Top Ten Greatest fights of the 80s!...

[silkov]

This is quite a tough list to write as there were a great number of classics in the 80s... but heres my go at a top ten...
1. Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon 4... for sheer excitement, action, guts and emotion this fight is number one!...
2. Arron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello... probably the 'classiest' brawl you could ever see!...
3. Mathew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2... unbelievable all action war... 8th round one of the best rounds I've ever seen!...
4. Kelvin Seabrooks vs Theirry Jacob... a largely unknown classic, but this is perhaps the wildest fight I've ever seen.
5. Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor... a real latin classic... no let up till the end...
6. Bobby Chacon vs Cornileus Boza Edwards 2... another sensational and emotion packed war...
7. Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1...... masterclass by Duran!...
8. Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns ...short but sweet... would have rated higher had it lasted longer!...
9. Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley... perhaps Durans finest hour!...
10. Salvadore Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez... Sanchez cements his greatness with sensational performance against Gomez......


............veiws anyone?..... 8)

[walshb]

Surely Leonard V Hearns 1 and Duran 1 would make that list

[Ezzard]

yes Leoanrd-Hearns I and Duran-Leonard I are definites...

From a UK POV how about Kaylor-Christie?

I also liked William-Czyz, Pryor-Arguello

[silkov]

Surely Leonard V Hearns 1 and Duran 1 would make that list

Duran vs Leonard 1 is there... Hearns vs Leonard 1 just misses out. A lot of great fights don't make the top 10...... I chose particular fights which for me are particularly outstanding. Hearns vs Leonard 1 was quite a technical fight rather than an out and out thriller imo....

[Ezzard]

Have to say i've never seen Seabrooks-Jacob and know nothing about the fight. Better go and educate myself on the records section

[Richie Aprille rules]

Nice list, Silkov, although in my opinion Hagler-Hearns should be rated far higher and Sanchez-Gomez was too one-sided to make the top-ten list (I would slip Leonard - Hearns I and Holyfield - Qawi I instead)

[Ezzard]

Dave Mcauley and Fidel Bassa had a couple of terrific fights...

[silkov]

To be honest I could have easily have put in Bassa vs Mcauley 1, Quawi vs Holifield 1 and also Mcguigan vs Cruz.....
Sanchez vs Gomez was one-sided in a way but you could also say it was the most two sided one sided fight you could ever see!... Wilfredos courage in keeping fighting back was amazing, while Sanchez gave an awesome performance... add to that the amazing atmosphere of the fight with both fighters fans in a frenzy... you've got a great fight! 8)

[silkov]

Colin Jones two battles with Milton Mccorry were classics too!.....

[Broncano]

Adding to the ones already mentioned and in no particular order

Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez
Edwin Rosario vs Jose Luis Ramirez II
Bobby Chacon vs Boza Edwards
Roberto Duran vs Davey Moore
Leonard vs. Benitez

and many many more, Silkov the eighties had great fights every month!!

[silkov]

Adding to the ones already mentioned and in no particular order

Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez
Edwin Rosario vs Jose Luis Ramirez II
Bobby Chacon vs Boza Edwards
Roberto Duran vs Davey Moore
Leonard vs. Benitez

and many many more, Silkov the eighties had great fights every month!!

Indeed, ...how about Frank 'the animal' Fletchers fights!.... what a bunch of fights this guy was in... I only wish they'd taken it easier on him so he could have made it to a fight with Hagler as that would have been a real barnstormer!!!....

[silkov]

Have to say i've never seen Seabrooks-Jacob and know nothing about the fight. Better go and educate myself on the records section

Kelvin Seabrooks seems to be forgotten by many people but the man was in some really amazing battles. He was thrown in early in his career with some dangerous fighters and fought top featherweights even though he was a natural Bantam (don't ask me why!) ...but then he managed to win the IBF World Bantamweight title and he made some sensational defences of which the Jacob fight is probably the best. Think Saad Muhammad weighing 118 pounds and you get the gist of what Seabrooks was like... he eventually lost the title in a great fight to Orlando Canizales...... another lively fighter!...

[Broncano]

Indeed, ...how about Frank 'the animal' Fletchers fights!.... what a bunch of fights this guy was in... I only wish they'd taken it easier on him so he could have made it to a fight with Hagler as that would have been a real barnstormer!!!....

Yeah Fletcher's career was thrown to the wolves facing Roldan, Mugabi and Curtis Parker one after the other.

Speaking of the Roldan fight, he was knocked right through the ropes and roughed up pretty good. that was in the Hagler-Duran undercard at Caesars Palace.
After that vicious KO the ring doctor asked Frank if he knew where he was and he answered: "Yeah...'The Sands'".

I don't know who it was quoted afterwards saying: "Poor guy probably thought he was at The Sands even before the fight had started. They don't call him the 'Animal' for nothing, you know"

[silkov]

Yeah, look at the guys he fought in succession ...Earnie Singletary, James Green, Tony Braxton, Clint Jackson, Wilfred Scypicon.. .. I have all these fights and watching them am not surprised that Fletcher burnt out.. :x . I'm sure a peak Fletcher could have beaten Roldan..... what do you think?...
Remember Fletchers mother shouting at ringside!.. .. bet some of his opponents were pleased they were fighting Frank and not her eh!....

[Broncano]

Yeah, we agree on that. Roldan was just a rough banger. An absolute technical horror created by his manager, the late Tito Lectoure.

Fletcher's mom! ha! She always looked like she was ready to jump on the ring.

