1982: The best year of great fights?

[elmersalsa]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

[MEISINGER]

i loved every one of the fights you mentioned
but i bet you if we had the internet and boxing forums
back in 1982 we would of all found faults with who fought who

as fans we are so demanding

[Rover]

Qawi/Saad II was a great fight?
I thought it was a one-sided beating.
Pintor moved up to fight Gomez; wish he'd fought Chandler in late 81 after they were shown on the same weekend on CBS (Chandler/Solis II and Pintor/Rengifo).
Also, Sanchez/Arguello fell through (for 1982) before Sal died. It fell through before Sal even fought Nelson. Pryor/Arguello was set by July 1982. Just watch Pryor/Kameda (over a month before Sal died). Arguello was at ringside, and they even interviewed him after the fight.
Pryor said, "Arguello, you mine, sucka!"

[RadioElRadar]

There's a pretty compelling case to be made, some great fights there. I guess a lot of people when asked what the greatest fight they've ever seen is, would answer either Pryor-Arguello I or Chacon-Limon IV (the latter for me).

[giacomino]

Rover is right. I seem to remember Qawi/Saad II not being much of a fight

[Syntax Error]

Rover is right. I seem to remember Qawi/Saad II not being much of a fight

Absolutely.

Rover has nailed it.

Qawi/Saad 2 was a beatdown, sad to say.

Saad is my favourite fighter, but he had visited the well twice too often by the time of the Qawi rematch & he just couldn't take it anymore.

He fought on for 10 more years, but just wasn't the same fighter; Qawi ruined him.

[Counter-puncher]

i thought he gave Saad a pretty comprehensive beating in the first fight, never mind the second one.

[elmersalsa]

Was there a better year in boxing than 1982? Great fights in that year and some fights that also should have happened that year, if it would have happened, would've been a perfect year in boxing.

[Ambling Alp II]

A few to consider:
1952
Marciano-Walcott
Maxim-Robinson
Maxim-Moore
Gavilan Graham

1935
Canzoneri-Ambers
Ross-McLarnin
John Henry Lewis-Bob Olin
Braddock-Baer

1964
Clay-Liston
Pastrano-Downes
Giardello-Carter
Griffith-Rodriguez
Laguna-Ortiz
Saldivar-Ramos

I am sure there were other great fights during those years as well.

[gilgamesh]

Limon vs Chacon IV is one of my favorite fights of all time as well. Every round is like the 10th round of Bowe-Holyfield I

[funso banjo baby]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

what a year.

everyone knows im a heavyweight fan. but i loved all those divisions back then. what changed?
pay per view and the proliferation of titles.....to name just two things

[elmersalsa]

And if we add Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler for Hagler's World Middleweight Crown in late 1982? Wow, 1982 would have been probably the greatest year of boxing, don't you guys think?

Leonard vs Hagler would have been the icing on the cake. What a year!

[jrc26]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

Tyson mcneeley was the last race war in the ring.

[elmersalsa]

How about the year 1990?
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor I
Buster Douglas vs Mike Tyson
Aaron Davis vs Mark Breland
Nigel Benn vs Iran Barkley
Mike McCallum vs Herol Graham


Great fights, but not the quality nor quantity of great fights like 1982. The year of '82 is like KING of the best fights in boxing I believe. Lots of great fighters in that year in each weight class

[Nile4000]

And if we add Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler for Hagler's World Middleweight Crown in late 1982? Wow, 1982 would have been probably the greatest year of boxing, don't you guys think?

Leonard vs Hagler would have been the icing on the cake. What a year!

There was no way Ray was going to fight Hagler in late '82.Hearns, or possibly Benitez would've gotten to him first.

[elmersalsa]

And if we add Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler for Hagler's World Middleweight Crown in late 1982? Wow, 1982 would have been probably the greatest year of boxing, don't you guys think?

Leonard vs Hagler would have been the icing on the cake. What a year!

There was no way Ray was going to fight Hagler in late '82.Hearns, or possibly Benitez would've gotten to him first.

Ironically, it was the blown up lightweight Roberto Duran that fought Marvelous first.

[littlepug]

How about the year 1990?
Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor I
Buster Douglas vs Mike Tyson
Aaron Davis vs Mark Breland
Nigel Benn vs Iran Barkley
Mike McCallum vs Herol Graham


Great fights, but not the quality nor quantity of great fights like 1982. The year of '82 is like KING of the best fights in boxing I believe. Lots of great fighters in that year in each weight class

Also Benn v Eubank

[AntonioMartin]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

Im with you on this one. 1982 is the year I became a boxing fanatic at age 10.

Holmes-Cobb wasn't too bad either for a 15-0 or 14-1 beat down. Cobb went with his shield on and did not quit trying to win until the last bell.

Pedroza-Taylor and Cruz-Palma 2 were great fights as well! And Mancini-Frias was 2 minutes of fury. Arguello-Ganigan was a war too. And Laporte versus Miranda, ten rounds of blasting guns! Dokes-Weaver I was also fun while it lasted...

What a year, 1982!

[AntonioMartin]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

Im with you on this one. 1982 is the year I became a boxing fanatic at age 10.

