Floyd Mayweather and the History of the One-Fight Comeback
In boxing, you usually have a pretty certain number of events in a fight.
The bell will ring, two fighters will either evade each other or stand in the center to compete.
This usually leads to a one-sided unanimous decision or a knockout victory, usually awarded to the person most expected to win anyway.
Every now and then, there comes a fight that totally disregards all preconceived notions of what a fight should be and raises our expectations.
This is known as a superfight.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (41-0, 25 KO's) is on one side of such a unique event. Pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KO's) is on the other.
The two best fighters in the world just so happen to be in the same weight class (welterweight) and only two years apart in age (34 and 32 respectively).
The world desperately wants to see them in action against one another, but Mayweather has been out of the ring since May 2010, trying to score a unanimous decision in his favor in the courtroom more so than the ring.
Pacquiao has meanwhile stayed active in victories over Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and has been reported to be facing Juan Manuel Marquez in an epic third encounter on Nov. 12 of this year to close a highly regarded trilogy.
Mayweather has talked of tune-up fights, yet shoots down every rumor of every possible tune-up opponent mentioned by any media outlet.
Mayweather has said he wants the Pacquiao fight, but doesn't want to waste his time with a weak fight which a tune-up would surely be.
In the history of boxing, there have been many legendary boxers who have made one-fight (tune-up-less) comebacks for legacy and money with mixed results.
From James J. Jeffries' comeback "sole purpose of winning the title for the Whites...” to Shane Mosley's own return against Mayweather last year, I'll be examining the best and worst of these attempts in chronological order as they occur in history.
A Quick Note of Qualification
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In order to qualify for this list of one-fight comebacks, the fight in question has to be a big single event with either a lot of anticipation and a lot of money involved to lure one of the boxers out of a period of inactivity that lasted at least one full year with no tune-ups or exhibitions.
George Foreman's 1987 comeback against Steve Zouski is an example of a popular comeback that does not qualify, because Zouski was more a tune-up than the other half of a superfight.
July 4, 1910: James Jackson Jeffries Comes Back to Fight Jack Johnson
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May 1905, James Jackson Jeffries retired undefeated with 19 wins, 14 by knockout and 2 draws. He was a well respected world champion as well as a rich champion and a White one.
On December 1908, Black American fighter Jack Johnson won the world heavyweight championship from White Canadian Tommy Burns.
This caused an uproar for America was not yet ready to see a first black heavyweight champion.
Thus the search for the "Great White Hope" began. This search was for a great strong White male who could defeat Johnson and bring the heavyweight championship back to the White race.
After a few more challengers fell, a Jeffries was called out of retirement to handle the champion.
Jeffries had this to say about his return:
""I feel obligated to the sporting public at least to make an effort to reclaim the heavyweight championship for the white race."
"
He came back to the ring on Independence day of 1910, six years after his final fight to face the active current champion.
Though Johnson was three years older and had a two inch disadvantage in reach, Johnson viciously pummeled Jeffries to a 15-round TKO victory.
Jeffries would leave the sport of boxing, never to fight again.
The fight earned Johnson a great deal of respect and credibility as world champion.
With one fight, Jeffries made history that will never be forgotten, though likely not in the way he intended.
May 25, 1965: Sonny Liston vs Muhammad Ali Rematch
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Their first encounter occurred Feb. 25, 1964, 15 months prior to their inevitable rematch.
A dreadfully talented 22-year-old Ali had shook up the world up defeating the Big Bear that was Sonny Liston.
Rather than go through a tune-up fight, Liston and Ali went straight at each other again.
The seventh-round knockout awarded in the first match to Ali as a result of Liston quitting on his stool as a result of a shoulder injury inspired the WBC (World Boxing Council) to immediately call for a rematch.
The rematch was delayed numerous times thanks to Ali needing surgery for a strangulated hernia and to find a site where the promoters had a proper boxing license.
Once a new fight site was chosen, the fight commenced on May 25, 1965 in Lewiston, Maine.
The small town provided only a small gate, but also provided a very memorable night.
Liston would be defeated by first-round knockout. A moment where Ali boldly stands over Liston's crumpled body in the middle of the ring became an instantly iconic photo.
The photo remains one of the most famous sports photos ever taken.
June 11, 1982: Gerry Cooney Waits to Face Larry Holmes
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From the dust left behind by the 1970s, Gerry Cooney and Larry Holmes were formed.
Two amazing heavyweights with opposing backgrounds and styles that made marketing and advertising entirely too easy.
Cooney aimed to become the first White man to win a heavyweight title in over 22 years at that point.
Holmes had the title he snatched from Ken Norton in a 1978 championship match.
Cooney obliterated the memory of Holmes' split-decision victory over Norton with a shocking first-round knockout of the same legendary warrior.
The hype was on, especially with Don King calling Cooney the "Great White Hope" of his time.
While Holmes stayed busy fighting the likes of Leon Spinks and Trevor Berbick, Cooney had only fought Norton 13 months prior to the eventual showdown with Holmes.
When the showdown came, Holmes dominated, eventually crushing Cooney in Round 13 before Cooney's corner threw in the towel.
April 6, 1987: Sugar Ray Leonard Comes Back for Marvelous Marvin Hagler
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Billed as "The Super Fight," Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler both returned to the ring after long periods of inactivity.
Leonard announced his comeback on May 1, 1986.
His last match was May 11, 1984, three years before the fight took place.
