The boxing world has had some epic battles and it would be near impossible to give a top ten list, but your old mate bigJ going to give it a crack. So today I’m giving you what I think is the top ten heavyweight title fights of all time
10. Max Bear v James ‘Cinderella Man’ Braddock
To kick off the list we are going way back to the thirties. Back from the brink of retirement and scraping a living work on the docks in New York, Braddock was a good boxer down on his luck.
He got the chance to redeem himself after defeating Corn Griffin, who was a high-level contender for the title. As a heavy underdog Braddock was given no chance in the fight but went the distance with bear, who was a brutal knockout specialist and had killed two men in the ring.
At the end of the fight he was declared the champion and would go on to defend his title for two years until he met Joe Louis. This brings me to number nine.
9. James Braddock v Joe Louis
Things started off well for Braddock as he would knock down Louis in the first round of the fight, but Louis would come back and defeat Braddock to become the champion of a generation. He was an inspiration for fighters to come, names like like Ali, Frazier, Forman and Tyson.
8. Mike Tyson v Evander Holyfield (1)
Not the ear-biting one, this fight is the first one. I would put this down to one of Holyfield’s best career performances as he was the heavy underdog and at this time was five years older then Tyson.
Much like our own Anthony Mundine and Danny Green fight, this one happened five years after it should have. Originally this was supposed to happen in the early nineties with Holyfield wining the title from Douglas who defeated Tyson earlier in Tokyo.
Things were set up for the biggest heavyweight fight since Ali versus Frazier (1). But it was not to be as Tyson was jailed for three years and would take until 1996 to get the fight done.
A complete eleven-round dominance of Tyson by Holyfield gave him his title back and set him up for his best title run of his career.
7. Lennox Lewis v Evander Holyfield (2)
The changing of the guard, Lewis the last great champion of the era was set up for a rematch with Holyfield for the titles, which both fighters putting it all on the line Lewis would get the win and dominate the heavyweight scene for the next five years.
6. Lennox Lewis v Hasim Rahman
Lewis was out for revenge after losing his titles in the first fight to Rahman. Lewis said he would avenge his fifth round knockout and did not disappoint by regaining the world titles in the fourth round.
He would become the world champion for the third time and finally set up a super match with mike Tyson the following year in Memphis.
5. George Foreman v Michael Moorer
One punch can change a fight, and this one proves that. The return of the champion with Mike Tyson in jail and Holyfield defeated by the current champion, the heavyweight division needed someone with credit to bring the sport back to its best. Big George answered the call.
After returning to the ring with more than ten years outside of it, George got another shot at the title.
Even though he was a former champ he was still a long shot, remembering he was 44 at the time.
With Moorer clearly wining the fight round by round, George looked like a heavy bag just taking shots and not giving much in return.
That was until Round 10.
Legendary trainer Angelo Dundee said “you’re behind kid, better do something” and he did.
George circled Moorer, keeping him at bay. Then he hit him with a right-left-right and set him to the ground.
Moorer could not answer the count and George regained his titles for the first time in 20 years wearing the same trunks he wore during the Rumble in the Jungle fight.
4. Trevor Berbick v Mike Tyson
“And we have a new era in boxing” the famous words said by the commentor as Mike Tyson downed berbick for the third time in the second round, giving him one of the fastest title wins since Ali v Liston II.
The 20-year-old Tyson became the youngest fighter to win the title and change the state of boxing forever.
3. Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier I
The biggest fight in the most famous arena in the world. Two undefeated champions in Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. It lived up to expectations.
The fight went down the 15th round, where Frazier landed a left hook that would have knocked over a barn.
The fight went to the final bell with Frazier just getting the win on points, leading to two more epic fights.
2. Ali v Foreman (Rumble in the Jungle)
Ali Bomaye, Ali Bomaye, Ali, well you get the picture. This was the fight to top them all, the setting, the fighters, the commentary – everything.
The first fight for the title in Africa. With the entire nation behind Ali but none of the experts giving him an chance, it was the fight to prove that once and for all Ali was the greatest.
He started by throwing right-hand leads in the first round and then changing to the ‘Rope-a-dope’ in the following rounds, allowing Foreman to punch himself out.
At the eighth round Ali threw a four-punch combination and Foreman went crashing to the ground. Ali regained the title at 32 years of age, ten years after his historic victory over Sonny Liston.
1. Ali v Frazier III Thrilla in Manilla
How could I go past this?
The build up to the fight, with Ali rhyming about Joe Frazier and the entire nation of Manilla loving every second of it.
Ali took this fight as he thought that Frazier was over the hill and it would be an easy opponent. How wrong he was.
Ali said that this was the closest he has come to death. Many said that this is the reason boxing should be banned.
Frazier dominated early and through the middle rounds he was clearly winning the fight, but in Round 13 Ali took control, knocking Frazier’s mouth guard five rows into the crowd.
With Frazier’s right eye closing and being blind in his left Ali had the upper hand. The fourteenth round was brutal with Ali letting Frazier have everything.
When the bell sounded both men were helped back to their corners. With Ali wanting the fight to be stopped and with Frazier fighting with his corner, Frazier’s trainer decided to stop the fight to protect his fighter.
The fight was given to Ali. This was a war and without doubt the best heavyweight title fight of all time.
Do you agree with my list? What is your favourite title fight? Tell me what you think with a comment below.
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