What's the single most mindblowing performance you've ever witnessed.

I agree with jg that Moore-Durelle was a bit special... but if we're talking about an out-of-this-world, brilliant performance, I'll have to vote for Joe Louis vs Max Baer. Louis looked mindblowingly fantastic in that one, I think!

 

I rate Tommy Bell very ,very highly as a WELTERWEIGHT...Probably just behind Sugar Ray and [Keed] Gavilan..His misfortune was to give Robinson two close battles [flooring Ray once], that very few welters wanted to fight Bell. So he had to fight middleweights such as Jake Lamotta twice,
the now forgotten power punching Steve Belloise, and Anton Raadik who
dropped Marcel Cerdan a couple of times...If not for Robinson and most likely Gavilan I rate Tommy Bell, the best welter at his best in the early
1940s..

 

Schmeling-Louis I. I know how great and legendary the rematch was, but the staggering upset of the terrifying, invincible young destroyer Joe Louis by the cool, calculating and utterly courageous Max Schmeling is more amazing the more I think about it...it was a masterclass of strategy and cool determination under fire...considering how Louis was, until then, making guys **** and wet their britches in fright even before the first bell.

 

That could be the winning call, Louis-Baer..even more so than the one I made.

 

Aside from the prime Robinson destroying McDaniels in 1945, i would concur on the young coil spring Joe Louis koing the GRANITE JAW Max Baer in 1935..Louis that night was a marvel of hand speed and crushing
power and accuracy...He hit the underated jaw of Max Baer often and
leveraged power, that would have dropped Ali, Chuvallo,or any heavyweight before the iron jawed but outmatched Max Baer fell.
I remember some Dr. many many years ago during Louis's zenith years,
saying that "the human body was not meant to withstand the fury of
a Joe Louis assault, at his best", and I agree....

 

That Louis-Baer fight to me, anyway, shows Louis at a level above even that he showed in any title defense that he had...a mobile, fleet footed boxer/puncher...it's an amazing, jewel of a performance that convinced me that Louis was the greatest hvwwgt champ of all time..not Ali.

 

Ali is a close second and should be in the top three at the most
But it was a great great preformance and showed that Louis can dispose of quality opponents in ONE ROUND.

 

Willie Pep vs. Sandy Saddler III. Pep pulled out all the tricks he had and boxed beautifully until he seperated his shoulder in the 7th round.

Pep put on a boxing clinic on how to outbox and out-think a very aggressive, tough, and much taller opponent.

 

I didn't witness that live or anything though.

The most memorable mindblowing fight I remember was Evander vs. Riddick I.

 

Ali v Clevland Williams fight. my favourite display of boxing ever.

 

It pains me to say it but...Buster Douglas v Mike Tyson.

 

Maske-Rocchigiani II

 

very difficult to pick a single one....

theres numerous ones i remember, but one that sticks out was lloyd honeygahn vs don curry...no one gave honeygahn a chance before the fight...

also, duran vs leanord 1.....

douglas vs tyson is worth mentioning, although in hindsight its easy to see that mikes life had spiralled out of control, no one gave douglas a chance, and no one was prepared for how much tyson had deteriorated...

 

First thing that came to mind was the fight of the century. Frazier was like a machine in that fight.

 

I watched that again not long ago, Douglas was fantastic. It's such a pity that it took so much to motivate him; what might he have done in his career if he had a different mentality?