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Joseph Santoliquito
The top 10 fights that transcended boxing
April 7, 2015
Photo by Frederic J. Brown / Getty Images
We’re in the midst of a special time. Boxing, for once, will be front-page news and dominate sports coverage like the NFL, NBA and Major League Baseball usually do – and it’s the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao megafight that will force the myopic mainstream sports media to put boxing there over the next few weeks.
The reason is simple: Mayweather-Pacquiao transcends boxing. It’s one of those rare generational occurrences featuring two fighters that have grabbed the public’s imagination and people want to see it. But it is a little more involved than that.
Pacquiao will be the sentimental choice of most, by the way he carries himself with his seemingly humble approachability and his modest past. Mayweather may carry the precious ‘0,’ but he will play the role of the “bad guy,” whether he likes it or not. The truth is most mainstream sports fans don’t know much about either fighter, though they do know Mayweather has had past issues with the law, done a little time in jail because of it, and is viewed in general, whether accurate or not, as a spoiled ingrate.
There is a racial and generational undertone involved, too.
Many younger African-American fans identify with the 38-year-old Mayweather, while most Asian, Latino and older fans seem tethered to the 36-year-old Pacquiao.
Anyway the storylines for this fight get twisted, it does in many ways fall in line with some of the most anticipated fights in boxing history. RingTV.com takes an unscientific look at the 10 biggest mega-fights in history, based on their event appeal, not so much the quality of the fight.
- Evander Holyfield KO 3 Mike Tyson II, June 28, 1997, Las Vegas
Photo by Jeff Haynes-AFP
“The Bite Fight,” as it’s been infamously dubbed, actually began with overwhelming fanfare because of the first Holyfield-Tyson fight. Holyfield was a 25-to-1 underdog the first time against Tyson. He had dismantled “Iron Mike” and shocked the world with an 11th-round stoppage in November 1996. Holyfield was considered done when he met Tyson in their first meeting. “The Real Deal” was 2-2 in his previous four fights and was believed to pose little threat to Tyson – so Don King handpicked him – and Holyfield pulled off the upset. That set up the rematch: A revived Holyfield against the still-menacing Tyson.
Result: Something strange occurred in the third round. With less than a minute left, Tyson positioned his head up against the side of Holyfield’s head during a clinch and bit the tip of Holyfield’s right ear. Holyfield stomped and shoved Tyson away. Referee Mills Lane tried to restore order and figure out what was going on. After consulting with the ringside physician, and deducting two points from Tyson for the bite, Lane opted to let the fight resume. This time, Tyson nibbled on Holyfield’s left ear. Lane saw enough. After the round, he disqualified Tyson and “The Bite Fight” was stamped into the wild, wacky section of boxing history.
- Felix Trinidad MD 12 Oscar De La Hoya, Sept. 18, 1999, Las Vegas
Photo by Hector Mata-AFP
Called “The Fight of the Millennium,” this matched two highly popular, undefeated Latino champions and was the last mega-fight of the century. Trinidad was, and still is today, one of the most admired Puerto Rican stars ever. De La Hoya had the matinee idol looks and a number of credible victories on his resume. This fight was believed to be a defining point in both of their careers. They were both 26 and had a combined record of 66-0 with 56 victories coming within the distance. De La Hoya was just over a year shy of stopping Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez, and Trinidad was seven months removed from dominating Pernell Whitaker.
Result: The fight generated 1.4 million pay-per-view buys, the most for any non-heavyweight fight then, and has since been exceeded by the 2.4-million buys De La Hoya and Mayweather generated in 2007. The fight itself was a bit of a dud, not living up to the hype. De La Hoya danced his way to a points lead, until Hall of Fame trainer Gil Clancy gave “The Golden Boy” some bad advice and advised him to coast the last four rounds. It cost De La Hoya his first career loss.
- Sonny Liston KO 1 Floyd Patterson I, September 25, 1962, Chicago, Ill.
Photo from THE RING archives
No one wanted Patterson, then the heavyweight champ, to fight Liston. It was the cause for Patterson to cut ties with legendary manager Cus D’Amato, who didn’t want Patterson anywhere near Liston because of his alleged mob ties. Supposedly, President John F. Kennedy urged Patterson not to fight Liston, either. Liston had a surly reputation, and the NAACP tried to coerce Patterson from fighting Liston in fear that it would hurt the civil rights movement and feed into what white America thought of blacks at the time.
Result: Liston crushed the far smaller Patterson. Liston came in at 214 and Patterson was 189 pounds. Liston also knew Patterson feared him and made sure to impose that intimidation. Liston stunned Patterson with a right uppercut midway through the first round. Liston dropped Patterson with a left hook and that was it. Patterson was counted out before 18,894 fans at Comiskey Park. Patterson, the first fighter in boxing history to regain the heavyweight title, and Liston fought again in 1963 with the same result. That time, however, Patterson brought a disguise fearing the same outcome and wanted to spare himself any post-fight embarrassment. After Liston beat Patterson in ’63, he fought a brash kid from Louisville, Kentucky named Cassius Clay.
- Pernell Whitaker D 12 Julio Cesar Chavez, Sept. 10, 1993, San Antonio, Texas
Photo from THE RING archives
It was the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight of its time. The two future Hall of Famers were among the top two pound-for-pound fighters for some time. Whitaker was the top welterweight in the world, Chavez agreed to come up in weight and the two decided to meet at 145 pounds for Whitaker’s WBC title. Chavez was a popular Mexican legend, and arguably the greatest Mexican fighter of all-time. He was also 87-0. Whitaker, a defensive wizard who was an Olympic gold medalist, was 32-1 (and the one loss was regarded as an egregious robbery).
Result: In the opinion of almost everyone who saw the fight, Whitaker brilliantly out-boxed Chavez. But judges Mickey Vann and Franz Marti somehow saw it as a 115-115 draw, while judge Jack Woodruff had Whitaker winning 115-113. Chavez didn’t exactly carry himself as the sportsman afterward proclaiming he had no respect for Whitaker, whining about Whitaker’s so-called “tactics.”
- Roberto Duran W 15 Sugar Ray Leonard I, June 20, 1980, Montreal, Canada
Photo from THE RING archives
At the time, it was richest fight in boxing history. Leonard was taking over for the faded Muhammad Ali as the face of boxing. He was also returning to Montreal, where his career was launched as the gleaming future of the sport when he won gold at the 1976 Olympics. Duran, on the other hand, was a fight fan’s fighter. He didn’t have the crossover appeal of the smiling, commercial Leonard, but held the respect of the regular fan for his ferocity. Joe Frazier was asked ringside who Duran reminded him of. Frazier’s reply: “Charles Manson.”
Result: Maybe Leonard was looking for guts points, or was willing to get his ribs tested by the stone-fisted Duran, but Sugar Ray wasn’t “Sugar Ray.” He stood flat footed, playing more into Duran’s brawling game than his own boxing ability. Duran piled more heat on Leonard than he ever previously faced – and it cost him his first loss as a professional. The scores were originally read as Duran being a majority-decision victor. The official ruling was corrected, after Italian judge Angelo Poletti had Duran winning 148-147 – off a scorecard that read: three-rounds Duran, two-rounds Leonard, and 10 rounds even.