This November will see the eleventh time two of The Ring?s top five pound-for-pound boxers meet in the ring?
This November will see the eleventh time two of The Ring?s top five pound-for-pound boxers meet in the ring. The super middleweight King Andre Ward has moved up to fight light heavyweight King Sergey Kovalev. The number eleven is surprisingly low but The Ring only started their pound-for-pound rankings in 1989. This means bouts such as Hagler v Hearns, Duran v Leonard, Basilio v Robinson and Frazier v Ali were not even eligible. In this, I will look at how those 10 fights played out.
Julio Cesar Chavez v Meldrick Taylor March 17, 1990 Las Vegas, Nevada
A combined record of 92-0-1 made this fight must-see. Chavez was a three weight world champion with a big following of Mexican fans defending his WBC light-welterweight title. Meldrick Taylor was an Olympic gold medalist in 1984 and after beating Buddy McGirt to claim the IBF light-welterweight title the comparisons were made to Sugar Ray Leonard. Labeled ?Thunder and Lightning? it was seen as intense battle of style. The bout also benefited from being just after Tyson lost to Buster Douglas, bringing other boxers to the forefront.
The speed of Taylor clearly confounded Chavez early as he seemed to hit him at will. Chavez was, as ever, relentless in his pursuit of Taylor. Taylor was landing more punches but the power of Chavez was beginning to make an impact. His face was swollen and cut up while the bones around his eye socket had been broken. He was so dazed that at the end of the eleventh round he headed to the wrong corner. Heading into the last round, Taylor was comfortably heading to victory. The scorecards read 107-102, 108-101 and 104-105. Lou Duva, trainer of Taylor, instead told his boxer he needed to win the round and so Taylor chose to trade with Chavez. He staggered around the ring, at one point falling over following a wild left. The last minute saw Chavez pour into Taylor and it was a huge right that would drop Taylor. He made it up before eight but when unresponsive to Richard Steele?s questions, he was deemed unfit to continue. Chavez had famously won with two seconds to go.
Result: Julio Cesar Chavez defeated Meldrick Taylor by Technical Knockout after 2.58
Julio Cesar Chavez v Pernell Whitaker September 10, 1993 San Antonio, Texas
Chavez continued to roll on by and reached 87 unbeaten, with wins over Hector Camacho and Greg Haugen. Pernell Whitaker had one only defeat to his name, one he avenged against Jose Luis Ramirez. He was another Olympic gold medalist from 1984 and was a three weight World Champion looking to stop Chavez from his fourth title at a different weight. Whitaker was another boxer from the school of Leonard, perhaps the best defensive boxer of his era with incredible speed. The Texan crowd was pro Chavez as the Mexican fans turned up in huge numbers. Whitaker was an underdog heading into the bout and was booed on entrance.
Chavez, as always, came on strong early. Whitaker was more than happy with this but would lose the early rounds. All great fighters adjust and Whitaker circled counter-clockwise and did not let Chavez close the distance. As Chavez tired from throwing right hands that only hit the air, Whitaker would grow in confidence. After nine he was surprisingly not up on the cards but the corner had seen and told Pernell he needed to win the last rounds. He took it to Chavez, pushing back the pressure fighter. The bout ended as a majority draw with Sports Illustrated declaring ?ROBBED!? on their next front page.
Result: Pernell Whitaker fought Julio Cesar Chavez to a Majority Draw
Oscar De La Hoya v Pernell Whitaker April 12, 1997 Las Vegas, Nevada
Billed as ?Pound for Pound? the second and third ranked boxers in The Ring would meet. Whittaker had gone on to become a four weight World Champion but returned to welterweight to take on the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya was a three weight world champion and had stopped Julio Cesar Chavez.
Whitaker uses sharp straights and spoiling tactics early. Oscar though is successful with his bigger shots despite Whitaker trying to take away his left hook. When Whitaker gets his jab away, a punch that lands 160 times in this fight, he tends to control the round. The fight is mainly Whitaker landing more punches efficiently and using great defense and pacing. De La Hoya was landing fewer power punches without hurting him. Whitaker managed to get the only knockdown in the ninth round. He out landed the bigger fighter and ringside observers all thought Whitaker had succeeded. However the judges saw it 116-110, 116-110 and 115-111 to Oscar De La Hoya, the new superstar of boxing.
