Classic fights I've watched recently

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Floyd Patterson 1+2


Ali stops Patterson in the 12th round of their 1st fight, he was excellent and won the fight with the jab alone, bouncing on his toes peppering the jab into Patterson's face all night, Ali even put him down with a jab in the 6th and never lost a second of the fight, Patterson was hindered by an injured back which his corner worked on constantly in between rounds, looked like they were giving him the Heimlich manouvere at one point, Ali was superb though he started to open up on Patterson just before the end and it was target practice before the referee stepped in to stop it, Patterson brave but was hopelessly out of his depth that night against a near prime Ali

Ali stopped Patterson again in the rematch, this time the ref waving it off before the start of the 8th due to a severe swelling on Patterson's eye, Patterson was a lot better in this fight than he was first time around he was able to nail Ali a couple of times and probably landed more in the 7 rounds than he did in the 12 rounds of the first fight, Ali was a little more slower out the traps this time but he was still never flustered and the jab again was his main weapon, this was a close fight for the 1st 5 rounds or so but when Patterson's eye began to swell Ali stepped on the gas and started to unload fast flurries that Patterson struggled to get out the way of, Patterson's corner seemed to willing to allow Floyd to continure but the ref rightly waved it off, Patterson's eye was tight shut and he was a KO waiting to happen i'd imagine

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs George Chuvalo 1+2


Ali wins both fights via wide UDs, he was never gonna stop Chuvalo or even hurt him, 1st fight was as dominant as it gets, Chuvalo as tough and game as ever was just too slow to close the gap on Ali who TBH wasn't particularly great that night, he was in total control but more sparring mode and was content to jab away at the crude Chuvalo, George did give it a last push at the end and had a little success with his left hook but a pretty easy win for Ali

Rematch was a bit closer, still a comfortable win in the end for Ali but Chuvalo did have his moments, Chuvalo has pretty fast hands but its his feet that were too slow to close Ali down, Ali boxed the majority of the bout on his toes which surprised me as it was post exile, Chuvalo was able to land with combinations at times especially in the closing rounds when Ali tired and had his lazy spells, Ali had a strong last round though to cement the win

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Brian London


Ali KOs the massively out of depth London in 3 rounds with a flurry of shots but it was a right hand that sent London down for the full count, London was a tough solid fighter of the day but he was a good few level below Ali who played with him on the short time it landed, on the toes, flicking the jab out with the occasional right hand, he shook London in the 2nd with a right and KO'd him pretty early in the 3rd, lightening fast combo of about 10 punches, most missed mind but the last decisive right was enough to finish things

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Ernie Terrell


Another excellent performance from Ali who dominated Terrell for 15 rounds without any trouble whatsoever, Terrell like every other fighter who fought Ali at this time struggled to land a glove, he had no success on the outside and tried to rough him up on the inside again without much success as Ali was the master of tying up and holding, Ali even with hands by his side dodging everything Terrell threw, easy win

Another one of those fights where ive read loads about but when I actually watch it for myself is nothing like what ive read or been told, I read this was a cruel beatdown from Ali who purposely carried Terrell to humiliate him for calling him Clay, it was a domination but not a beatdown, Ali wobbled Terrell in the 7th and in the 8th constantly yelled "Whats my name?" but that was where it pretty much ended, Ali never talked to Terrell anymore than he talked to anyone else during fights, the reason this went 15 was because Ali couldn't hurt Terrell again like he did in the 7th, nothing cruel just brilliant boxing skills

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Zora Folley


Ali KO's Folley with a right hand in the 7th, Folley looked like he was sleeping when he hit the canvas before jumping up and falling into the ropes and the ref waved it off, decent effort from Folley he started of well and got home some right hands in the 1st couple of rounds, Ali took over though, he put Folley down in the 4th with a quality shot sending Folley face first, he stuck around for a few more rounds but it was classic Ali up on his toes, dancing, sticking and moving before he KO'd Folley

Ali's last fight before the lay off

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Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi

Great fight Hagler KOs an exhausted Mugabi in the 11th, closely fought all the way through, it wasnt the war I expected it to be, both men showing respect and waiting for their openings but it was a good watch, Mugabi was tough and had his moments but Hagler for me was always that little bit more in control , usually with his southpaw jab although he fought the 1st round orthodox, he hurt Mugabi in the 6th but John held on and even fired back, Mugabi looked like he was starting to land more as the fight went on but it mustve emptied his tank because he was spent by the 10th and Hagler finished him the following round putting him down with a combination, Mugabi never made the count

It was a tremendous fight, but it did demonstrate how much Hagler had slipped.

