BoxRec

The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

its hard to say what the impact of that upset was as a lot of us weren't about when it happened but its definitley up there and is most likely the biggest upset by a brit, for me Tyson losing to douglas was a big one as it literally shocked the world, did turpin beating robinson have the same effect ?

Tyson Douglas was a huge upset but as mentioned if you were not around at the time it's difficult to comprehend. Curry Honeyghan was another huge upset of my time.

Tyson vs Douglas is the biggest upset in history of not only boxing but sport in general! it sent shockwaves around the world and unbelievable!

Rexob wrote:Tyson vs Douglas is the biggest upset in history of not only boxing but sport in general! it sent shockwaves around the world and unbelievable!

x 2 there were rumours surrounding the fight about Tyson not training etc but he had shown no signs of any problems in previous fights and looked unbeatable,so for me,i'd say Tyson losing to Douglas was the biggest shock,followed by Curry losing to Honeyghan.Another shock for me which doesn't get a mention is Chavez snr losing his unbeaten record to Frankie Randall,getting put down for the first time ever too.

Agree with that Jack , but I reckon Chavez fought on too long and the reflexes started to slow , probably should have got out a few fights previous

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

keithmoonhangover wrote:

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

Ray was still in his prime when he met Randy. However, he may not have been in peak condition having just fought six times in five weeks in Europe (partying all the way) then travelling to London to meet Turpin.

As for biggest upset. It's up there.

Taansend wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

Ray was still in his prime when he met Randy. However, he may not have been in peak condition having just fought six times in five weeks in Europe (partying all the way) then travelling to London to meet Turpin.

As for biggest upset. It's up there.

He wasn't in his prime mate. No way, no how. Prime means best. Ray was not at his best or peak. Just no. Still a massive upset though. Douglas was much bigger.

keithmoonhangover wrote:

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

Good God man, you'll have Elmer on B&I before long and you'll be the one to blame.

palooka wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

Good God man, you'll have Elmer on B&I before long and you'll be the one to blame.

D

keithmoonhangover wrote:

Taansend wrote:

keithmoonhangover wrote:
Ha'way man, Robinson was in his prime at welterweight, which was a long time before the Turpin fight.

Ray was still in his prime when he met Randy. However, he may not have been in peak condition having just fought six times in five weeks in Europe (partying all the way) then travelling to London to meet Turpin.

As for biggest upset. It's up there.

He wasn't in his prime mate. No way, no how. Prime means best. Ray was not at his best or peak. Just no. Still a massive upset though. Douglas was much bigger.

I don't have an opinion on biggest upset. It's subjective & I'm not that bothered either way.

But we'll have to disagree on Ray's prime. He was still defending his Welter title less than a year before losing to Turpin. Hard to say he'd gone backwards in the following 11 months & 19 victories - including his fantastic Valentines Day Massacre against La Motta just five months before losing to Turpin.

Didn't Robinson have a rather hectic tour of Europe with his entourage of about 20 people, fantastic fighter that he was, maybe even he wasn't immune to the deleterious effects of the high life and late nights?

palooka wrote:Didn't Robinson have a rather hectic tour of Europe with his entourage of about 20 people, fantastic fighter that he was, maybe even he wasn't immune to the deleterious effects of the high life and late nights?

This is true. He even had a pet dwarf.

Taansend wrote:

palooka wrote:Didn't Robinson have a rather hectic tour of Europe with his entourage of about 20 people, fantastic fighter that he was, maybe even he wasn't immune to the deleterious effects of the high life and late nights?

This is true. He even had a pet dwarf.

Haven't we all?

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

Like other posters here, when I read your post and you were making the case for there only being one obvious candidate, I assumed you meant Tyson vs Douglas.

That at least has to be a candidate for greatest upset ever, surely?

Tyson v Douglas was a huge upset , I remember it well. But nobody can say Tyson was the greatest boxer of all time. A lot of people say Robinson was the greatest boxer of all time, and as stated in a previous comment, he WAS at his peak. Turpin was simply a very good British champion, but he beat him fair and square over 15 rounds. I know some people are saying that Robinson might not have been prepared properly for the Turpin fight, but was Tyson in top condition for Douglas. According to his biography he was already a drug addict by then.

I agree, although most people say Ali. I always call him the original SUGAR.

dalcumly wrote:Tyson v Douglas was a huge upset , I remember it well. But nobody can say Tyson was the greatest boxer of all time. A lot of people say Robinson was the greatest boxer of all time, and as stated in a previous comment, he WAS at his peak. Turpin was simply a very good British champion, but he beat him fair and square over 15 rounds. I know some people are saying that Robinson might not have been prepared properly for the Turpin fight, but was Tyson in top condition for Douglas. According to his biography he was already a drug addict by then.

When you look at it like that Tyson did very well as a fighter while being both drug and alcohol addicted.

palooka wrote:

Taansend wrote:

palooka wrote:Didn't Robinson have a rather hectic tour of Europe with his entourage of about 20 people, fantastic fighter that he was, maybe even he wasn't immune to the deleterious effects of the high life and late nights?

This is true. He even had a pet dwarf.

Haven't we all?

I didn't know about Robinson's pet dwarf.... But looked it up and it seems to be true...

palooka wrote:

Taansend wrote:

palooka wrote:Didn't Robinson have a rather hectic tour of Europe with his entourage of about 20 people, fantastic fighter that he was, maybe even he wasn't immune to the deleterious effects of the high life and late nights?

This is true. He even had a pet dwarf.

Haven't we all?

You posh bastard.

I'd go for Douglas over Turpin because training camps were much longer by his time. Tyson had every opportunity to be 100%, whereas Robinson was kept much busier, with a series of fights in-between LaMotta and Turpin. Wear and tear introduces unknowns, especially if you're fighting a fresher opponent.

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

The fact that this upset happened 64 years ago an the fact i wasnt even in part time storage in me dads ball sack, i aint sure that this qualifies as short memory, but 100% Tyson vs Buster Douglas was biggest upset, that fight was setup more so to showcase Tysons talents to another part of the world, than to be even remotely a competetive fight, but could actually be argued it made Tyson even more famous, that said i was only 7 years out me dads plums, so my memory might not serve me correct.

In the words of p4p rapper Roy Jones "y'all musta forgot".

jaywillo1983 wrote:

dalcumly wrote:The Boxing News this week asked readers to nominate the biggest upset in the history of boxing.
I didn't have to think long.
Every poll I've seen asking who was the greatest boxer of all time , nominated Sugar Ray Robinson. At his peak he came to London to fight Randolph Turpin for the middleweight title - and lost!
Can anybody seriously doubt that this was the biggest upset?

The fact that this upset happened 64 years ago an the fact i wasnt even in part time storage in me dads ball sack, i aint sure that this qualifies as short memory, but 100% Tyson vs Buster Douglas was biggest upset, that fight was setup more so to showcase Tysons talents to another part of the world, than to be even remotely a competetive fight, but could actually be argued it made Tyson even more famous, that said i was only 7 years out me dads plums, so my memory might not serve me correct.

The fight that came third was 114 years ago...