Help Identify the greatest fights since 1970 **Updated**

[FightWriter]

Hello everyone!

I must say when I found this site, I lurked a little while to see how informed most of the users are, and how passionate they are about the sport of boxing. Needless to say, I was incredibly impressed; so much so, in fact, that I joined up with the hopes that you all would share your knowledge and passion with me on a subject I am writing about. Currently, I am forming what is a massive list of the GREATEST fights in boxing and MMA, since 1970. I know, I know, the boxing purists may feel offended, but please, I pray you stay the course with me. As it stands right now, I have about 160 fights from both sports listed, and given that boxing has been around for so much longer, most of the fights are from the sweet science.

My father is terminally ill, so this is a project of great importance to me. Before he dies, I want to have THE definitive list of the greatest fights from 1970, and from there I plan on writing a book that ranks the Top 100. Yes, I know, to do such a thing sounds incredibly arrogant, but this is what I am doing. If I can get the list completed and flushed out, and share it with my father before he passes, it would be a dream for both of us.

Now, when considering such a topic, obviously, it is important to know how I am judging "great fights." Honestly, it is fairly simple; these are the fights you normally think of when you think of a FOTY. Ring magazine was my first stop, and I have gathered most of the fights they awarded with such an honor -- although not all of those fights will end up making the Top 100 (Foreman vs. Frazier 1, for instance, was not a great fight, but a one-sided beatdown). The kinds of fights I am looking for have a great deal of action and said action is in flux most of the time, keeping fans on the edge of their seats, unsure of who is going to win. Corrales vs. Castillo 1 is an excellent example of the kinds of fights I am searching for. Obviously, in order to claim any kind of unbiased authority over such a massive list, I have included even those bouts, such as Foreman vs. Frazier 1, simply for the sake of review so I can truthfully say I have reviewed all fights of note before whittling them down to a Top 100.

Now, I will post my list as it stands now, organized by year, with no MMA bouts included.

1970
Olivares vs. Chucho Castillo
Monzon vs. Benvenuti I

1971
Ali vs. Frazier I

1972
Foster vs. Finnegan

1973
Herrera vs. Venice Borkorsor
R. Herrera vs. Rodolfo Martinez
Ali vs. Norton I
Foreman vs. Frazier I
A. Taylor vs. Romero Anaya

1974
Arguello vs. Olivares
R. Valdes vs. Bennie Briscoe
Oscar Albarado vs. Koichi Wajima I
R. Duran vs. Esteban De Jesus II
Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman

1975
Ali vs. Frazier III

1976
Ali vs. Norton III
Foreman vs. Lyle

1977
Carlos Monzon vs. Rodrigo Valdez II
Carlos Zarate vs. Alfonso Zamora
Foreman vs. Young
Muhammad vs. Johnson I
Soo Hwang Hong vs. Hector Carrasquilla

1978
Arguello vs. Escalera I
Holmes vs. Norton
Ali vs. Spinks I
Carlos Palomino vs. Armando Muniz II

1979
Arguello vs. Escalera II
L. Holmes vs. Mike Weaver
Lopez vs. Ayala
Muhammad vs. Johnson II

1980
M. Weaver vs. John Tate
Leonard vs. Duran I
Muhammad vs. Lopez II
Salvador Sanchez vs. Ruben Castillo

1981
Leonard vs. Hearns I
Colin Jones vs. Kirkland Laing
Caveman Lee vs. John LoCicero

1982
Arguello vs. Pryor I
Chacon vs. Limon IV
Pintor vs. Gomez
George Feeney vs. Ray Cattouse
Azuma Nelson vs. Salvador Sanchez

1983
Chacon vs. Edwards II

1984
C. Santos vs. Mark Medal
Ramirez vs. Rosario II

1985
Lee Roy Murphy vs. Chisanda Mutti
Hagler vs. Hearns

1986
Cruz vs. McGuigan
Holyfield vs. Qawi I

1987
Fidel Bassa vs. Dave McAuley
Leonard vs. Hagler

1988
Lopez vs. Lockridge
Barkley vs. Hearns

1989
Harding vs. Dennis Andries
Duran vs. Barkley
Daniel Zaragosa vs. Paul Banke I

1990
Paul Hodkinson vs. Marcos Villasana
Aaron Davis vs. Mark Breland
Daniel Zaragosa vs. Paul Banke II
Chris Eubank vs. Nigel Benn I
Chavez vs. Taylor I