His chin was still awesome & his technique was still evident, but he had most of his speed.

I think Hagler '82 would have pulverised Mugabi inside the first half of the fight.

[elmersalsa]

Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi

Great fight Hagler KOs an exhausted Mugabi in the 11th, closely fought all the way through, it wasnt the war I expected it to be, both men showing respect and waiting for their openings but it was a good watch, Mugabi was tough and had his moments but Hagler for me was always that little bit more in control , usually with his southpaw jab although he fought the 1st round orthodox, he hurt Mugabi in the 6th but John held on and even fired back, Mugabi looked like he was starting to land more as the fight went on but it mustve emptied his tank because he was spent by the 10th and Hagler finished him the following round putting him down with a combination, Mugabi never made the count

It was a tremendous fight, but it did demonstrate how much Hagler had slipped.

His chin was still awesome & his technique was still evident, but he had most of his speed.

I think Hagler '82 would have pulverised Mugabi inside the first half of the fight.

Marvelous of '82 destroys the great Sugar Ray Leonard outright.

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Jerry Quarry 1+2


First fight Quarry is pulled by his corner after 3 rounds due to a bad cut on his eye, hadn't really got going Ali was just boxing his way into it, I'm sure it was a straight right hand that did the damage, bit of an anti climax for Ali fans after 3 and half years in exile

Rematch was vintage Ali though, I thought he was excellent, one of his more entertaining fights of his post exile career, he stopped Quarry seconds into the 7th round, probably should've been stopped a round earlier as it was target practice for Ali and Quarry just couldn't get out of the way of anything Ali threw, jabs, hooks, right hands and uppercuts the lot, Quarry brave as the come though he never went down but Ali landed a lovely right uppercut/left hook combination the ref thankfully stepped in

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Oscar Bonavena


Ali TKOs Bonavena in the 15th round, Bonavena victim of the 3 KD rule, wasn't a great fight to watch, Ali was poor and Bonavena had plenty of success and took a good few rounds of Ali, his crude style and wide punches had no trouble landing throughout, Ali struggled to keep Bonavena off him and he was bullied and roughed up a lot, Ali came back into around about the 10th but Bonavena was still dangerous with big single shots, still the end came out of nowhere, Ali nailing Bonavena with a class left hook which put him down and that was the punch that ended things really, Bonavena was put down twice more and it was stopped, great end to a poor performance from Ali

[Nile4000]

Marvin Hagler vs John Mugabi

Great fight Hagler KOs an exhausted Mugabi in the 11th, closely fought all the way through, it wasnt the war I expected it to be, both men showing respect and waiting for their openings but it was a good watch, Mugabi was tough and had his moments but Hagler for me was always that little bit more in control , usually with his southpaw jab although he fought the 1st round orthodox, he hurt Mugabi in the 6th but John held on and even fired back, Mugabi looked like he was starting to land more as the fight went on but it mustve emptied his tank because he was spent by the 10th and Hagler finished him the following round putting him down with a combination, Mugabi never made the count

It was a tremendous fight, but it did demonstrate how much Hagler had slipped.

His chin was still awesome & his technique was still evident, but he had most of his speed.

I think Hagler '82 would have pulverised Mugabi inside the first half of the fight.

Marvelous of '82 destroys the great Sugar Ray Leonard outright.

Indeed, he would have taken Ray out. And Thomas Hearns too, which was the real reason Emanuel cancel the fight in 1982.