March 10, 1986 was Hagler's last match before facing Leonard. Hagler had knocked out John "The Beast" Mugabi.
Leonard was shocked to see Mugabi out-box Hagler for much of the fight until Hagler was able to break him down.
Leonard was inspired by seeing this and set out to train for the fight.
No tune-up, no exhibition, just Hagler straight on.
Leonard would win by one of the most controversial split decisions ever.
To this day, fans still argue about who really won.
Was it Leonard's better accuracy and flashiness that won?
Or was it Hagler's aggressiveness that should have won?
The world will continue to argue, but no matter what, Leonard made history.
Jan. 22, 1988: Larry Holmes Returns Against Mike Tyson for $2.8 Million
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An hungry young undefeated Mike Tyson had ruled the boxing universe for nearly two whole years while the legendary Larry Holmes was retired following his two first defeats at the hands of Michael Spinks.
Despite his last fight being April 19, 1986, Holmes dove into the lion's den with Tyson on Jan. 22, 1988. A $2.8 million purse is said to be the deciding factor.
Holmes fought cautiously with a long effective jab, but couldn't stop the fiery onslaught of Tyson, who ended the bout in four rounds, giving Holmes the first and only knockout loss of his career.
Holmes licked his wounds and retired, only to rise once again in 1991 and sporadically throughout the 1990's well into 2002.
Holmes was paid and history was made.
June 27, 1988: Michael Spinks Rises to Fight Mike Tyson in Unification Match
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June 15, 1987, undefeated heavyweight champion Michael Spinks (30-0, 20 KO's) defeated Gerry Cooney by knockout to improve his record to 31-0, 21 KO's.
He wouldn't fight for a year, but in this time came the rise of Mike Tyson.
Soon, a match between Tyson and Spinks to unify the heavyweight titles was heavily demanded.
So Spinks came back back to the ring on June 27, 1988, to face Tyson with WBA, WBC, IBF, and Ring belts on the line.
Tyson attacked early, knocking Spinks down twice in the first round. Spinks had never been knocked down before.
Spinks was knocked out in the first round. He soon retired, and the legend of Tyson's youthful years peaked.
Tyson would lose to journeyman Buster Douglas in less than two years later in one of the greatest upsets ever.
Was it worth it? For Tyson, definitely. For Spinks, who knows?
Feb. 20, 1999: Pernell Whitaker Suffers Domination from Felix Trinidad
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Pernell Whitaker came out of 16 months of inactivity to face Trinidad for the welterweight championship on Feb. 20, 1999.
Trinidad was coming off a stoppage defense of his IBF welterweight belt 10 months prior.
The match would be a young undefeated fighter (Trinidad) against an experienced legend (Whitaker).
Whitaker and Trinidad started aggressively and then began using their respective jabs against one another as the fight progressed.
Whitaker was brutalized and dominated for the first time in his career.
Even when he tried to be more offensive in the later rounds, Trinidad continually adjusted and beat Whitaker.
The unanimous decision win for Trinidad sent Whitaker intro retirement. Then he came back again, only to be knocked out by a journeyman and finally retire for good.
May 1, 2010: Shane Mosley Gets Wish in Super-Fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
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Having just lost to Miguel Cotto and struggling for a victory against Ricardo Mayorga, Shane Mosley was not given much of a chance going against Antonio Margarito on Jan. 24, 2009.
When Mosley won, the world was shocked by not just the victory, but how dominating the victory was.
Mosley beat Margarito into the worst state he's been in until Manny Pacquiao broke his eye socket over a year later.
Mosley's knockout victory in round nine set the stage for a bigger fight. He called out Pacquiao, he called out Mayweather. Crickets followed and callbacks didn't.
Pacquiao and Mayweather, the world's biggest boxers, were too busy trying to sign a deal to fight each other.
Luckily, the deal fell through and Mosley emerged as an opponent.
Mosley was originally set to face Andre Berto, but a tragic earthquake in Haiti prompted Haitian-American Berto to drop out of the fight to go help his countrymen.
Mayweather stepped in Berto's place and the a superfight was born.
Mosley would lose by a wide-unanimous decision with only the second round where he momentarily wobbled Mayweather going to him.
Mosley earned a career-high payday of at least $6 million after pay-per-view buys. Some question whether the 16-month layoff bothered him.
Others say Mosley's five-year age disadvantage over Mayweather was the culprit. In the end, Mayweather was the more savvy ring technician.
Conclusion: What Can Mayweather Learn from These Fights?
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What Mayweather can learn is not to let two or more years pass by without a fight...period.
Second, Mayweather should at least consider a tune-up before facing anyone of great skill and power like Manny Pacquiao.
Most of the boxers in these big fights who come off a big layoff to face an active champion LOSE.
Sugar Ray Leonard was said to have REAL boxing matches in private with three judges and a ref and that's how he kept in shape after three years.
Mayweather could do that, but the difficulty of such a task will be hard. There's nothing like the ring thing.
Another option is to pull a David Haye and make his opponent not take a tune-up.
Heavyweight champion Haye made Wladimir Klitschko decline a tune-up before their July showdown because Haye wasn't taking one.
If Mayweather makes Pacquiao sign the contract early, he can stipulate that Pacquiao can't fight anyone else until they fight.
Fast-forward a year and Pacquiao will have some ring-rust to help with match Mayweather's.
There many possibilities for the big mythical match-up, but whichever Mayweather chooses, we all hope it eventually leads to a showdown with Manny Pacquiao.
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