1991
S. Brown vs. Maurice Blocker
Quiroga vs. Anifowoshe
Holyfield vs. Cooper
James Toney vs. Mike McCallum I

1992
Kennedy McKinney vs. W. Ncita I
Bowe vs. Holyfield I
Bert Cooper vs. Michael Moore

1993
G. McClellan vs. Julian Jackson
T. Norris vs. Waters
Carbajal vs. Gonzalez

1994
Jorge Castro vs. John David Jackson

1995
Pettway vs. Simon Brown
Gonzalez vs. Sorjaturong
N. Benn vs. G. McCleanan

1996
Gatti vs. Rodriguez
Holyfield vs. Tyson I

1997
Tua vs. Ibeabuchi
Hamed vs. Kelly
Gatti vs. Ruelas

1998
Gatti vs. Robinson I

1999
Ayala vs. Tapia I
Tzsyu vs. Hertado
De La Hoya vs. Quartey

2000
Clifford Etienne vs. Lawrence Clay Bey
Trinidad vs. Vargas
De La Hoya vs. Mosley I
Morales vs. Barrera I

2001
Julian Letterlough vs. Julio Gonzalez
Ward vs. Burton

2002
E. Morales vs. Ayala
Gatti vs. Ward I
De La Hoya vs. Vargas
Elvir Muriqi vs. Sam Ahmad

2003
J. Toney vs. Vassiliy Jirov
Gatti vs. Ward III

2004
Trinidad vs. Mayorga
Barrera vs. Morales III
Pacquiao vs. Marquez I

2005
Morales vs. Pacquiao I
Corrales vs. Castillo I
Jorge Arce vs. Hussein Hussein

2006
Sithchatchawal vs. Monshipour

2007
Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor I
Vasquez vs. Marquez II

2008
Vasquez vs. Marquez III
Pacquiao vs. Marquez II

2009
Marquez vs. Diaz I

2010
Segura vs. Calderon I
Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana

2011
Pawel Wolak vs. Delvin Rodriguez
V. Ortiz vs. Berto
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III

2012
Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV

2013
Bradley vs. Provodnakov

2014
Matthysse vs. Molina
Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym
Robert Guerrero vs. Yoshiro Kamegai
Francisco Rodriguez vs. Katsunari Takayama

2015
Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly
Takashi Miura vs. Francisco Vargas

2016
Vargas vs. Salido



...so, good people, what am I missing? I don't want to leave any stone unturned. I cannot help but feel that I am missing some great bouts of boxing that were FOTY material, and I don't want that. Should this book get published, I don't want anyone saying: "Oh my god, how could they forget X vs. X?!" or something like that. In short, I need your help, if you all are willing.

As a fan of boxing since the age of 6, I knew there were a lot of great fights that would obviously make it into the Top 100, hands down -- but the more I research and dig, the more I am surprised by how many great fights are out there that I had never heard of. I don't want this list to suffer from such ignorance.

Guys and gals, help me out if you can. It is appreciated.

[wsbuf]

Bobby Chacon- Boza-Edwards II

[FightWriter]

Bobby Chacon- Boza-Edwards II

Got that one in there already. Thanks! Keep 'em coming....

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Lee/locicero & carrasquilla/Hong are two off the top of my head. Couple of odd choices. Morales/Ayala? That wasn't competitive.

[FightWriter]

True, it wasn't -- but I had heard it was a "good" fight so I had to list it and research it. A lot of the fights on this list have been reviewed and found lacking, but I include the list in total, just so all of the bases are covered.

I am adding Lee/locicero and carrasquilla/Hong to the list! Thanks!

[davie]

It might be worth editing your OP as this thread progresses.

Just for the purpose of this thread I might remove the MMA fights, as they will just get in the way.

Then maybe put a mark or comments next to ones there's consensus agreement on and perhaps a stroke through ones that people think were a bit one sided or undeserving so we don't end up going over old ground as we progress.

I can second the Limon vs Chacon IV fight, watched it last night and it was an absolute war

[davie]

Foster vs. Finnegan

We had a thread on Horses 52 week challenge for this fight
I didn't feel it was fight of the year worthy, a little one sided and there was decent action but not an all out war.
http://boxrec.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f ... n#p4338089

I'll have a scan through those thread and see what I can find, it is restricted to fights involving UK based fighters.

[FightWriter]

Thank you, I really appreciate it! Seriously, I already have two fights that I might not have ever run across, which is fantastic.

