Oddest Genuine fights.

[stujones]

Seeing a 42 and 40 year old headline a so called genuine "world class" fight - made me think of what were the "oddest" genuine fights you can remember. I do mean genuine, proper, legitimate (beyond all dispute) fights - so not counting things like Freddie Flintoff where there was plenty of debate about its authenticity.

If Floyd vs Pac 2 is actually is a real fight (remains to be seen) - that will be up there.

For me, when I think of odd fights - it was the rematch 10 years in the making of Henry Maske vs Virgill Hill - both at the age of 43 I think. Even odder was the display of Maske - comprehensively beaten in fight one. His real limited opponents while selling out in Germany was exposed in fight 1. Subsequently announcing his retirement, with no complaints - Hill, while over the Hill, forging out a decent career post the Maske fight and being a reigning WBA champion when the rematch took place 11 years later. No major fanfare, definately not a publicity stunt - and Maske did a 180 and dominated Hill in the rematch!

Then another ODD one, although perhaps a bit more debatable on its authenticity was Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson 3 - taking place 16 years after fight 2 - Fenech was 44, Nelson was 49. Jeff Fenech hadn't fought in 12 years (and that was 2nd round KO defeat against a guy he would have mullered in his prime), Nelson hadn't fought in 10 years but was a world champion when Fenech got smashed in what we thought was his final fight. Maybe a tad of publicity stunt as both were on great terms throughout the build up and in the post fight presser - but they seemed to really go for it in the fight and it was surprisingly entertaining and very close - Fenech winning a razor tight majority decision.

Naturally Jake Paul vs AJ has to be up there and I think the state of Paul at the end suggests it was legitimate, just the build up to it - I don't think AJ took it very seriously and he did have something like 3/4 weeks notice. So it certainly wasn't vintage AJ.

So yes we could have Ngannou vs Fury, Floyd vs McGregor, Usyk vs Kickboxer dude - but I think in all of these there seems to be an air of the boxer not taking it deadly seriously. So looking for a proper fight in which both guys are treating it as such.

[JamesPhilips]

Seeing a 42 and 40 year old headline a so called genuine "world class" fight - made me think of what were the "oddest" genuine fights you can remember. I do mean genuine, proper, legitimate (beyond all dispute) fights - so not counting things like Freddie Flintoff where there was plenty of debate about its authenticity.

If Floyd vs Pac 2 is actually is a real fight (remains to be seen) - that will be up there.

For me, when I think of odd fights - it was the rematch 10 years in the making of Henry Maske vs Virgill Hill - both at the age of 43 I think. Even odder was the display of Maske - comprehensively beaten in fight one. His real limited opponents while selling out in Germany was exposed in fight 1. Subsequently announcing his retirement, with no complaints - Hill, while over the Hill, forging out a decent career post the Maske fight and being a reigning WBA champion when the rematch took place 11 years later. No major fanfare, definately not a publicity stunt - and Maske did a 180 and dominated Hill in the rematch!

Then another ODD one, although perhaps a bit more debatable on its authenticity was Jeff Fenech vs Azumah Nelson 3 - taking place 16 years after fight 2 - Fenech was 44, Nelson was 49. Jeff Fenech hadn't fought in 12 years (and that was 2nd round KO defeat against a guy he would have mullered in his prime), Nelson hadn't fought in 10 years but was a world champion when Fenech got smashed in what we thought was his final fight. Maybe a tad of publicity stunt as both were on great terms throughout the build up and in the post fight presser - but they seemed to really go for it in the fight and it was surprisingly entertaining and very close - Fenech winning a razor tight majority decision.

Naturally Jake Paul vs AJ has to be up there and I think the state of Paul at the end suggests it was legitimate, just the build up to it - I don't think AJ took it very seriously and he did have something like 3/4 weeks notice. So it certainly wasn't vintage AJ.

So yes we could have Ngannou vs Fury, Floyd vs McGregor, Usyk vs Kickboxer dude - but I think in all of these there seems to be an air of the boxer not taking it deadly seriously. So looking for a proper fight in which both guys are treating it as such.

I think you’re being a bit hard: Wilder - Chisora was the fight of the century according to Jeff Powell

Pacquiao - Mario Barrios was random.

Floyd Patterson - Pete Rademacher in the latter’s first fight.

[stujones]

Some great shouts there James.

Whilst we can pretty much question his conditioning in any of his post 35 years of age fights - Joe Bugner vs Scott Welch was a strange one also.

[Boxerbeetle]

Some great shouts there James.

Whilst we can pretty much question his conditioning in any of his post 35 years of age fights - Joe Bugner vs Scott Welch was a strange one also.

My first thought was actually Bugner vs Bonecrusher Smith, as they were both about 50 years old fighting for a version of the world title (ok, a very crap version) and ended bizarrely with Smith dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his corner were quickly trying to push it back in, looked very amateurish and painful

[JamesPhilips]

Some great shouts there James.

Whilst we can pretty much question his conditioning in any of his post 35 years of age fights - Joe Bugner vs Scott Welch was a strange one also.

Thanks. You just reminded me of Gerrie Coetzee - Iran Barkley….i think WBF heavyweight title.

I thought they were late 40s or early 50 but Coetzee was 42 and Barkley only 37. Still strange random fight.

[stujones]

Some great shouts there James.

Whilst we can pretty much question his conditioning in any of his post 35 years of age fights - Joe Bugner vs Scott Welch was a strange one also.

My first thought was actually Bugner vs Bonecrusher Smith, as they were both about 50 years old fighting for a version of the world title (ok, a very crap version) and ended bizarrely with Smith dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his corner were quickly trying to push it back in, looked very amateurish and painful

Crossed my mind - I remember Sky hyping it up as something very legitimate. The conditioning of Bonecrusher though put the asterix on it - he has massive tits.

[Flump]

Some great shouts there James.

Whilst we can pretty much question his conditioning in any of his post 35 years of age fights - Joe Bugner vs Scott Welch was a strange one also.

My first thought was actually Bugner vs Bonecrusher Smith, as they were both about 50 years old fighting for a version of the world title (ok, a very crap version) and ended bizarrely with Smith dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his corner were quickly trying to push it back in, looked very amateurish and painful

Crossed my mind - I remember Sky hyping it up as something very legitimate. The conditioning of Bonecrusher though put the asterix on it - he has massive tits.

I remember this as well. Sky had Earnie Shavers in the studio. Who himself took part in a couple of contests in his 50s. As did his former opponents Ron Lyle and Jerry Quarry, with different results.

The success of Foreman and Holmes' 90s comebacks led to a lot of fighters coming out of the woodwork, trying to emulate their success. The differences being that a) they weren't as good as Foreman and Holmes and b)they were shot to sh1t when they retired the first time.

[JC]

Dave Allen vs Filip Hrgovic in Doncaster.

[mickey1975]

Acelino Freitas v Barry Jones in Doncaster.
Fernando Vargas v Howard Clark at Madison Square Gardens.

[gilgamesh]

This was an odd one to me because up until I saw this, I didn't realize this could be done.

Apparently Federico Pacheco weighed in at 271 pounds while his opponent Arnulfo Cazares weighed in at 190 and 3/4 pounds, and honestly it looks like they had to put quarters in his pants to get him into the 190's.

What makes it odd, is that this was last year, and I didn't think that particular weight disparity was possible anymore in today's Boxing.

[SteveO]

My first thought was actually Bugner vs Bonecrusher Smith, as they were both about 50 years old fighting for a version of the world title (ok, a very crap version) and ended bizarrely with Smith dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his corner were quickly trying to push it back in, looked very amateurish and painful

Ha, I remember that

[stujones]

Acelino Freitas v Barry Jones in Doncaster.
Fernando Vargas v Howard Clark at Madison Square Gardens.

