Muhammad Ali Vs Joe Frazier III October 1, 1975 Quezon City, Philippines Philippine Coliseum Going into his third fight with Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali was a huge favorite as most experts felt Frazier was a shot fighter. In retrospect, that analysis made no sense since Frazier at 31 was two years younger and had been…
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Diego Corrales Vs José Luis Castillo I May 7, 2005 Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: Mandalay Bay Diego Corrales and José Luis Castillo had both been victims of losses to the best fighter of their era; Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Corrales was thoroughly outboxed and mentally emasculated by the defensive guru. Castillo gave Mayweather the two toughest…
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3. Joe Frazier Vs Muhammed Ali I March 8, 1971 New York City Venue: Madison Square Garden The single, biggest and most significant fight in boxing history occurred the night Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali fought each other for the first time. There have been several books and documentaries about that historic fight. The back…
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4. Marvin Hagler Vs Thomas Hearns April 15, 1985 Las Vegas, Nevada Caesars Palance For many years, Marvelous Marvin Hagler was avoided like the plague in the 160-pound division. Being a southpaw, boxer-puncher, he was considered a low reward/high risk opponent. After finally getting a shot at the Undisputed Middleweight Champion Vito Antoufermo in November…
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5. Aaron Pryor Vs Alexis Argüello I November 12, 1982 Miami, Florida Venue: The Orange Bowl After Alexis Argüello’s two classic fights against Alfredo Escalera, he continued to dominate the 130-pound division before moving up to 135 pounds. On June 20, 1981, he outboxed WBC Lightweight Champion Jim Watt to win the title. After knocking…
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6. Sugar Ray Leonard Vs Thomas Hearns I September 16, 1981 Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: Caesars Palace Thomas Hearns was the first fighter I idolized whose career I followed from the very beginning. The first two years of his career, I read every article I could find about him in newspapers and magazines. When my…
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7. Riddick Bowe Vs Evander Holyfield I November 13, 1992 Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: Thomas and Mack Center After knocking out Buster Douglas to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Evander Holyfield’s first three title defenses were against Bert Cooper and over-the-hill greats George Foreman and Larry Holmes. The 30-year-old champion would next…
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8. Érik Morales Vs Marco Antonio Barrera I February 19, 2000 Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: Mandalay Bay Two of the greatest fighters ever to hail from Mexico, Érik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, both had intense hatred for each other. Both men were mild mannered and gentleman outside the ring with everyone but each other….
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9. Matthew Saad Muhammad Vs Yaqui Lopez II July 13, 1980 McAfee, New Jersey Venue: Great Gorge Playboy Club Coming off his scintillating win against Marvin Johnson to claim the WBC Light Heavyweight title, 26-year-old Matthew Saad Muhammad stayed busy, defending his title three times within a year. His fourth defense would be a rematch…
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10. Bobby Chacon Vs Bazooka Limón IV December 11, 1982 Sacramento, CA Venue: Memorial Auditorium The story of Bobby Chacon was tailor made for television. Chacon turned pro in 1972 at the age of 20 and won the WBC Featherweight title less than three years after turning pro. At 23 years old, Chacon was on…
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