Classic fights I've watched recently

[chrisjs1985]

I recently came across the full version of Eder Jofre vs. Jose Legra. I fight I'd searched for since the turn of the 21st century.

An excellent match and interesting mix of styles. Jofre, the shorter more polished fighter moving forward out of his crouched stance against Legra, the taller, rangier speedy guy moving around the ring more. Jofre lands the cleaner blows on a more consistent basis and wins the fight at mid range since Legra doesn't really fight as well there and often resorts to attempting to tie Jofre up and using other rough house tactics.

It's a fairly well balanced fight. The first two are very even, Legra scores a flash knockdown in round 3 and Jofre hammers Legra around in round 4 and then it's basically trading rounds until the 9th where I feel Jofre gets into the fights more dominant spell. Round 14 however, Legra lands a meaty right to the body that visibly hurts Jofre and has him in retreat and covering up but he survives and probably does enough to earn the 15th. Legra lost two points for fouls.

I scored it 9-6 in rounds or 143-139 in points. I've watched it twice since finding it and will no doubt watch it again. I love Jofre and am particularly intrigued by that era and the many unheralded fighters such as Legra.

[HomicideHenry]

Tex Cobb vs John Jackson
(World Kickboxing Championship)

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Lee Savold


Savold retires on his stool after 6 rounds after getting a one sided beatdown from the first bell, it was tough going for him, he never had a sniff, Marciano just marched him down from the start, boaring in with the head, getting it on Savold's chest and wailing away, throwing in 5s and 6s and 3/4 were getting through, as the rounds went on, he was landing more cleanly more often and Savold was just about finished, Marciano was landing with everything he threw, good call from Savold's corner to pull their man out, Marciano would've KO'd him the following round

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Roland LaStarza 2


Marciano stops a brave LaStarza in the 11th of a tough fight for Rocky. LaStarza is a tidy boxer, stand up, does the basics well and he outboxed Marciano for the 1st 3/4 rounds until Marciano started to find his range, Marciano was a bit wild in the early goings and LaStarza comfortably evaded his big swings and he was able to tie Marciano up effectively on the inside whilst getting home some jabs and right hands

Marciano eventually began finding the target as the rounds went on and LaStarza's workrate dropped and he concentrated on avoiding Marciano's lunging left hooks and big overhand rights, each round that passed Marciano was looking stronger and finding it easier to nail LaStarza clean

In the 11th Marciano decked LaStarza with a combination and put him through the ropes, similar situation to the shots that KO'd Louis although this time LaStarza got up, he was hurt though and Marciano laid into him with both fists and the ref stepped in seconds later

Pity the 1st fight isn't available, Marciano won a 10 round SD but a few people thought LaStarza deserved it

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Marciano stopped a uber tough Cockell in the 9th round but I was only able to find 11 minutes of the fight which is a downer, Cockell defentely gave it a go though, he likes to throw uppercuts on the inside in a sort of stand up position which looked a bit crude but he nailed Marciano was a cracking shot which made Rocky spin around

Marciano gave Cockell an absolute beating in the 8th, it was tough viewing, god knows how Cockell stood up to the punches Marciano landed, what a chin, he mustve been nailed with 20 shots that would've KO'd other heavyweights

Marciano finally got rid of Cockell in the 9th,, put him down with a cracking right hand when Cockell was against the ropes, should've ben stopped there but Cockell got up then down again with another right, got up again then when Marciano sent him staggering the ref finally stopped the beating

Cockell is incredibly tough but Marciano, what a dangerous fighter he is when he's got the other guy backed up on the ropes, Walcott, Louis, LaStarza and Cockell all down when backed up

[Nile4000]

Leo Randolph v Ricardo Cardona (1980)

Leo Cruz v Sergio Victor Palma II (1982)

Two great 15-rounders for the WBA super bantamweight/ jr featherweight title.

These guys weren't the level of their contemporary Wilfredo Gomez but I feel they really came into their own with these rivalries for the WBA crown - and they set a standard for grit, toughness and intensity that'd make 122-pounds such a consistently exciting weight class. For clean punching and sustained action these fights really impress.

In particular Cruz v Palma II, Cruz becoming a world champion at his third attempt. You'd see similar level of grit in the careers of Daniel Zaragoza, Israel Vazquez, Toshiaki Nishioka, etc.

Also, I feel Lupe Pintor, who dabbled at 122 in a couple of sensational battles (v Gomez and also Juan Meza) would've matched well with Randolph, Cardona, Cruz & Palma. They would've produced action, in spades.

So would Jeff Chandler.

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Archie Moore


Marciano puts Light Heavyweight champ Moore down 5 times en route to a 9th KO in the final fight of Rocky's career, Marciano was down himself in the 2nd round courtesy of a lovely right hand counter that Moore landed as Marciano came lunging in, after that it was pretty much classic Marciano, coming forward and imposing himself, Moore did have a couple of decent spells, showing a great jab at times and he done a good job of making Marciano miss whilst backed up on the ropes, he's a clever fighter Moore but in reality it was all Marciano, he had Moore down twice in the 6th with right hands, Moore took a real pasting inbetween the knockdowns, he done well to make it out the round, he was done again from a right in the 7th but the ref wrongly ruled it a slip, again in the 8th Moore was down from the right before Marciano put him away for good in the 9th, doubling up the left hook

[handsofstone]

Randy Turpin vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Turpin KOs Cockell in the 9th to win the British and Empire Light Heavyweight titles, could only find 11 minutes of the fight though, still surprised see Turpin deal with Cockell so effectively, I know Turpin as a MW and Cockell took and absolute pounding from Marciano before eventually going down, Turpin had him down in the 3rd with a sweet left/right combo, he looked quick and strong and about the same size as Cockell

Turpin put Cockell down heavily with a left hook in the 9th then straight away with a left/right, Cockell got up but when Turpin sent him crashing into the ropes after a big left hook the ref jumped in

Impressive from Turpin

[Ambling Alp II]

At his best, Turpin was a heckuva fighter.

[Counter-puncher]

Randy Turpin vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Turpin KOs Cockell in the 9th to win the British and Empire Light Heavyweight titles, could only find 11 minutes of the fight though, still surprised see Turpin deal with Cockell so effectively, I know Turpin as a MW and Cockell took and absolute pounding from Marciano before eventually going down, Turpin had him down in the 3rd with a sweet left/right combo, he looked quick and strong and about the same size as Cockell

Turpin looked a very big middleweight to me. He absolutely dwarfed Robinson, although he wasn't a big middleweight but still I'm not surprised Turpin looked solid at LH

[Tomasino]

Rocky Marciano vs Archie Moore


Marciano puts Light Heavyweight champ Moore down 5 times en route to a 9th KO in the final fight of Rocky's career, Marciano was down himself in the 2nd round courtesy of a lovely right hand counter that Moore landed as Marciano came lunging in, after that it was pretty much classic Marciano, coming forward and imposing himself, Moore did have a couple of decent spells, showing a great jab at times and he done a good job of making Marciano miss whilst backed up on the ropes, he's a clever fighter Moore but in reality it was all Marciano, he had Moore down twice in the 6th with right hands, Moore took a real pasting inbetween the knockdowns, he done well to make it out the round, he was done again from a right in the 7th but the ref wrongly ruled it a slip, again in the 8th Moore was down from the right before Marciano put him away for good in the 9th, doubling up the left hook

Whats your thoughts on Rocky overall mate?

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Archie Moore


Marciano puts Light Heavyweight champ Moore down 5 times en route to a 9th KO in the final fight of Rocky's career, Marciano was down himself in the 2nd round courtesy of a lovely right hand counter that Moore landed as Marciano came lunging in, after that it was pretty much classic Marciano, coming forward and imposing himself, Moore did have a couple of decent spells, showing a great jab at times and he done a good job of making Marciano miss whilst backed up on the ropes, he's a clever fighter Moore but in reality it was all Marciano, he had Moore down twice in the 6th with right hands, Moore took a real pasting inbetween the knockdowns, he done well to make it out the round, he was done again from a right in the 7th but the ref wrongly ruled it a slip, again in the 8th Moore was down from the right before Marciano put him away for good in the 9th, doubling up the left hook

Whats your thoughts on Rocky overall mate?

I think it goes without saying he was a great fighter, tough, strong, always aggressive , great chin, great engine and he wears guys down

I don't think his CV stands up with other greats though, but in all fairness to him the era wasn't that strong, Louis, Walcott and Charles had all seen better days even though the latter 2 were still fighting at the top level, they couldn't have been as strong as the were 5/10 previous

Walcott gave him hell in the 1st fight and his 1st fight with Charles was close as well, he came out on top in all 4 though so fair do's

He was crude though, bad footwork, seemed to drag his feet, no real head movement, just always dipping that right shoulder, wasn't particularly quick but always dangerous especially when he had guys backed up on the ropes, most of his KOs came when the other guys back was on the ropes

Yourself mate??

[actjac]

Joe Hipp vs Tommy Morrison

Pat Jefferson vs Cubanito Perez (semi-main event of Hagler-Hearns)

[SenorPipino]

Rocky Marciano vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Marciano stopped a uber tough Cockell in the 9th round but I was only able to find 11 minutes of the fight which is a downer, Cockell defentely gave it a go though, he likes to throw uppercuts on the inside in a sort of stand up position which looked a bit crude but he nailed Marciano was a cracking shot which made Rocky spin around

Marciano gave Cockell an absolute beating in the 8th, it was tough viewing, god knows how Cockell stood up to the punches Marciano landed, what a chin, he mustve been nailed with 20 shots that would've KO'd other heavyweights

Marciano finally got rid of Cockell in the 9th,, put him down with a cracking right hand when Cockell was against the ropes, should've ben stopped there but Cockell got up then down again with another right, got up again then when Marciano sent him staggering the ref finally stopped the beating

Cockell is incredibly tough but Marciano, what a dangerous fighter he is when he's got the other guy backed up on the ropes, Walcott, Louis, LaStarza and Cockell all down when backed up

I've watched this fight (the abridged version like you did) a number of times and Marciano certainly put a vicious beating on the game Cockell.

It apparently took everything out of the Brit, who was only 27 years old at the time.

In his next fight he was listless in a 3rd round TKO defeat to the underrated Cuban Nino Valdes.

The fight ended on a cut but Cockell was knocked down and showed little.

He came back once more against a unrated Tongan heavyweight and was quickly dispatched by KO.

That was it. Cockell retired.

Taking a pounding from the Rock had a lasting effect.

[handsofstone]

Rocky Marciano vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Marciano stopped a uber tough Cockell in the 9th round but I was only able to find 11 minutes of the fight which is a downer, Cockell defentely gave it a go though, he likes to throw uppercuts on the inside in a sort of stand up position which looked a bit crude but he nailed Marciano was a cracking shot which made Rocky spin around

Marciano gave Cockell an absolute beating in the 8th, it was tough viewing, god knows how Cockell stood up to the punches Marciano landed, what a chin, he mustve been nailed with 20 shots that would've KO'd other heavyweights

Marciano finally got rid of Cockell in the 9th,, put him down with a cracking right hand when Cockell was against the ropes, should've ben stopped there but Cockell got up then down again with another right, got up again then when Marciano sent him staggering the ref finally stopped the beating

Cockell is incredibly tough but Marciano, what a dangerous fighter he is when he's got the other guy backed up on the ropes, Walcott, Louis, LaStarza and Cockell all down when backed up

I've watched this fight (the abridged version like you did) a number of times and Marciano certainly put a vicious beating on the game Cockell.

It apparently took everything out of the Brit, who was only 27 years old at the time.

In his next fight he was listless in a 3rd round TKO defeat to the underrated Cuban Nino Valdes.

The fight ended on a cut but Cockell was knocked down and showed little.

He came back once more against a unrated Tongan heavyweight and was quickly dispatched by KO.

That was it. Cockell retired.

Taking a pounding from the Rock had a lasting effect.

I watched Cockell being destroyed from Turpin this week and assumed that fight was after Don's fight with Marciano

[Tomasino]

Rocky Marciano vs Archie Moore


Marciano puts Light Heavyweight champ Moore down 5 times en route to a 9th KO in the final fight of Rocky's career, Marciano was down himself in the 2nd round courtesy of a lovely right hand counter that Moore landed as Marciano came lunging in, after that it was pretty much classic Marciano, coming forward and imposing himself, Moore did have a couple of decent spells, showing a great jab at times and he done a good job of making Marciano miss whilst backed up on the ropes, he's a clever fighter Moore but in reality it was all Marciano, he had Moore down twice in the 6th with right hands, Moore took a real pasting inbetween the knockdowns, he done well to make it out the round, he was done again from a right in the 7th but the ref wrongly ruled it a slip, again in the 8th Moore was down from the right before Marciano put him away for good in the 9th, doubling up the left hook

Whats your thoughts on Rocky overall mate?

I think it goes without saying he was a great fighter, tough, strong, always aggressive , great chin, great engine and he wears guys down

I don't think his CV stands up with other greats though, but in all fairness to him the era wasn't that strong, Louis, Walcott and Charles had all seen better days even though the latter 2 were still fighting at the top level, they couldn't have been as strong as the were 5/10 previous

Walcott gave him hell in the 1st fight and his 1st fight with Charles was close as well, he came out on top in all 4 though so fair do's

He was crude though, bad footwork, seemed to drag his feet, no real head movement, just always dipping that right shoulder, wasn't particularly quick but always dangerous especially when he had guys backed up on the ropes, most of his KOs came when the other guys back was on the ropes

Yourself mate??

I really rate him, probs more than most. Just how tough and determined he was. He always went after it, through pain and fatigue. His punch power was severe according to his toughest opppnents. I agree he got to the main men a bit late but Walcott and Charles were the two best guys at the time. I really felt for Joe Louis even though he was the favourite going in he looked old as F. His foot work was pretty poor especially early going, he seemed to get a bit cagier as the fights went on. I liked his catch and counter style, like the way he moved in on Walcott to finish the first fight. He was a very game very confident fighter. The exact opposite from say Mike Tyson who was a front runner.

[SenorPipino]

Rocky Marciano vs Don Cockell(highlights)


Marciano stopped a uber tough Cockell in the 9th round but I was only able to find 11 minutes of the fight which is a downer, Cockell defentely gave it a go though, he likes to throw uppercuts on the inside in a sort of stand up position which looked a bit crude but he nailed Marciano was a cracking shot which made Rocky spin around

Marciano gave Cockell an absolute beating in the 8th, it was tough viewing, god knows how Cockell stood up to the punches Marciano landed, what a chin, he mustve been nailed with 20 shots that would've KO'd other heavyweights

Marciano finally got rid of Cockell in the 9th,, put him down with a cracking right hand when Cockell was against the ropes, should've ben stopped there but Cockell got up then down again with another right, got up again then when Marciano sent him staggering the ref finally stopped the beating

Cockell is incredibly tough but Marciano, what a dangerous fighter he is when he's got the other guy backed up on the ropes, Walcott, Louis, LaStarza and Cockell all down when backed up

I've watched this fight (the abridged version like you did) a number of times and Marciano certainly put a vicious beating on the game Cockell.

It apparently took everything out of the Brit, who was only 27 years old at the time.

In his next fight he was listless in a 3rd round TKO defeat to the underrated Cuban Nino Valdes.

The fight ended on a cut but Cockell was knocked down and showed little.

He came back once more against a unrated Tongan heavyweight and was quickly dispatched by KO.

That was it. Cockell retired.

Taking a pounding from the Rock had a lasting effect.

I watched Cockell being destroyed from Turpin this week and assumed that fight was after Don's fight with Marciano

Actually the Turpin fight was about 3 years before Cockell challenged Marciano.

Cockell weighed in at 174 for Turpin. He had basically been a super middleweight (if such a weight class had existed back then) and light heavyweight from the beginning of his career through Turpin.

After he was dominated by Turpin, Cockell said he was no longer able to make light heavy comfortably and moved up to heavyweight.

He was able to reel off 10 straight wins at his new weight class, beating some pretty decent fighters in Tommy Farr (ex Joe Louis victim) Roland LaStarza (Marciano victim) and 3 victories over Harry Kid Matthews (also a Marciano victim).

This string of heavyweight wins earned him a shot at Marciano.

And as I related earlier, Cockell only had 2 more fights after Marciano, losing both by stoppage.

[handsofstone]

Carl "Bobo" Olson vs Randy Turpin


Olson wins a 15 round UD to win the vacant MW title, putting Turpin down twice along the way, real tough gruelling fight, closely fought for the most part, a lot of infighting but not too messy and the ref didn't have to get involved too much, Turpin started off fast and hurt Olson in the opener and had a great first 3 rounds, Olson came into it thereafter and it was nip/tuck until the 9th when Olson put Turpin down with a right hand as the bell went, Turpin was down again from a left/right in the 10th, he wasn't really hurt badly from either knockdown but he was tired and it was the end of his hopes of winning the fight, even when Turpin would bravely come back and have a good spell, Olson's power would turn it around, Turpin had good 13th and 15th but Olson hurt him at the end of both rounds to swing it

Brave effort from Turpin but Olson too strong down the stretch

[handsofstone]

I've watched this fight (the abridged version like you did) a number of times and Marciano certainly put a vicious beating on the game Cockell.

It apparently took everything out of the Brit, who was only 27 years old at the time.

In his next fight he was listless in a 3rd round TKO defeat to the underrated Cuban Nino Valdes.

The fight ended on a cut but Cockell was knocked down and showed little.

He came back once more against a unrated Tongan heavyweight and was quickly dispatched by KO.

That was it. Cockell retired.

Taking a pounding from the Rock had a lasting effect.

I watched Cockell being destroyed from Turpin this week and assumed that fight was after Don's fight with Marciano

Actually the Turpin fight was about 3 years before Cockell challenged Marciano.

Cockell weighed in at 174 for Turpin. He had basically been a super middleweight (if such a weight class had existed back then) and light heavyweight from the beginning of his career through Turpin.

