You're left with the choice of only being able to watch ten fights for the rest of your life. Feel free to offer explanation. Maybe you want ten slugfests. Maybe you want ten technical masterpieces. Maybe you want ten perfect performances. Maybe you want ten full 15-round fights for sake of time. Maybe you want a well-rounded mixture. What is your essential collection? Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier III -The full story is what makes this fight: knowing the rivalry; knowing the setting; knowing the little details during the fight. This fight is pure savagery. The toughness these two men had is beyond humbling. It almost hurts to watch these men put each other through that experience. It's the fight I always land on when considering the greatest of all time; I can't call another superior. Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon IV -It's two men reaching near-superhuman states. This fight is unreal to watch. The stamina and physical fortitude on display is astounding. The crowd is electric and the history between these men is harsh. Knowing Chacon's story coming into this fight makes it all the more intense. It's 15 rounds of war that will leave your jaw dropped by the end. James Toney vs Mike McCallum I -Perhaps the best example of combining high-paced action with masterful technical skills. These guys were throw-backs and they put on a fight so closely contested that nearly no one can agree on the what the scorecards should have read. Even when people come up with the same scores, rarely did they get there the same way. Tony Canzoneri vs Kid Chocolate I -It has no sound. The film quality is lacking. The lighting is terrible at times. But this fight exemplifies how good the fighters of old were. Much like Toney-McCallum, these guys put on a war of technicians that's action-packed until the very end. There's so much to appreciate here; so much to ****yze. Roberto Duran vs Ray Leonard I -It may be the single greatest victory in boxing history. Two all-time greats going 15 rounds, both so close to their primes, in a true super fight. It's technical, it's primal, it's beyond intriguing to watch these guys dance together. Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I -What's always got me about this fight is the ebb-and-flows. The transitions are so dramatic that you have no time to get comfortable. Yet, it's also building and building to the crescendo of round nine--I still can't believe it wasn't stopped during that carnage. Round 10 closes it off in almost a romantic ending of two men completely spent, truly s****ing the bottom of the barrel, unwilling to quit. Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo I -A very exclusive group of people saw this in-person; it's crazy to look at how many empty seats were in the crowd. This one also builds and builds. In the second half of the fight, each round ends with one guy getting saved by the bell; they trade off. You know something has to give. And then round 10... Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera I -When I think about this fight, I think of the word "fury." They refused to lose to the other. You can see the hatred; the tension bleeds through the screen. It still gets me every time in round 12 after the false-knowdown when they go *****-to-the-wall; Morales is desperate to make up for that lost point and Barrera won't let him. It's war until the end. Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Alvaro Lopez II -How do you pick one Saad Muhammad fight? There's a handful of guys like that--Gatti, Chacon, Holyfield, and Morales immediately come to mind. This fight is like watching two boulders crash against each other. Lopez seems to be the more superior-built stone as he chips at Saad for the first half of the fight. When they get to the cores though, Saad reveals a solid core whereas Lopez was chipping away at his own core the entire time trying to clash with the rock that was Matthew Saad Muhammad. Archie Moore vs Yvon Durelle I -If Corrales-Castillo is is greatest comeback in a single round, then this must surely be the greatest comeback over an entire fight (Any close contenders, or superiors?). Moore was done. Round one was a massacre. And he evens gets knocked down again a few rounds later. Somehow, Moore survives and breaks Durelle down round-by-round. It will never be forgotten in boxing history.
Of the stuff that's on film I'd go for... Robinson TKO 13 LaMotta Segura KO12 Marquez Marquez KO9 Diaz Muhammad TKO12 Johnson Francisco Rodriguez UD12 Katsunari Takayama Joe Frazier UD15 Muhammad Ali Duran SD12 Barkley Vazquez SD12 Marquez Erik Morales UD12 Manny Pacquiao Joe Louis KO1 Buddy Baer
Off the cuff: Leonard - Hearns I Sanchez - Gomez Hagler - Hearns Kalambay - McCallum I Arguello - Mancini Gomez - Pintor Sanchez - Lopez I Duran - Dejesus II Curry - McCrory Chavez - Rosario
Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon IV Danny Nardico vs Charley Norkys I Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo I Arturo Gatti vs Wilson Rodriguez Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Marvin Johnson I (II was great too!) Archie Moore vs Yvon Durelle I Carmen Basilio vs Tony DeMarco II (I was great too) Somsak Sithchatchawal vs. Mahyar Monshipour Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello I