Classic fights I've watched recently

[DrDuke]

Donald Curry vs Milton McCrory

Curry came out measured and sharp. McCrory was trying to box, Curry was finding almost every opening possible and punching mostly with precise single shots. Left hook rocked McCrory pretty good in the 1st round. The 2nd began about the same. In the middle of the round McCrory threw jab, Curry countered it with a spectacular left hook, down went McCrory. He stood up, but it was a very hard knockdown, Mills Lane could have easily stopped it, but he didn't. The fight continued to the immediate end, Curry landed big right hand, down went McCrory again. He was obviously not in the conditions to stand up, but Lane still counted him out. Curry became an undisputed welterweight champion.

[handsofstone]

Gene Tunney vs Jack Dempsey 1+2


In the first fight Tunney dominates Dempsey on points to become world Heavyweight champ, I never scored the fight as such but I honestly don't think I gave Dempsey a round, it was a masterful display of counter punching from Tunney, always threw his punches in bunches and was able to unload 4/5 punch combos on the out of sorts Dempsey and avoid his wild lunges, I mentioned in another thread recently that Tunney's display was the most modern type of boxing ive seen from that early back, really impressive, Dempsey never had a sniff


Tunney wins the rematch again, this time it was a closer fight, Dempsey had his moments but all in all Tunney done a good job of keeping Dempsey on the outside of his jab and right hands or lefts, whenever Dempsey got in close Tunney was able to tie him up effectively, things turned in the 7th when Dempsey finally hurt Tunney, caught him with a left/right/left/right which decked Tunney through the ropes, there was a 14 count as Dempsey never went to the neutral corner straight away, this fights one of the most controversial of all time and obviously know as The Battle of the Long Count but no controvery for me, the ref done the right thing by waiting until Dempsey was in the furthest corner before starting the count

I think Tunney would've made the count regardless, he looked clear eyed and was looking at the refs count before he got up and he was strong legged and easily seen out the rest of the round

Tunney then put Dempsey down with a right hand in the 8th, Dempsey was up straight away and battled to the end but another deserved win for Tunney

[DrDuke]

I think Tunney would've made the count regardless, he looked clear eyed and was looking at the refs count before he got up and he was strong legged and easily seen out the rest of the round

I agree. And those fighs were both spectacular. Tunney was classy as hell.

[Ambling Alp II]

Have you been able to watch these fights in their entirety? I have not been able to find even half of these fights.

[handsofstone]

Have you been able to watch these fights in their entirety? I have not been able to find even half of these fights.

Not quite their entirety but both fights being 10 rounders lasting 30 mins, theres about 24 mins of the first fight and 28 of the rematch so not as bad as most old fights, the rematch picture quality is dismal

[handsofstone]

I think Tunney would've made the count regardless, he looked clear eyed and was looking at the refs count before he got up and he was strong legged and easily seen out the rest of the round

I agree. And those fighs were both spectacular. Tunney was classy as hell.

Aye he sure was

[handsofstone]

Jack Dempsey vs Jack Sharkey


Dempsey stops Sharkey in the 7th of a close close fight, both guys were making it pretty messy but even though there was a bit of controversy with the ending Dempsey was well within his rights to hit Sharkey with that free left hook on the inside, you cant drop your guard against Jack Dempsey, he will punish you, Sharkey dropped his hands to complain to the ref about a low blow and Dempsey poleaxed him

Sharkey fought a good fight but he switched off, Dempsey took advantage

[chrisjs1985]

I'm currently going through a binge of some of the late 70's/early 80's 175 classics.

Last night I watched Michael Spinks vs. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. What started as a fairly slow technical battle of wits heated up around the middle of the fight when Spinks took over. Eddie was a very capable boxer and to my estimation led 5-2 after 7 but then Spinks turned it around hurting him, closing his eye and despite a nice rally in the 11th where he momentarily hurt Spinks he lost most of the rounds. Eddie showed tremendous bravery, Spinks showed great power in the 12th and both fought their hearts out.

Next up I'm going to watch Matthew Saad Muhammad-Marvin Johnson I & II and once I watch a Saad fight I tend to watch a few more so I'll probably watch the Yaqui Lopez ones soon after too.

