume somewhere down the road, some revisionist will write "upon carefully watching the fight, we see, it was much closer than originally reported. True, Frazier suffered six knockdowns in two rounds, but let's not forget, he was still alive at the end. Cossell's constant "Frazier is down!" has somewhat tinged the reporting."
How so? I'm not arguing I just wanted to see if you meant revised positively or negatively and how Sanders did little of note prior to Wlad and outside being pretty game and having moments vs Vitali he did nothing of note after Wlad Brewster on his way to Wlad was highly ranked by the WBO but had 2 decision losses vs guys less than world class and was probably an unknown to most fans much the way Sanders was. The upset itself was Brewster beaten pillar to post when Wlad suddenly gassed out ate a left hook took a standing 8 then collapsed between rounds. Brewster looked as bad vs Wlad vs Meehan but somehow the judges saw something different I'm guessing the Brewster loss doesn't get held against Wlad too much due to the destruction of Golota the war with Krasniqi and the war with White Wolf Plus unlike Sanders he avenged it I suppose big upsets can be subject to revision if the guy turns out to do something later in his career
One that springs to mind is a seldom talked about fight anymore....Fenech/Holiday. Where did all those Fenech fans go anyway? He sure had a ton of devoted followers. Brutal ko. Another one was that Edwin Rosario fight with Hiranaka.
I think Schmeling Louis I has withstood the test of time and rightfully so. I've seen the HBO documentary on Louis that said he didnt train hard, etc. but still, that was a huge upset. there are a ton of fights that were big upsets if you watch the sport but aren't subject to revisionism because the fights weren't big enough to generate that much chatter. as to the above, i don't think hopkins/pavlik fits the bill since it's been pretty well documented that, when pursuing the pavlik fight...and it was hopkins who pursued the fight, hopkins camp is quoting as saying if they couldn't beat pavlik then hopkins should retire...and they were saying it in jest. i also don't think froch kessler was that big of an upset.