Just to think all of those wonderful fights were available for free on national TV. Nowadays we have to pay $50 to watch JOHN RUIZ!

[silkov]

Pay to watch Ruiz!!! ...you couldn't pay me to watch him to be honest!.
Fletcher may have been uneducated but came across in interviews as having quite a sharp brain in streetwise way. Also seemed to have quite a dry sense of humour. Shame things worked out for him like they did is he still in prison?.....
His brother is in even a worse position on death row I think... I've read up on his case a bit and it certainly seems dodgey. Anthony was a slick boxer wasn't he and beat Livingstone Bramble shortly before Bramble won the title......

[Broncano]

I read that Anthony was awaiting a new trial, I don't know about Frank really, A real shame indeed.

[ShoeShine]

I read that Anthony was awaiting a new trial, I don't know about Frank really, A real shame indeed.

yes I believe Anthony is getting a new trail and there a good chance for him to be released, Frank definantly had the right nickname bc he was an animal inside the ring and also on the streets of South Philly.

[stujones]

Chavez vs Rosario is a definate for me.

[Ambling Alp]

The Saad Muhammad-Lopez and Chacon-Boza Edwards fights were awesome. If I remember correctly in the Boza Edwards-Chacon fight, Boza Edwards was really hammering Chacon in the first round and then right at the end of the round Chacon decked him. And the same thing happened in the 2nd round!
I don't think anyone mentioned Hagler-Leonard, which was a great fight.

It's interesting that not one heavyweight fight was mentioned. That really was a weak decade for heavyweights, although this decade has been even worse so far.

[Seamus]

Tommy Hearns v Juan Roldan was an excellent fight. Roldan was down 4 times I think, but still gave the Hitman a pounding before getting knocked out in the 4th. Another seldom mentioned great fight of the 80's was Marcos Villasana v Jaime Garza.

[MightyWarrior]

This is quite a tough list to write as there were a great number of classics in the 80s... but heres my go at a top ten...
1. Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon 4... for sheer excitement, action, guts and emotion this fight is number one!...
2. Arron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello... probably the 'classiest' brawl you could ever see!...
3. Mathew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2... unbelievable all action war... 8th round one of the best rounds I've ever seen!...
4. Kelvin Seabrooks vs Theirry Jacob... a largely unknown classic, but this is perhaps the wildest fight I've ever seen.
5. Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor... a real latin classic... no let up till the end...
6. Bobby Chacon vs Cornileus Boza Edwards 2... another sensational and emotion packed war...
7. Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1...... masterclass by Duran!...
8. Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns ...short but sweet... would have rated higher had it lasted longer!...
9. Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley... perhaps Durans finest hour!...
10. Salvadore Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez... Sanchez cements his greatness with sensational performance against Gomez......


............veiws anyone?..... 8)

Good list Sanchez/Gomez gets in evertime for me - an awesome night - Sanchez faced down the unbeatable Gomez in a truly amazing performance. Gomez showed unbelieveable heart that night.

Duran/Moore was a little too brutaly one-sided for me though.

A little known club fight involving John LoCicero and Caveman Lee ( I think? ) was one of the most exciting seen in the 80's - multiple back-from-the-brink knockdowns - similar to Foreman/Lyle I remember.

[Seamus]

Here's 10 more great fights from the 80's previously unmentioned.

Jeff Harding-Dennis Andries I
Livingstone Bramble-Ray Mancini II
Simon Brown-Tyrone Trice I
Jorge Paez-Calvin Grove I
Salvador Sanchez-Azumah Nelson
Salvador Sanchez-Danny Lopez II
Azumah Nelson-Wilfredo Gomez
Jim Watt-Sean O'Grady

AND a pair of classic 1 rounders
Ray Mancini-Arturo Frias
Juan Meza-Jaime Garza

[silkov]

This is quite a tough list to write as there were a great number of classics in the 80s... but heres my go at a top ten...
1. Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon 4... for sheer excitement, action, guts and emotion this fight is number one!...
2. Arron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello... probably the 'classiest' brawl you could ever see!...
3. Mathew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2... unbelievable all action war... 8th round one of the best rounds I've ever seen!...
4. Kelvin Seabrooks vs Theirry Jacob... a largely unknown classic, but this is perhaps the wildest fight I've ever seen.
5. Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor... a real latin classic... no let up till the end...
6. Bobby Chacon vs Cornileus Boza Edwards 2... another sensational and emotion packed war...
7. Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1...... masterclass by Duran!...
8. Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns ...short but sweet... would have rated higher had it lasted longer!...
9. Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley... perhaps Durans finest hour!...
10. Salvadore Sanchez vs Wilfredo Gomez... Sanchez cements his greatness with sensational performance against Gomez......


............veiws anyone?..... 8)

Good list Sanchez/Gomez gets in evertime for me - an awesome night - Sanchez faced down the unbeatable Gomez in a truly amazing performance. Gomez showed unbelieveable heart that night.

Duran/Moore was a little too brutaly one-sided for me though.

A little known club fight involving John LoCicero and Caveman Lee ( I think? ) was one of the most exciting seen in the 80's - multiple back-from-the-brink knockdowns - similar to Foreman/Lyle I remember.

Thats true about the Lee vs Locicero fight... I have it and its a great one.
Another one I shouldn't have forgotten is the Leroy Murphy vs Chisander Mutti fight for the ibf cruiser weight title... this is one of the best fights ever with a Rocky double knockdown ending!!!...

[steve689]

I was watching William "Caveman" Lee versus John LoCicero the other day from 1981, it was a real back and forth tearup.