That era for 175 is IMO the golden age of the division.

[handsofstone]

Archie Moore vs Joey Maxim 1 + (highlights) 2+3


Moore outpoints Maxim comfortably over 15 to become world Light Heavyweight champ, wasn't a classic, no drama to speak of but it was a great performance from Moore, all the eye catching punches came from him, he was a lot busier than Maxim who just pushed out solid jabs, Moore was able to land some nice combinations on Maxim and there was no doubt he done enough to become champ

Can only find 11 mins of the rematch, again Moore won a wide UD and it looked a similar fight to the first one, Maxim trying to work on the outside but not able to keep the stronger Moore off who was a lot more comfortable up close and again landing all the quality punches and outfighting Maxim


Moore outpoints Maxim for a 3rd time in their last fight, can only find about 4 mins of film, Moore did manage to put Maxim down twice in this fight though, first time in the 8th he caught Maxim with what looked to me a left to the body but commentary reckoned it was a right to the jaw, hard to tell with the grainy footage, Maxim was down again in the 11th from a left hook right hand landed twice, sweet knockdown and a heavy one for Maxim but he got up and made it to the end to lose another wide decsion

[chrisjs1985]

Matthew Saad Muhammad vs. Marvin Johnson I & II

Two of the best fights of all-time in any weight class. These two produced magic together. Back and forth with both getting hurt early in the bouts, Saad getting the worst of it only to claw his way back into the fights and finish Johnson off on both occasions. It's amazing that Saad went on to have one of the great 175 reigns after these fights and Johnson was able to come back and win the title twice.

[Sidney Carton]

Archie Moore vs Joey Maxim 1 + (highlights) 2+3


Moore outpoints Maxim comfortably over 15 to become world Light Heavyweight champ, wasn't a classic, no drama to speak of but it was a great performance from Moore, all the eye catching punches came from him, he was a lot busier than Maxim who just pushed out solid jabs, Moore was able to land some nice combinations on Maxim and there was no doubt he done enough to become champ

Can only find 11 mins of the rematch, again Moore won a wide UD and it looked a similar fight to the first one, Maxim trying to work on the outside but not able to keep the stronger Moore off who was a lot more comfortable up close and again landing all the quality punches and outfighting Maxim


Moore outpoints Maxim for a 3rd time in their last fight, can only find about 4 mins of film, Moore did manage to put Maxim down twice in this fight though, first time in the 8th he caught Maxim with what looked to me a left to the body but commentary reckoned it was a right to the jaw, hard to tell with the grainy footage, Maxim was down again in the 11th from a left hook right hand landed twice, sweet knockdown and a heavy one for Maxim but he got up and made it to the end to lose another wide decsion

A Few Pearls of Wisdom from My Interview with the Great Archie Moore

By Mike Silver February 26, 1983
https://www.boxingoverbroadway.com/a-fe ... hie-moore/

ARCHIE MOORE:

" Joey Maxim was a difficult boxer to fight because he knew so much about defense. Joe was 99% defense. And Joe was very durable and tough. "

[handsofstone]

Archie Moore vs Harold Johnson 5(highlights)


The first 4 fights were all non title fights, all went the 10 round distance, Moore won the 1st, 2nd and 4th fights while Johnson won the 3rd, none of them are available on youtube and there's only 10 minutes of the 5th fight which Moore won in 14 to retain his title, first time ive seen Johnson after reading about him for a while, he looked a solid boxer, strong, sharp and compact, he was doing well from what I seen and Moore looked a bit sluggish early on

In the 14th Moore rocked Johnson with a big right hand and showed top notch finishing and accuracy to put Johnson down, opening him up with hooks, crosses and uppercuts, Johnson got up but was still groggy and Moore steamed in again with impressive accuracy forcing the ref to step in, superb finishing from Moore

[handsofstone]

Cracking read Sidney BTW

[Sidney Carton]

Archie Moore vs Harold Johnson 5(highlights)


The first 4 fights were all non title fights, all went the 10 round distance, Moore won the 1st, 2nd and 4th fights while Johnson won the 3rd, none of them are available on youtube and there's only 10 minutes of the 5th fight which Moore won in 14 to retain his title, first time ive seen Johnson after reading about him for a while, he looked a solid boxer, strong, sharp and compact, he was doing well from what I seen and Moore looked a bit sluggish early on

In the 14th Moore rocked Johnson with a big right hand and showed top notch finishing and accuracy to put Johnson down, opening him up with hooks, crosses and uppercuts, Johnson got up but was still groggy and Moore steamed in again with impressive accuracy forcing the ref to step in, superb finishing from Moore

Moore got out of that one by the skin of his teeth, with loads of help from crooked referee Ruby Goldstein.