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Jimmy Ellis


Ali stops stablemate Ellis on his feet in the 12th and last round, wasn't a great watch, Ali always in control but was literally in sparring mode for the majority of the fight, Ellis had a good opener and a decent 3rd but Ali hurt him in the 4th and Ellis couldn't really make any breakthrough, Ali hurt him again in the 10th then Ellis began to fall apart, Ali nailed him with a combination and Ellis was reeling around the ring just 1 big shot from a KO, I think Ali didn't want to really hurt Ellis so concentrated on clean single shots when Ellis was against the ropes, the ref eventually stepped in, probably a tad late

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Buster Mathis


Ali wins a drab 12 round UD over the out of shape Mathis in another Ali borefest, Mathis walked forward constantly but never offered anything other than the occasional haymaker, Ali had him down twice in the 11th and twice in the 12th but showed no killer instinct to get Mathis out of there, Ali was dominant without getting out of 2nd gear, flicking out the jab, some right hands and uppercuts but it was a poor effort from both men, the bell saved Mathis after the 2nd KD of the 11th and when he came out for the 12th he was there for the taking but Ali chose to allow him to last the course, he even put Mathis down with some of the softest left hands you'll see anywhere, yet Mathis got up , Ali put him down with a decent flurry, again Mathis got up and lost widely on points

Poor from Ali, a man of his ability should never have allowed Mathis to last the course, especially after the shape of him in the last 2 rounds

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Bob Foster


Ali destroys Foster in 8 rounds, putting him down 7 times en route, Foster was the reigning LHW champ coming in but the step up was too great and Ali played with him and Foster couldn't really find any openings although he did tag Ali with a cracking right hand just before the end, Ali had him down 4 times in the 5th and it should've been stopped there and then but TBF to Foster he regrouped well in the following round but Ali had him down twice again in the 7th with right hands, Foster bravely continued but once another right put him down him in the 8th, that was it

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Joe Bugner 1+2


Ali wins both via comfortable UD, both very similar with Ali dominant on both occasions, both fights weren't as bad as I thought they were gonna be, Ali didn't spoil or lay on the ropes and make it a tough watch, he danced for long spells and he put his punches together nicely in both fights, he never let Bugner get into a rythym, Bugner for his part just didn't do nearly enough to win or make things uncomfortable for Ali, technically he's sound and on the rare occasions he let his shots go he had success but even his jab wasn't used near enough, Ali on the other hand was busy in both fights and his accuracy was impressive too

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Chuck Wepner


Ali KO's Wepner in the 15th of a pretty dreadful fight, Wepner is tough and he gave it a go but he's a crude as they come and someone of Ali's stature should've been dealing with someone like Wepner a lot earlier and easier, for the first half of the fight it was boring, loads of spoiling and roughhouse tactics, Ali constantly moaning about rabbit punches and it was just messy, Wepner scored a "knockdown" in the 9th when he jabbed and stood on Ali's foot, regardless if it was bogus it seemed to wake Ali up and he got to work on Wepner, he still wasn't that busy but he was sharp and accurate and Wepner just seemed to unravel with the shift of gear, Ali nailed him with a big right hand in the last round and Wepner went reeling, Ali opened up on him, one final right hand put Wepner down for the count

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Ron Lyle


Ali comes from behind to stop Lyle in the 11th, really good finish from Ali, he tagged Lyle with a right hand that staggered him and sent him crashing into the ropes, Ali then exploded into life, throwing the kitchen sink at Lyle and landing with pretty much everything he threw, every shot in the book he nailed Lyle with it, mustve been nearly 50 punches before the ref stepped in

Not a great showing from Ali as a whole though, he was easily outworked by the big punching Lyle who elected to box Ali and he did comfortably for about 7 rounds before Ali put the foot down, Lyle did have a good 10th but Ali finished him in the following round, great effort from Lyle but ultimately it was Ali's class which told in the end

[HomicideHenry]

Gerrie Coetzee vs Michael Dokes

Never quite realized it before but Coetzee had a helluva jab and rather fast hands. I can see why from 1978 onwards he was a threat to the heavyweight championship. Btw, 201-2 as an amateur! Holy shit I never knew he had that large and successful an amateur record.

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Jimmy Young

Ali wins a 15 round UD in a very close fight, I never scored it but I wouldn't have argued either way, Young was busier in the spells he chose to work, when he let his hands go, his speed troubled Ali and he found the target more often than not, he did have quiet spells though and it allowed Ali to use his experience and walk forward and land some nice single shots, Ali scored a (wrong)knockdown at the end of the 12th when Young went through the ropes and Ali hit him, more than once Young ducked himself through the ropes when Ali backed him up and he should've been deducted so the bogus KD made up for it


Again not a great showing from Ali but he got the win, Young would've made a great Cruiserweight, he looked tiny compare to Ali

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Thomas Hearns v Juan Roldan.