Result: Oscar De La Hoya defeats Pernell Whitaker by Unanimous Decision
Oscar De La Hoya v Felix Trinidad September 18, 1999 Las Vegas, Nevada
Now a four weight World Champion, Oscar De La Hoya had continued his winning ways. He beat Hector Camacho, Julio Cesar Chavez for a second time and edged a decision against Ike Quartey. He was 31-0 heading into this bout. His opponent, Felix Trinidad, was 35-0. He was the reigning IBF Champion and has impressively vanquished opponents. He stopped Maurice Blocker to win the title in two and then experienced wins over Hector Camacho, Yori Boy Campas, Oba Carr and then most impressively Pernell Whitaker. The unification bout was one of the biggest available in boxing at the time.
The controversy started before the fight as Tito was stalled on the way to the ring, having to spend five minutes stuck in the aisle. This fight was a slow burner as not a lot happened. Oscar looked to box, trying to jab and use an improved right hand to bloody Tito. About halfway through Oscar looked like he had a commanding lead. However he began to sit on his lead instead of continuing the tactics that had proved so effective. Oscar slowed down and entering the tenth round, he shut it down completely. He hoped his lead in the scorecards would carry him through the bout and did not want to risk a stoppage loss. Instead of winning comfortably, Oscar lost a majority decision despite out landing Tito by almost 100 punches. The fight was a disappointing one as both adopted conservative tactics. Billed as the ?fight of the millennium? it left a sour taste in boxing fans mouth as the millennium turned over.
Result: Felix Trinidad defeats Oscar De La Hoya by Majority Decision
Oscar De La Hoya v Shane Mosley June 17, 2000 Los Angeles, California
Despite losing to Trinidad, Oscar was still highly rated. He even claimed the WBC belt as Tito moved up to middleweight. In the opposing corner was Shane Mosley. The California man had been IBF lightweight champion and was undefeated with 34 wins. He vacated the title to move up to welterweight. He had two wins over non contenders. Oscar was still the favorite with the bookies heading into the fight. Oscar was the superstar of the fight, being payed almost triple Shane. Billed ?Destiny? it was a big fight for the both boxers.
The early rounds were split as Mosley used his smarts and subtle combinations. His fast hands and even quicker feet were troubling Oscar. De La Hoya was naturally bigger and used his jab to create forward pressure. He also brought into play his strong left hook. Mosley would adjust heading into the fifth using angle changes to find openings. Shane was looking to be first and last in all exchanges. In the ninth and twelfth rounds the two boxers would trade blows for three minutes. The big right of Mosley would really tell here. He would work in bursts with great speed to trouble Oscar. Shane would take a split decision victory with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and113-115.
Result: Shane Mosley defeats Oscar De La Hoya by Unanimous Decision
Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez II March 15, 2008 Las Vegas, Nevada
The second and third ranked fighters in The Ring magazine would once again meet. The first fight had taken place four years earlier. Pacquiao knocked Marquez down three times in the first round but Marquez came storming back for a split decision draw. Since then he had won a trilogy over Erik Morales and a second win over Marco Antonio Barrera. Marquez had also beat Barrera after losing to Chris John.
The bout really continued where the second left off. Marquez did wobble Manny at the end of the second and once again at the beginning of the third. He manages to perfectly use the aggression of Manny against him. By the end of the round though, Manny has taken back control with a knockdown counter left. So many of the rounds are open to interpretation. Marquez when controlling the pace looks the better boxer. Pacquiao once again rocks him in the tenth but Marquez takes the twelfth to him and with it makes it a hotly debated decision. I edged it to Marquez 114-113 but the decision went the way of Pacquiao by scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 112-115.
Result: Manny Pacquaio defeats Juan Manuel Marquez by Split Decision
Bernard Hopkins v Joe Calzaghe April 19, 2008 Paradise, Nevada
Hopkins and Calzaghe had been flinging mud at each other since the turn of the century. Both had dominated their divisions. Bernard Hopkins made 20 successful defences of his middleweight title while Calzaghe made 21 in the super middleweight division. Hopkins moved up to beat Antonio Tarver and Winky Wright at light heavyweight before calling out Calzaghe who had just defeated Mikkel Kessler. The two engaged in a heated argument prior to the Hatton-Mayweather bout. It was dubbed ?Battle of the planet? and Calzaghe was the betting favorite.