After he was dominated by Turpin, Cockell said he was no longer able to make light heavy comfortably and moved up to heavyweight.

He was able to reel off 10 straight wins at his new weight class, beating some pretty decent fighters in Tommy Farr (ex Joe Louis victim) Roland LaStarza (Marciano victim) and 3 victories over Harry Kid Matthews (also a Marciano victim).

This string of heavyweight wins earned him a shot at Marciano.

And as I related earlier, Cockell only had 2 more fights after Marciano, losing both by stoppage.

Cheers for the insight

[handsofstone]

Whats your thoughts on Rocky overall mate?

I think it goes without saying he was a great fighter, tough, strong, always aggressive , great chin, great engine and he wears guys down

I don't think his CV stands up with other greats though, but in all fairness to him the era wasn't that strong, Louis, Walcott and Charles had all seen better days even though the latter 2 were still fighting at the top level, they couldn't have been as strong as the were 5/10 previous

Walcott gave him hell in the 1st fight and his 1st fight with Charles was close as well, he came out on top in all 4 though so fair do's

He was crude though, bad footwork, seemed to drag his feet, no real head movement, just always dipping that right shoulder, wasn't particularly quick but always dangerous especially when he had guys backed up on the ropes, most of his KOs came when the other guys back was on the ropes

Yourself mate??

I really rate him, probs more than most. Just how tough and determined he was. He always went after it, through pain and fatigue. His punch power was severe according to his toughest opppnents. I agree he got to the main men a bit late but Walcott and Charles were the two best guys at the time. I really felt for Joe Louis even though he was the favourite going in he looked old as F. His foot work was pretty poor especially early going, he seemed to get a bit cagier as the fights went on. I liked his catch and counter style, like the way he moved in on Walcott to finish the first fight. He was a very game very confident fighter. The exact opposite from say Mike Tyson who was a front runner.

Yeah the Walcott and Charles wins are great wins no matter the age of them, I would've loved have seen him in with Frazier

[Ambling Alp II]

Walcott had a lot left going into the first Marciano fight. He was old but he was a rare exception to the rule. Their first fight was a great fight. (Unlike the second where Walcott rolled over.) Hard to say about Charles. He was already losing to guys that he should have been able to beat.

[handsofstone]

Walcott had a lot left going into the first Marciano fight. He was old but he was a rare exception to the rule. Their first fight was a great fight. (Unlike the second where Walcott rolled over.) Hard to say about Charles. He was already losing to guys that he should have been able to beat.

Walcott probably on a similar level to Wlad against Joshua

[Bodyshot3]

At his best, Turpin was a heckuva fighter.

Without a doubt

I spent three years at college living in the Leamington Spa/Warwick area where the Turpin brothers hailed from and was always a tad disappointed that what they had achieved seemed to be fading into near obscurity.

The two towns are almost co-joined and it seemed as if the Turpins owed their allegiance to Warwick and Leamingston.

Perhaps it was just the young history student in me.......but Randy and Dick seemed to have put an area without too many sporting legends to celebrate firmly on the map, so why were they so low profile?

Dick was the first black fighter to win a British championship and in Randolph you had a guy from a genteel English Spa town who would go on to beat one of the most reverred fighters of any era!

I found this strange and wondered whether it was Randy's unhappy life outside the ring and eventual suicide that had resulted in a reulctance to celebrate the family's achievements more openly and fully.

[handsofstone]

George Foreman vs George Chuvalo


A young up and coming Foreman stops Chuvalo in the 3rd, ref stepped in maybe a tad early, maybe not? Foreman looked strong and also looked pretty fast which was a surprise, he just punched holes through Chuvalo who to his credit gave it a good go, he landed 1 or 2 cracking shots which bounced off Foreman

Foreman hurt Chuvalo with a left hook in the 3rd which caused Chuvalo to back up where Foreman just battered him to the head and body with both hands, Chuvalo tough as ever never went down but Foreman was opening him up and the ref stepped in when Chuvalo was trapped in the corner

It looked maybe a touch premature for a fight from the 70s but I think Chuvalo's corner had stormed the ring leaving the ref with no choice

[handsofstone]

George Foreman vs Jose Roman


Foreman KOs the hopelessly outclassed Roman in 1, Foreman's first defence of the title he took from Frazier and it was a rout, Roman was down 3 times and it was all over in about a minute , Foreman had him down from a right hand as he battered Roman with both fists on the ropes, he hit Roman as he was down and Roman's corner were going ballistic at the ref, the punch didn't seem to land too cleanly but still naughty

After that Roman was finished, down again from another cracking right then KO'd once he got up, from a sickening right uppercut, total demolition job by Foreman