Greatest Achievements of the 1980s

[Ezzard]

Here is my list of the greatest achievements of the 1980s. My criteria is quality of opponent; size disparity (moving up from your best weight counts for you, beating someone who moves up tempers your win a little); the margin of victory; the condition of the two fighters… I gave the draws to the moral victors.

I made a stab at the order, hopefully they are all from the 80s, but I reserve the right to have balls’d it up…

Roberto Duran – Ray Leonard
Ray Leonard – Marvin Hagler
Jeff Fenech – Azumah Nelson
Roberto Duran – Iran Barkley
Salvador Sanchez – Wilfredo Gomez

Ray Leonard – Thomas Hearns
Thomas Hearns – Pipino Cuevas
Michael Nunn – Sumbu Kalambay
Salvador Sanchez – Azumah Nelson
Marvin Hagler – Thomas Hearns

Michael Spinks – Larry Holmes
Lloyd Honeyghan – Donald Curry
Julio Cesar Chavez – Edwin Rosario
Thomas Hearns – Ray Leonard
Michael Spinks – Dwight Qawi

[Counter-puncher]

nice idea ezz. as an initial, instinctive response i think Leonard - Hearns should be higher.

actually, there are at least two fights there in which you can say reverse the named order, ie Nelson - Sanchez and Hearns - Leonard, where the loser's performance was only very marginally less impressive than the winner's, and both men's stock rose as a result. i'd have both reversed fights in my top 10, too.

Fenech - Nelson too high IMO as that moral victory/draw was heavily equivocated by the rematch

perhaps i'd have JCC - Rosario higher but there's a mancrush element there.

[Counter-puncher]

might be worth having Curry - McCrory in there too. not often a unification ends in such a devastating blowout.

[Ezzard]

Don't want you to factor in the rematches. You may think the rematch deserves to be in, that's fine.

For me Fenech moved up in weight and deserved a clear decision over an established, multi-talented, all-time great champion.

[Ezzard]

might be worth having Curry - McCrory in there too. not often a unification ends in such a devastating blowout.

Milton not quite a strong enough opponent and Curry wasn't moving up or past his best. But I did consider it. Maybe at the next tier down.

[Counter-puncher]

well, if you consider elements from the past ('fighter x was moving up in weight') why not the future ('fighter y fvcking mercilessly bitchslapped him in the rematch')?

you love your 80s boxing don't you haha.

[Ambling Alp]

Leonard over Hagler has to be #1. Duran-Barkley doesn't rate up with the rest of these. If you are going to count rematches, then Leonard-Duran should be in here.Of course these fights has been beaten to death.
Overall a very good list though. Keep think some fight is being overlooked but can't think of one.

[Ezzard]

Duran-Leonard over Leonard-Hagler...

Both victors had moved up 2 divisions. Ray had not fought for a while which is a plus. But Duran won more convincingly and won it over 15 rather than 12. I also think Ray's plus for inactivity is slightly offset by Marvin being just over the brow of the hill.

Duran over Barkley... Well Iran was a very good opponent though not in the legend category. But seeing as Duran had moved up a number of divisions and was very old by then I see this as a terrific achievement.

Of the 15 fights listed if you'd have asked me beforehand who had the least chance of winning I'd have said Duran.

[Ezzard]

Nana Yaw Konadu W UD Gilberto Roman
Bebis Rojas WUD Santos Benigno Laciar

should be thrown in, IMO

You're just showing up my lack of knowledge of the lower divisions (curse you BarryW), though I was a Laciar fan.

[Ezzard]

Appreciate your guidance, mate.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Leonard over Hagler has to be #1. Duran-Barkley doesn't rate up with the rest of these. If you are going to count rematches, then Leonard-Duran should be in here.Of course these fights has been beaten to death.
Overall a very good list though. Keep think some fight is being overlooked but can't think of one.

Agree that Leonard-Hagler is #1.

Disagree (strongly) that Leonard-Duran II is some kind of great achievement.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Pryor/Arguello
Gomez/Zarate

That's two off the top of my head that belong on the list.

My #1, and this will shock you all, is Holyfield beating Qawi over fifteen grueling rounds after a handful of fights.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Then I would just add those two. I would rate Leonard's win over Hearns as his greatest. He really had to suck it up there.

[Goodnight, Irene]

There is no beating what Leonard did againrt Hagler, IMO. Not for that decade, at least.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I won't argue too hard against it, but I think against Hearns he was more up against it stylistically. He was facing a superior boxer for probably the first time in his life and he sucked it up and turned slugger against a massive puncher and got the job done.

[Goodnight, Irene]

In the prime of his career though, not after a ridiculous five years outta the game.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I think it's more like 3 years and he had several real fights in the gym away from the cameras. Not that it diminishes beating the best fighter in the world. But the layoff gets more play than it should. He was far from rusty.

[yancey]

I think it's more like 3 years and he had several real fights in the gym away from the cameras. Not that it diminishes beating the best fighter in the world. But the layoff gets more play than it should. He was far from rusty.

"But the layoff gets more play than it should." Saad

True.

In fact, I can easily think of another such layoff that gets WAY more play than it should.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

No doubt about that. I still think Ali was better after the layoff.

[yancey]

As far as the '80s go, Duran-Leonard I was one special fight.

It was an electric moment in a special setting. I stayed close to a radio that night listening to round by round updates.

As far as Leonard-Hagler goes, I was in a pool hall playing pool that night and when the result came in the general concensus of some pretty savvy characters there was that the fight must have been fixed. Just sayin'.

[yancey]

No doubt about that. I still think Ali was better after the layoff.

Yes, agree.

But you are not likely to EVER get that from the Ali groupies.

[NazNaci1]

Haugen - Pazienza II
Rosario - Bramble.
Honeyghan - Rossi
Kim - Chitalada I
Williams - Czyz

Not the 'Greatest achievements (as most of those have been covered), but decent ones.

[Ezzard]

Leonard over Hagler has to be #1. Duran-Barkley doesn't rate up with the rest of these. If you are going to count rematches, then Leonard-Duran should be in here.Of course these fights has been beaten to death.
Overall a very good list though. Keep think some fight is being overlooked but can't think of one.

Agree that Leonard-Hagler is #1.

Disagree (strongly) that Leonard-Duran II is some kind of great achievement.

I stand by my #1.

It was a more emphatic win, Leonard was as good as he'd get and Duran kept the naturally bigger man off for an extar 3 rounds.

[Ezzard]

Pryor/Arguello
Gomez/Zarate

That's two off the top of my head that belong on the list.

My #1, and this will shock you all, is Holyfield beating Qawi over fifteen grueling rounds after a handful of fights.

I did consider those but I was skewing everything towards guys moving up.

Hagler-Hearns and Sanchez-Gomez get on because they were such emphatic victories. Even so your calls could/should be on such a list.

Holyfield-Qawi is a great shout because of the fact Evander was so inexperienced.

[Ambling Alp]

Leonard over Hagler has to be #1. Duran-Barkley doesn't rate up with the rest of these. If you are going to count rematches, then Leonard-Duran should be in here.Of course these fights has been beaten to death.
Overall a very good list though. Keep think some fight is being overlooked but can't think of one.

Agree that Leonard-Hagler is #1.

Disagree (strongly) that Leonard-Duran II is some kind of great achievement.

I stand by my #1.

It was a more emphatic win, Leonard was as good as he'd get and Duran kept the naturally bigger man off for an extar 3 rounds.

Duran was naturally the same weight as Leonard at the time. Had been a welterweight for quite some time by then.
Leonard never fought at middlweight before he beat Hagler.
Duran was not off for three years so long before he fought Leonard.