Moore wouold never fight Harold Johnson again although Johnson was his number one challenger for years after that.

[Sidney Carton]

A Few Pearls of Wisdom from My Interview with the Great Archie Moore

By Mike Silver February 26, 1983
https://www.boxingoverbroadway.com/a-fe ... hie-moore/

ARCHIE MOORE:

"Harold Johnson was a great fighter. A picture book boxer. "

[Syntax Error]

Donald Curry vs Milton McCrory

Curry came out measured and sharp. McCrory was trying to box, Curry was finding almost every opening possible and punching mostly with precise single shots. Left hook rocked McCrory pretty good in the 1st round. The 2nd began about the same. In the middle of the round McCrory threw jab, Curry countered it with a spectacular left hook, down went McCrory. He stood up, but it was a very hard knockdown, Mills Lane could have easily stopped it, but he didn't. The fight continued to the immediate end, Curry landed big right hand, down went McCrory again. He was obviously not in the conditions to stand up, but Lane still counted him out. Curry became an undisputed welterweight champion.

Curry was punch perfect that night.

I thought he was destined for greatness, but alas not.

[handsofstone]

Archie Moore vs Bobo Olson


Moore KOs MIddleweight champ Olson in 3 to retain his Light Heavyweight strap, pretty even stevens for the first couple of rounds with both men getting off their jabs but Moore finished Olson in the 3rd dropping him with 2 left hooks, Olson tried to get to his feet but missed the count

[chrisjs1985]

I re-watched the first Eder Jofre-Fighting Harada fight last night. I've always felt Jofre deserved the win here. I do have an excellent copy of this fight which is much sharper than the YouTube version. I think the crowds noise won the fight for Harada. Don't get me wrong, he's great and fights a brilliant fight but he was clinching A LOT and with the exception of the fourth round (where he hurts Jofre) and a decent spell towards the middle of the fight using his jab and feet it's Jofre landing the cleaner, crisper, harder punches. Harada bulls him to the ropes quite often but a lot of the time without landing cleanly. It's a high paced fight where BOTH fighters show versatility and skills. Harada starting fast, then Jofre biding his time and landing before Harada has a dominant 4th round. Jofre responds well and starts connecting beautifully in the 5th and then there's some close rounds. Harada steps back gets on his toes and shows a good jab, Jofre then takes over and starts winning rounds back to back with clean punching and better defense when attacked.

I am not saying it's a "robbery" as it was a close, tight fight but in my opinion the real winner was Jofre. I don't have my scorecard with me but I believed I scored Jofre winning 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13 & 14 and Harada winning 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 15. 9-6 but there's a number of close rounds. It didn't feel like Jofre was three points better so maybe 8-7 or 8-6-1 feels more right. I've scored this fight those scores before.

Both are great fighters. Harada was robbed vs. Famechon IMO so denied of some history there. I can't help but think had Jofre gotten Harada a year or so earlier he'd have had enough to take him out. By 1965 his weight struggles at that age were a major factor in his performance.

[Sidney Carton]

Archie Moore vs Bobo Olson


Moore KOs MIddleweight champ Olson in 3 to retain his Light Heavyweight strap, pretty even stevens for the first couple of rounds with both men getting off their jabs but Moore finished Olson in the 3rd dropping him with 2 left hooks, Olson tried to get to his feet but missed the count

.
.

Moore hit Olson with two left uppercuts in a clich, 0:26

Oslon got rattled and threw a right hand while standing too far away from Moore which left Olson open for Moore's counter right hand which ended the fight. 0:42

The rest was just a result of Moore nailing Olson with that right at 0:42.