Both men trying to KO the other; Roldan stunned Hearns, but Tommy was able to weather the storm & eventually levelled Roldan with this signature punch.

Powerful performance from Tommy.

[handsofstone]

Thomas Hearns v Juan Roldan.

Both men trying to KO the other; Roldan stunned Hearns, but Tommy was able to weather the storm & eventually levelled Roldan with this signature punch.

Powerful performance from Tommy.

Fun fight

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Richard Dunn


Ali TKOs a game Dunn in the 5th, putting him down 5 times en route, all from right hands, Dunn wasn't on Ali's level of course but Ali was in form and wasn't in the mood to hang around like he did sometimes, Dunn never won a round but he had his moments and tagged Ali a lot with southpaw left hands but Ali was in the mood for a fight, he had Dunn down 3 times in the 4th but Dunn bravely kept coming forward and after a couple more knockdowns in the 5th the ref waved it off with Dunn still trying to get at Ali

The last KO win of Ali's career

[Bodyshot3]

Gerrie Coetzee vs Michael Dokes

Never quite realized it before but Coetzee had a helluva jab and rather fast hands. I can see why from 1978 onwards he was a threat to the heavyweight championship. Btw, 201-2 as an amateur! Holy poo I never knew he had that large and successful an amateur record.

Coetzee was actually decent...although his great amateur record I suspect was largely a completely domestic affair due to Apartheid.

He's largely remembered here in the UK as the guy Bruno sent into a deep sleep and very early, but he was well past his sell by date and prime Coetzee would have given Bruno major, major problems.

He beat the hell out of Neon Leon, beat Dokes, drew with a prime Pinklon Thomas 'on the road' and gave John Tate a proper argument too.
Also beat Tillis when he was a bona fide contender and the very dangerous Kallie Knoetze.

Gerrie gets a bit rubbished - the white guy who managed to do a number on one of the 'cokehead' Americans - but he could fight and Bruno's people were wary of what he could bring...despite the fact Gerrie was a veteran.

[handsofstone]

Muhammad Ali vs Earnie Shavers


Ali wins a close points decision over the always dangerous Shavers, I never scored but there couldn't have been much between them, Shavers hurt Ali a few times, especially in the 2nd and 13th rounds, nailing him with big overhand rights, Ali showed his granite chin and experience to ride out the storms, Ali won his rounds early on and midway, Shavers finished really strong though on the front foot backing Ali up and tagging him, Ali looked as if he was needing the final bell but he did finally hurt Shavers himself with seconds to go of the 15th round, he opened Shavers up but the bell saved him, hard to say whether Ali would've got him out of there but no doubt Shavers was hurt

[Nile4000]

Muhammad Ali vs Earnie Shavers


Ali wins a close points decision over the always dangerous Shavers, I never scored but there couldn't have been much between them, Shavers hurt Ali a few times, especially in the 2nd and 13th rounds, nailing him with big overhand rights, Ali showed his granite chin and experience to ride out the storms, Ali won his rounds early on and midway, Shavers finished really strong though on the front foot backing Ali up and tagging him, Ali looked as if he was needing the final bell but he did finally hurt Shavers himself with seconds to go of the 15th round, he opened Shavers up but the bell saved him, hard to say whether Ali would've got him out of there but no doubt Shavers was hurt

Shavers beat Ali 8-6-1, no doubt about it. The shots he hit Muhammad with hurt him later in life. Larry Holmes has stated as much.

[handsofstone]

Mike Tyson vs James "Bonecrusher" Smith

Tyson wins a tediously dull shutout in a unification fight against Smith who's sole aim was to last the distance, he should never had lasted to the end really, he should've been DQ'd for persisting holding, he was deducted 2 points for holding, 1st one was in the 2nd and he kept doing it, everytime Tyson got in close Smith was all over him like an octopus and it took Mills Lane another 6 rounds to finally take another point off, Smith cleaned up his act a little but still offered zero offensively instead choosing to go walkabout while Tyson stalked him, as the rounds went on Tyson looked more and more uninterested just trying to land a big shot and looking crude himself

Worst thing about Smith is that he wobbled Tyson with a right hand in the last round but there was only about 5 seconds to go and the bell helped Tyson, its a pity Bonecrusher waited so long to throw a meaningful shot, awful fight