I'll start editing the list tomorrow, and leave out the MMA fights, as suggested.

[Kalan]

Put them in alphabetical order... Why get a lot of repeats of the 100's you already have???

James Toney vs Mike McCallum I and Salvador Sanchez vs Ruben Castillo are 2 of the best matched action fights I've ever seen.

Too many writers look for the blood and guts fights... Boxing is a science and many fans appreciate artistry... Break down a few masterful performances.

[FightWriter]

Yeah, I hear you, but "which few?" is the question. Once you open that door, you can't close it and all kinds of fights flood in (all deserving of attention, but also all are different). Having strict guidelines seems in many ways like a dick move, but it's needed for lists like this -- especially if they end up published.

Maybe another list: "The Master Class: Top 100 Fights Since 1970" or something like that. I hate to think of any good fights being left out in the cold, but....

[davie]

I'm with fightwriter here. I appreciate the sweet science but FOTY types should be action fights. They're judged on entertainment.
Perhaps these bouts often lack elite talent, take some of Provodnikovs wars for instance. But they might make the list for entertainment alone.

As long as you know what the criteria for the list is, it's not a problem.
You're not trying to sell it as anything it isn't.
By great fights you mean wars, not a meeting of the 2 greatest fighters. (Mayweather vs paquiao or Ward v Kovalev is never making that list regardless of their p4p ranking and boxing ability)

I would also discount one sided contests.

Take Calzaghes demolition of Jeff Lacy. One of the finest performances i've ever seen and I still enjoy watching it back today but not in the slightest bit competitive

[FightWriter]

Well said. I totally understand where Kalan is coming from, and I agree, but in this instance, FOTY bouts (or those of that ilk) are what is on the table for this list.

Two-sided contests, high in action and drama, with the outcome very much in doubt. Thus far, 4 additional bouts have been added, and if they hadn't, it would have been a crime as those fights were great!

I hope we can keep them coming. I am also trying to do my fair share in looking through past threads, so you good people, like Kalan, don't have to do all the work over again.

Thanks!

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Sanchez/Castillo and Santos/medal are two more that don't belong. Hundreds and hundreds of better fights.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Weaver/Coetzee is a much better fight than Weaver/Tate. Crazy drama in the latter, no way is it a top 1000 fight from this time span. I didn't save my top 100 fights or I'd post it for you. I'm just going to spit out some for you. You may already have some, I'm not going to cross reference.

Morrison/Williams
Morrison/Hipp
Holyfield/Dokes
Mercer/Cooper
Whitaker/Hurtado
Rosario/Davis jr
Curry/Brooks
Benitez/Palomino
Duran/Camacho 1(really slept on fight, Duran's last great performance.)
M Taylor/G Brown
Chang/Kittikaseem
Mancini/Kim
Quiroga/Akeem
Saad/Kates
Garza/Meza
Benn/barkley
Pazienza/Rosenblatt
Williams/Sosa
Brewer/Pemberton
Dorsey/Kelley

That should keep you busy for a minute.

[Ambling Alp II]

Ali-Foreman was in 1974, not 1994.
Anyway, some more:

1973
Ali-Norton II
1974 Ali-Frazier II
1976
Shavers-Wiiliams
1979
Leonard-Benitez
Galindez-Johnson
1980
Leonard-Duran II
Mustafa-Muhammad -Johnson
1982
Duran-Benitez
Hearns-Benitez
1984
Hearns-Duran
1992
Bowe-Holyfield I
1993
Bowe-Holyfield II

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I think Ali/Norton 2 was their best and closest fight. Odd ommission with the other two listed.

[FightWriter]

Jesus, guys -- Thanks! So much work to do!

I am also going to check out Mike McCallum vs. Julian Jackson -- heard that was a good one!

[FightWriter]

Just watches Danny "Little Red" Lopez vs. Mike Ayala.

Good lord! Simply incredible fight. Jaw dropping! Ayala was awesome in that fight!

The number of MMA bouts that are going to have a place on this list keeps getting smaller and smaller....

[APerno]

Hello everyone!

I must say when I found this site, I lurked a little while to see how informed most of the users are, and how passionate they are about the sport of boxing. Needless to say, I was incredibly impressed; so much so, in fact, that I joined up with the hopes that you all would share your knowledge and passion with me on a subject I am writing about. Currently, I am forming what is a massive list of the GREATEST fights in boxing and MMA, since 1970. I know, I know, the boxing purists may feel offended, but please, I pray you stay the course with me. As it stands right now, I have about 160 fights from both sports listed, and given that boxing has been around for so much longer, most of the fights are from the sweet science.

My father is terminally ill, so this is a project of great importance to me. Before he dies, I want to have THE definitive list of the greatest fights from 1970, and from there I plan on writing a book that ranks the Top 100. Yes, I know, to do such a thing sounds incredibly arrogant, but this is what I am doing. If I can get the list completed and flushed out, and share it with my father before he passes, it would be a dream for both of us.

Now, when considering such a topic, obviously, it is important to know how I am judging "great fights." Honestly, it is fairly simple; these are the fights you normally think of when you think of a FOTY. Ring magazine was my first stop, and I have gathered most of the fights they awarded with such an honor -- although not all of those fights will end up making the Top 100 (Foreman vs. Frazier 1, for instance, was not a great fight, but a one-sided beatdown). The kinds of fights I am looking for have a great deal of action and said action is in flux most of the time, keeping fans on the edge of their seats, unsure of who is going to win. Corrales vs. Castillo 1 is an excellent example of the kinds of fights I am searching for. Obviously, in order to claim any kind of unbiased authority over such a massive list, I have included even those bouts, such as Foreman vs. Frazier 1, simply for the sake of review so I can truthfully say I have reviewed all fights of note before whittling them down to a Top 100.

Now, I will post my list as it stands now, organized by year, with no MMA bouts included.

1970
Olivares vs. Chucho Castillo
Monzon vs. Benvenuti I

1971
Ali vs. Frazier I

1972
Foster vs. Finnegan

1973
Herrera vs. Venice Borkorsor
R. Herrera vs. Rodolfo Martinez
Ali vs. Norton I
Foreman vs. Frazier I
A. Taylor vs. Romero Anaya

1974
Arguello vs. Olivares
R. Valdes vs. Bennie Briscoe
Oscar Albarado vs. Koichi Wajima I
R. Duran vs. Esteban De Jesus II
Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman

1975
Ali vs. Frazier III

1976
Ali vs. Norton III
Foreman vs. Lyle

1977
Carlos Monzon vs. Rodrigo Valdez II
Carlos Zarate vs. Alfonso Zamora
Foreman vs. Young
Muhammad vs. Johnson I
Soo Hwang Hong vs. Hector Carrasquilla

1978
Arguello vs. Escalera I
Holmes vs. Norton
Ali vs. Spinks I
Carlos Palomino vs. Armando Muniz II

1979
Arguello vs. Escalera II
L. Holmes vs. Mike Weaver
Lopez vs. Ayala
Muhammad vs. Johnson II

1980
M. Weaver vs. John Tate
Leonard vs. Duran I
Muhammad vs. Lopez II
Salvador Sanchez vs. Ruben Castillo

1981
Leonard vs. Hearns I
Colin Jones vs. Kirkland Laing
Caveman Lee vs. John LoCicero

1982
Arguello vs. Pryor I
Chacon vs. Limon IV
Pintor vs. Gomez
George Feeney vs. Ray Cattouse
Azuma Nelson vs. Salvador Sanchez

1983
Chacon vs. Edwards II

1984
C. Santos vs. Mark Medal
Ramirez vs. Rosario II

1985
Lee Roy Murphy vs. Chisanda Mutti
Hagler vs. Hearns

1986
Cruz vs. McGuigan
Holyfield vs. Qawi I

1987
Fidel Bassa vs. Dave McAuley
Leonard vs. Hagler

1988
Lopez vs. Lockridge
Barkley vs. Hearns

1989
Harding vs. Dennis Andries
Duran vs. Barkley
Daniel Zaragosa vs. Paul Banke I

1990
Paul Hodkinson vs. Marcos Villasana
Aaron Davis vs. Mark Breland
Daniel Zaragosa vs. Paul Banke II
Chris Eubank vs. Nigel Benn I
Chavez vs. Taylor I