Hopkins was the man who controlled the early stages of the bout. He dropped Joe with a short right hand in the first round. Joe Cortez was heavily involved in the second round, a bout he referred completely opposite to Hatton v Mayweather not long before. It was a dirty start to the fight with a slow and scrappy feel. The second half of the fight was where the phenomenal work rate and relative youth of Calzaghe came into play. The last few rounds were marred by Bernard Hopkins looking to get points taken off for Joe Calzaghe after alleged low blows. Hopkins had just not done enough has Calzaghe landed more punches on Hopkins than any previous opponent and double that Hopkins landed on his. Calzaghe only won a split decision with scores of 116-111, 115-112 and 113-114.
Result: Joe Calzaghe defeats Bernard Hopkins by Split Decision
Floyd Mayweather Jr v Shane Mosley May 1, 2000 Paradise, Nevada
Another fight that had been talked about since the turn of the century, it took place between the second and third ranked boxers. Floyd has recently returned from a layoff to shutout Juan Manuel Marquez. The former number one was a five weight world champion who had sensational wins over Oscar De La Hoya, Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. Since Shane beat De La Hoya he had lost twice to Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright and beaten Vargas, Collazo and De La Hoya. Cotto would beat him but Mosley regained his place in pound for pound lists with two strong wins. He stopped Mayorga in the final round when behind on the scorecards and then controversially destroyed Margarito.
The first two rounds saw Mosley beat Mayweather up to an extent that it seemed we had never seen before. The second round saw Mayweather hanging on as Shane rocked him with some huge right hands. Following this thought it followed the blueprint of the majority of Mayweather bouts. His combinations and the use of the body jab worked together to slow down Shane. As the bout wore on he clearly became frustrated and stated after that he tried to stop Mayweather early so the speed did not take over the bout.
Result: Floyd Mayweather defeats Shane Mosley by Unanimous Decision
Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez III November 12, 2011 Paradise, Las Vegas
After the previous Marquez bout, Pacquiao would go on a legendary run of victories. De La Hoya, Hatton, Cotto, Clottey, Margarito and Mosley were all defeated by the Filipino as he ventured as high as light middleweight. Juan Manuel Marquez had instead chosen to try and rule the lightweight division. He beat Juan Diaz and Michael Katsidis. His only previous attempt to box at welterweight had saw him defeated by Floyd Mayweather. Given his stunning run, Manny Pacquiao entered this as the favourite and was billed as ?The 25th Round Begins.?
It was a slower start to this bout but Marquez works well to the body. Pacquiao looks faster but Marquez lands at a higher rate. In the fifth, Marquez hurts Pacquiao with a big right hand. He suffers a few mental lapses throughout the fight and just cannot adjust to Marquez. Manny comes on late in the fight as he pressurises Marquez but once again Marquez probably bucks the last fight. It is probably the least memorable of the four bouts and the decision Marquez will feel he deserved most. However, the majority decision went the way of the Filipino star.
Result: Manny Pacquiao defeats Juan Manuel Marquez by Majority Decision
Manny Pacquiao v Floyd Mayweather Jr May 2, 2015 Las Vegas, Nevada
After years of negotiation and these two men dominating the pound-for pound rankings they finally agreed to a bout. Boxers agreed to a larger percentage for Floyd and USADA testing. Since Floyd had beaten Mosley, he had continue to win including notable victories over Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez and Marcos Maidana. Pacquiao had lost twice. Once controversially to Timothy Bradley, whom he beat in a rematch and when stopped by Juan Manuel Marquez with a thunderous shot. It was billed as ?Fight of the Century? and despite being a few years too late was arguably the most anticipated fight on this list.
Floyd came out with surprising aggression and took the early rounds. Pacquiao may have had his best argument in the third after landing a few solid shots. The fourth finally was his as he managed to stagger Mayweather slightly. Mayweather was once again dominant in the fifth, limiting Manny to only two shots landed according to CompuBox. The next saw Manny come out aggressively and win the round forcing Floyd backwards. With this, Mayweather choose to once again be the aggressor and took a couple of rounds. The bout once again shifted to favor the aggressor over the next couple of rounds as Manny took a couple of rounds. Floyd would finish strong using his solid defensive work to avoid shots and land big ones in return. Most fans labeled it a disappointment but Mayweather put on a class showing. The question does still remain what would have happened in the prime of these boxers careers.
Result: Floyd Mayweather Jr defeats Manny Pacquiao by Unanimous Decision
Andre Ward fighting Sergey Kovalev is the next bout to join the list. Fans will hope for a classic but as shown, these big fights can be a major letdown. Ward is like a few of these fighters with defensive smarts and an ability to control the pace of an opponent. Kovalev is an aggressive power puncher with a propensity for stopping his opponents. That equation tends to go well for the defensive fighter who can manage to stop his opponent being effective.