Holmes-Cobb wasn't too bad either for a 15-0 or 14-1 beat down. Cobb went with his shield on and did not quit trying to win until the last bell.

Pedroza-Taylor and Cruz-Palma 2 were great fights as well! And Mancini-Frias was 2 minutes of fury. Arguello-Ganigan was a war too. And Laporte versus Miranda, ten rounds of blasting guns! Dokes-Weaver I was also fun while it lasted...

What a year, 1982!

[Onetimeonly]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

Im with you on this one. 1982 is the year I became a boxing fanatic at age 10.

Holmes-Cobb wasn't too bad either for a 15-0 or 14-1 beat down. Cobb went with his shield on and did not quit trying to win until the last bell.

Pedroza-Taylor and Cruz-Palma 2 were great fights as well! And Mancini-Frias was 2 minutes of fury. Arguello-Ganigan was a war too. And Laporte versus Miranda, ten rounds of blasting guns! Dokes-Weaver I was also fun while it lasted...

Qhat a year, 1982!

Holmes/Cobb was disgraceful, laporte/Miranda one sided and does/Weaver 1 a joke. Lol

[Jaywheel]

Elmer took 7 years to reply ro nile4000, no wonder that top 100 takes forever

[Onetimeonly]

Elmer took 7 years to reply ro nile4000, no wonder that top 100 takes forever

The anticipation of where the great Oscar delahoya lands on that list is worth the wait.

[Cholo_cws]

Was the year 1982 the best year of great fights? I am trying to think what other year was better when it came to great fights. And in that year we missed:

Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns...Hearns hurts his right hand in training and had to postpone the fight.
Sugar Ray Leonard vs Aaron Pryor....Leonard had a detatched retina.
Salvador Sanchez vs Eusebio Pedroza...At only 23 years old, Sanchez dies tragically in a car crash.
Salvador Sanchez vs Alexis Arguello....It did not happened for the reason above.
Jeff Chandler vs Lupe Pintor....What happened that this bantamweight showdown did not went down?

But, let's put this to the side, and see what great fights we had in 1982:

Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs Matthew Saad Muhammad II....The last great fight of this fallen warrior: Saad Muhammad
Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor...Gomez last great fight at 122 pounds...He was never the same after that.
Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney....An amateur fighting a professional. The last RACIAL BOXING WAR?
Salvador Sanchez vs Azumah Nelson...Young Nelson with only 12 fights almost makes an upset. Salvador's last fight
Bobby Chacon vs Bazooka Limon IV...Along Leonard vs Hearns I, the best fight that I have ever seen!
Aaron Pryor vs Alexis Arguello I...Probably the fight of the 80s
Thomas Hearns vs Wilfred Benitez...Not a great, great fight, but very entertaining in boxing skills and strategy.
Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini vs Deuk Koo-Kim...Great fight that ended in tragedy

Has there been a better boxing year than 1982? Comments.

Im with you on this one. 1982 is the year I became a boxing fanatic at age 10.

Holmes-Cobb wasn't too bad either for a 15-0 or 14-1 beat down. Cobb went with his shield on and did not quit trying to win until the last bell.

Pedroza-Taylor and Cruz-Palma 2 were great fights as well! And Mancini-Frias was 2 minutes of fury. Arguello-Ganigan was a war too. And Laporte versus Miranda, ten rounds of blasting guns! Dokes-Weaver I was also fun while it lasted...

What a year, 1982!

Not just a coincidence that it was the last year of 'only' a 'mere' two major world titles.

[f read]

I agree this was a great year for boxing. However if i recall the end of the year boxing was much under the microscope by the critics. The fight that it started with was November 12 1982 HBO Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello 1 with the mysterious water bottle. CBS Sports Spectacular the very next day Ray Mancini-Kim tragedy. Kim died of his injuries shortly thereafter. ABC televised November 26 1982 the day after thanksgiving Larry Holmes-Tex Cobb one sided beating which Howard Cosell announced he would never commentate another pro boxing match the rest of his career. I personally think his comments were annoying and he was just looking for an excuse not to do boxing anymore. Then we have the Michael Dokes-Mike Weaver 1st round stoppage HBO December 10 1982. We the fans were enjoying the action but the scrutiny and talks of outlawing the sport were also quite verbal at this time.

[Nile4000]

I agree this was a great year for boxing. However if i recall the end of the year boxing was much under the microscope by the critics. The fight that it started with was November 12 1982 HBO Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello 1 with the mysterious water bottle. CBS Sports Spectacular the very next day Ray Mancini-Kim tragedy. Kim died of his injuries shortly thereafter. ABC televised November 26 1982 the day after thanksgiving Larry Holmes-Tex Cobb one sided beating which Howard Cosell announced he would never commentate another pro boxing match the rest of his career. I personally think his comments were annoying and he was just looking for an excuse not to do boxing anymore. Then we have the Michael Dokes-Mike Weaver 1st round stoppage HBO December 10 1982. We the fans were enjoying the action but the scrutiny and talks of outlawing the sport were also quite verbal at this time.

Maybe Cosell genuinely felt that way. Unless with his boy Ray Leonard retiring, he felt there was no one there to fill the void.