The last thing Moore did was give Olson a push with his left hand to push the out on his feet Olson down to the canvas.



Floyd Patterson said he observed from watching films that Moore always countered a missed right hand of an opponent with a right hand of his own. For that reason Patterson never led with a right hand when he fought Moore.

[DrDuke]

Michael Carbajal vs Humberto Gonzalez 1

A great fight. Gonzalez was an aggressor, he was pressuring Carbajal pretty successful. Carbajal provided a solid counteraction, but still he was down twice in the first half of the fight. Michael demonstrated a tremendous courage, especially after the second knockdown, it was very hard. Yet Carbajal was landing good stuff from time to time and he landed his best shots in the 7th round. It was all left hook, Carbajal reversed the fight with it nearly sending Humberto down. Carbajal then showed a great killer instinct, a couple of other left hooks were landed. Gonzalez was no less gutsy and tried to fight back after being hurt, but the last left hook of Carbajal just turned the lights out for Gonzalez.

[handsofstone]

Sonny Liston vs Cleveland Williams 1+2


Liston KOs Williams in the 3rd, Williams looked strong in the first 2 rounds and was quicker to get his combinations off, landed some solid shots but in the 3rd Liston looked the boss and decked Williams with a left hook, Williams beat the count but Liston tore in about him and was landing left hooks and right hands which eventually put Williams down again to finish him

Liston KOs Williams in the 2nd round of the rematch, close 1st round with both men showing great jabs but in the 2nd Liston wobbled Williams with a right hand over the top, Williams legs done a funny dance and Liston nailed him with another right then a left hook to put Williams down, he got back up shaky legged and Liston trapped him in the corner and battered him down with lefts and rights, Williams did managed to get back to his feet but the ref rightly stopped it

[PredatorHayds]

I watched Roberto Duran- Lou Bizzarro.

Bizzarro pretty much runs and holds for 14 rounds. Duran then hurts him and the ref lets him continue and Duran knocks him spark out.

Weird sort of fight. Bizzarro seems to put Duran down in one of the middle rounds but it’s ruled a slip.

Never seen a fighter run away as much as Bizzarro.

[handsofstone]

Sonny Liston vs Eddie Machen


Liston outpoints Machen over 12 in a Heavyweight eliminator, game effort from Machen, he was sharp, came to win and had success with his quick left hooks, in truth though he just wasn't big or strong enough to put a dent in Liston who was by far bigger, stronger and landing the hurtful power punches, his jab excellent as ever and his own left hook was able to tag Machen time and again

Credit to Machen though he never looked hurt or on the verge of being stopped, he just wasn't doing enough to win rounds despite making them close enough, Liston did lose 3 points for 2 low blows to close the scores a bit but all in all it was a comfortable win for Liston in the end

[handsofstone]

Sonny Liston vs Chuck Wepner


Liston wins via TKO after a bloody Wepner is pulled out on his stool after 9 rounds, I wouldn't say it looked like he took that much of a beating but it was hard to tell with the grainy film, Liston was definitely the better man though no doubt, Wepner was taller but he couldn't get out the way of the piston jab of Liston which constantly rocked back the head of Wepner

Liston had Wepner down in the 5th with a straight right to the body, it was a brave effort from Wepner and there was no lack of effort but as the rounds went on he was looking more and more dejected, still a surprise to see him pulled out in between rounds though

[klompton]

Sonny Liston vs Eddie Machen


Liston outpoints Machen over 12 in a Heavyweight eliminator, game effort from Machen, he was sharp, came to win and had success with his quick left hooks, in truth though he just wasn't big or strong enough to put a dent in Liston who was by far bigger, stronger and landing the hurtful power punches, his jab excellent as ever and his own left hook was able to tag Machen time and again

Credit to Machen though he never looked hurt or on the verge of being stopped, he just wasn't doing enough to win rounds despite making them close enough, Liston did lose 3 points for 2 low blows to close the scores a bit but all in all it was a comfortable win for Liston in the end

Machen fought this fight with an injured right hand and rarely threw it in the fight. Even still he did very well. With two good hands who knows?