Often in life we are somewhat curtailed of the true beauty that’s occurring right before our very eyes. In the moment, we rarely appreciate what we are being given. It is not until the moment is long gone, that we look back and not only appreciate it, but wish we could go back, and relive the moment. Boxing is no different. A decade seems like an eternity when you are living within it, but once it passes we see just how quickly time flies. I’ve compiled the following list of the best boxing performances of the past decade. The list is not necessarily made up of Fight of the Year candidates. Instead, it is composed of how important the fight was at that time, how important it was in that specific division; the impact that it left on both fighters careers; and the dominance that one fighter showed over the other.
10] Joe Calzaghe UD 12 Jeff Lacy (March 4 2006)
Going into this bout, both men were undefeated, Super Middleweight title holders. The fight was named “Judgment Day”, and it’s name couldn’t have fit any better. I recall many prematurely comparing Jeff Lacy to Mike Tyson, and claiming he would easily knock Joe Calzaghe out, ending his undefeated streak. Boy, were they wrong. Calzaghe punished Jeff Lacy for 12 rounds with right hooks, straight left hands, left uppercuts, all while barely getting hit. The win brought Calzaghe into the mainstream light, and landed him on HBO in his future bouts with Mikkel Kessler, Bernard Hopkins, and Roy Jones Jr. The loss for Lacy ended up being a detrimental to the rest of his career, losing 3 of his next 7 fights, and never again regaining a championship.
9] Bernard Hopkins UD 12 Kelly Pavlik (October 18 2008)
Prior to this fight, Kelly Pavlik seemed unstoppable. He had beaten the man who beat Hopkins twice [Jermain Taylor], and looked as if he was going to steamroll through the Middleweight division with ease. Bernard Hopkins was coming off of a close decision loss to Joe Calzaghe. It appeared to many that Hopkins’ old age would finally catch up to him when he stepped in the ring with Pavlik. The odds favored Pavlik to knock Hopkins out, despite the fact that Hopkins had never been knocked out in his career. B-Hop ended up putting on one of his best performances ever, dominating Kelly Pavlik, winning every round, and even hitting him with a taunting bolo punch in the 8th round. The win made Hopkins relevant in the boxing world again, brought him up a few spots on many experts’ pound for pound lists, and has enabled him to still compete with the top Light Heavyweights today. Although the loss didn’t cost Pavlik his middleweight championship [bout was fought at a catch weight of 166 lbs], he was never the same. The fight gave Sergio Martinez a blueprint to snatch the Middleweight crown from Pavlik, which put the nail in the coffin. Pavlik is no longer even mentioned while discussing the 160 pound scene today.
8] Shane Mosley TKO 9 Antonio Margarito (January 24 2009)
Similar to the Pavlik-Hopkins bout, many experts picked Antonio Margarito to knock Shane Mosley out. Shane’s best days seemed to be behind him, while Margarito’s were just getting started. Antonio almost looked super-human in his prior bout with Miguel Cotto, he took everything Cotto could offer with a smile, and ended up knocking him out. Minutes before the fight, Mosley’s corner discovered the infamous hand wrapping techniques of Team Margarito. The bout still went on, and Margarito didn’t look like the same man that was in the ring with Miguel Cotto, 6 months prior. He wasn’t in the fight at all, and received his first knockout loss at the hands of Mosley in the 9th round. The win made Mosley important in the welterweight division again, securing him fights with Floyd Mayweather Jr, and Manny Pacquiao later on. The discovery before Margarito’s entrance to the ring mixed with the results in the ring resulted in an embarrassing loss and his boxing license being suspended in California, making it hard for him to be approved to fight anywhere else. Mosley’s dominating performance outshined the controversy that night, as it seemed to be karma in its purest form.
