I understand that Filipino fans and De la Hoya fans (whatever calls itself a DLH fan I should say; personally, I don’t know a single living person who likes him) are riding high in anticipation for this Saturday’s “Dream Match.” Yawn!
I’m sorry but I just don’t see what there is to be excited about, but it got me thinking: before Cotto vs Margarito earlier this year, when was the last time boxing fans felt truly excited about an upcoming fight?
Here’s my “two cents” on the issue with an emphasis on popular opinion (personally, Cotto vs Margarito would’ve been No. 1). I can distinctly remember feeling butterflies for a week before some of these fights happened. I may have called in sick on the Friday prior to some of these fights just because my brain was on boxing overload. Without further ado:
1. Holyfield vs Tyson (1996) Heavyweights Simply billed as “FINALLY!”, this fight was originally signed for November of 1991. By this time, The Real Deal had spent the better part of the last two years as the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. Tyson was still the hottest commodity in boxing, even after losing soundly to Buster Douglas, but between the alleged Tyson injuries during training and his conviction for the rape of Desiree Washington, the fight was delayed for five years.
Being 34 at the time, Holyfield was considered to be “washed-up” and a huge underdog (two to one). Holyfield went on to destroy and humiliate Tyson (twice) and cement his place in boxing history (not before losing part of his ear in the rematch).
2. De La Hoya vs Trinidad (1999) Welterweights
In what was billed as the Fight of the Millennium, Felix Trinidad defeated Oscar de la Hoya by a controversial majority decision. The fight generated 1.4 million PPV buys; at the time a record for a non-heavyweight fight and the last superfight of the 20th century. A rematch never materialized.
3. Whitaker vs Chavez (1993) Welterweights Chavez was “given” some decisions he didn’t deserve in his day. This was the worst case, in my opinion. Moving up in weight to challenge Whitaker for his WBC piece of the welterweight title, Chavez was thoroughly outboxed and outclassed. This remains one of the most obvious “gift” decisions in boxing history.
4. Cotto vs Margarito (2008) Welterweights In April of this year, these true warriors set the stage for the biggest fight that could be made in boxing at the time by defeating lesser opponents on the same card. After nearly three months of hype and speculation. We were treated to a nearly perfect clash of styles and a “fight-of-the-year” contender. The rematch is tentatively scheduled for 2009. Can’t wait.
5. De La Hoya vs Hopkins (2004) Middleweights Seen as a mismatch due to DLH’s smaller frame, this fight was for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world, but was fought at 158 lbs. The fight itself was close until the 9th round when Hopkins landed a body shot that folded DLH in half and, in the process, cemented Hopkins’ status as a boxing legend.
6. Pacquiao vs Marquez II (2008) Super Featherweight/Jr. Lightweight After a four year-long wait, Pacman and JMM fought to another controversial and inconclusive finish. This time, Pacman won a split decision. Fight three wouldn’t hurt anybody’s feelings, now would it?
7. Morales vs Barrera II (2002) Featherweights After their classic 2000 bout, this was a no-brainer. As was their third fight.
8. Lewis vs Tyson (2002) Heavyweights We all knew that Tyson didn’t stand a chance against the bigger, stronger Lewis; but we all watched. It was a Tyson fight after all. As much as it wasn’t even close to being a great fight, even on paper, it was so long overdue that I was chomping at the bit to see this happen. As with many of Tyson’s fights, we re-learned that we should probably not buy into the hype of the PPV build-up shows. Damn you, HBO 24/7!!!
9. Leonard vs Hearns II (1989) Super Middleweights Seven years late? Maybe. A couple of washed up fighters trying to recapture past glories? Definitely. But we all watched the fight; and what we saw was Hearns even his rivalry with Leonard (even by Leonard’s admission), despite the draw decision. As opposed to most fights on this list, this was a great scrap.
10. De La Hoya vs Mayweather (2007) Jr. Middleweights I just felt I needed to put this one somewhere in here. After all, it is the highest grossing fight in boxing history, so somebody was hot for it. Personally, I thought it sucked as both a potential matchup and a fight. I do have to admit that it is a better matchup than Pacquiao-De La Hoya.