1991
S. Brown vs. Maurice Blocker
Quiroga vs. Anifowoshe
Holyfield vs. Cooper
James Toney vs. Mike McCallum I

1992
Kennedy McKinney vs. W. Ncita I
Bowe vs. Holyfield I
Bert Cooper vs. Michael Moore

1993
G. McClellan vs. Julian Jackson
T. Norris vs. Waters
Carbajal vs. Gonzalez

1994
Jorge Castro vs. John David Jackson

1995
Pettway vs. Simon Brown
Gonzalez vs. Sorjaturong
N. Benn vs. G. McCleanan

1996
Gatti vs. Rodriguez
Holyfield vs. Tyson I

1997
Tua vs. Ibeabuchi
Hamed vs. Kelly
Gatti vs. Ruelas

1998
Gatti vs. Robinson I

1999
Ayala vs. Tapia I
Tzsyu vs. Hertado
De La Hoya vs. Quartey

2000
Clifford Etienne vs. Lawrence Clay Bey
Trinidad vs. Vargas
De La Hoya vs. Mosley I
Morales vs. Barrera I

2001
Julian Letterlough vs. Julio Gonzalez
Ward vs. Burton

2002
E. Morales vs. Ayala
Gatti vs. Ward I
De La Hoya vs. Vargas
Elvir Muriqi vs. Sam Ahmad

2003
J. Toney vs. Vassiliy Jirov
Gatti vs. Ward III

2004
Trinidad vs. Mayorga
Barrera vs. Morales III
Pacquiao vs. Marquez I

2005
Morales vs. Pacquiao I
Corrales vs. Castillo I
Jorge Arce vs. Hussein Hussein

2006
Sithchatchawal vs. Monshipour

2007
Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor I
Vasquez vs. Marquez II

2008
Vasquez vs. Marquez III
Pacquiao vs. Marquez II

2009
Marquez vs. Diaz I

2010
Segura vs. Calderon I
Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana

2011
Pawel Wolak vs. Delvin Rodriguez
V. Ortiz vs. Berto
Pacquiao vs. Marquez III

2012
Pacquiao vs. Marquez IV

2013
Bradley vs. Provodnakov

2014
Matthysse vs. Molina
Orlando Salido vs. Terdsak Kokietgym
Robert Guerrero vs. Yoshiro Kamegai
Francisco Rodriguez vs. Katsunari Takayama

2015
Andrzej Fonfara vs. Nathan Cleverly
Takashi Miura vs. Francisco Vargas

2016
Vargas vs. Salido



...so, good people, what am I missing? I don't want to leave any stone unturned. I cannot help but feel that I am missing some great bouts of boxing that were FOTY material, and I don't want that. Should this book get published, I don't want anyone saying: "Oh my god, how could they forget X vs. X?!" or something like that. In short, I need your help, if you all are willing.

As a fan of boxing since the age of 6, I knew there were a lot of great fights that would obviously make it into the Top 100, hands down -- but the more I research and dig, the more I am surprised by how many great fights are out there that I had never heard of. I don't want this list to suffer from such ignorance.

Guys and gals, help me out if you can. It is appreciated.

1984 Mancini - Bramble I
1985 Mancini - Bramble II

[HyacinthusTurnipseed]

Most of my immediate suggestions are already there.

Though on any given fight weekend you'll see at least one fight better than Ali-Spinks I surely? Wasn't that an awful fight or am I thinking of something else?

I remember Martinez-Williams I being good though I haven't watched it since it happened.

Oh yeah, Maidana-Ortiz as well.

[FightWriter]

Well, Ali-Spinks 1 was listed by Ring Magazine as FOTY I believe, so I listed it and watched it. I could see it being the upset of the year, for sure, but FOTY.... I didn't think so. But as it was given such an award, I had to watch it to give it a fair shake. Many of the fights on this list aren't going to make the cut, but I don't want to leave anything out of the realm of consideration if it is given some accolades in such a realm.

[hhaehre]

Well, Ali-Spinks 1 was listed by Ring Magazine as FOTY I believe, so I listed it and watched it. I could see it being the upset of the year, for sure, but FOTY.... I didn't think so. But as it was given such an award, I had to watch it to give it a fair shake. Many of the fights on this list aren't going to make the cut, but I don't want to leave anything out of the realm of consideration if it is given some accolades in such a realm.

Don't know about FOTY but it was a good fight. Many people don't like it because Ali lost but it was a good action fight, reasonably close and Ali still had a little left.

[FightWriter]

Fair enough!

On a different topic, WTF happened to Round 8 in Holyfield-Bowe 2?

Watching it on YouTube and the fanman drops in during Round 7 and by the time the dust settles and everyone is ready to fight, they are starting Round 9 and Ledderman gives his score as if Round 8 happened.

WTF????

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Must not be on the vid you watched. They finished 7.