Didn’t Freitas comeback also against a fellow Brazilian at Middkeweight and won.

[gilgamesh]

My first thought was actually Bugner vs Bonecrusher Smith, as they were both about 50 years old fighting for a version of the world title (ok, a very crap version) and ended bizarrely with Smith dislocating his shoulder in the first round. Don’t think I’ll ever forget the way his corner were quickly trying to push it back in, looked very amateurish and painful

Ha, I remember that

I just watched it the other day. I was definitely cringing watching 'em yank on his arm the way they were. That was rough.

[Syntax Error]

Hopkins V Jones Jr 2.

Took place 17 years after the original.

Jones was washed up by then, although, somewhat oddly, Hopkins was still a world class fighter at about 45 years old and older than Jones.

It was a horrible fight; Hopkins made it that way.

[Jaguar]

Roberto Duran v Dave Radford.

[Ketchel]

Jack Dempsey versus Cowboy Luttrell. No quarter given by Dempsey.

[gilgamesh]

Roberto Duran v Dave Radford.

I don't recall any oddities on that one. What was off about it?

[joshj909]

Wisaksil Wangek beat three debutants in a row (none of which ever fought again) when he was 40-4-1 before beating Chocolatito twice and Estrada. Might not have looked particularly odd at the time but retrospectively, that's an odd run of 6 fights that you don't see every day.

In similar fashion, Juulio César Chávez SR faced 0-1 Aranburu when he was 66-0.

[stujones]

Hopkins V Jones Jr 2.

Took place 17 years after the original.

Jones was washed up by then, although, somewhat oddly, Hopkins was still a world class fighter at about 45 years old and older than Jones.

It was a horrible fight; Hopkins made it that way.

Yes, good shout. Trinidad vs Jones JNR another weird one.

[Spud MK2]

Haye /Valuev

[jameswilson]

Boxerbeetle has already said it.

I remember vividly the first ever boxing advert that I saw on Sky. It was on Sky sports news around the year 2000 when my parents shelled out for freeview.

Joe Bugner vs James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith.

I obviously look back now and wonder how on earth anyone would shell out to watch that at their age. The advert genuinely made it seem like it was Lewis vs Tyson.

[stujones]

Boxerbeetle has already said it.

I remember vividly the first ever boxing advert that I saw on Sky. It was on Sky sports news around the year 2000 when my parents shelled out for freeview.

Joe Bugner vs James ‘Bonecrusher’ Smith.

I obviously look back now and wonder how on earth anyone would shell out to watch that at their age. The advert genuinely made it seem like it was Lewis vs Tyson.

I don’t think it was ppv, but if memory serves it was used to hype a ppv. Wasn’t the promo based around the film Godzilla (Matthew Broderick) which was around at the time.

The only reason I didn’t mention it in my original post was the conditioning of Smith and the WBF belt made it feel more like some kind of novelty fight.

Some other odd ones.

Roberto Duran pushing 50 and passed his prime probably 20 years previously challenging William Joppy for the world title.

Julio Cesear Chavez had some odd ones later in his career. A prime Kostya Tszyu and didn’t he rematch Willy Wise several years after he lost to him?

[stujones]

Vargas vs Clarke is a good shout. Whilst Clarke got a world ranking for upsetting an intercontinental champion which earned him the shot. It wasn’t mandated so for Vargas to pick him was odd.

Although personally it did leave me with somehow fulfilling a prediction I made about Clarke when I saw one of his earlier fights. I said “with a bit more dedication and the rub of the green, Clarke is good enough to challenge for a world title”.

There’s been a lot worse efforts and more one sided world title fights involving a Brit than that one also. But yes, odd fight for Vargas to pick.

[stujones]

George Forrman defended his lineal world championship against some odd opponents.

[gilgamesh]

George Forrman defended his lineal world championship against some odd opponents.

Most oddly Crawford Grimsley in Japan of all places.