Boxing: Ten Fights We Drooled Over

Top Ten fights we drooled for:

10.  Mike Tyson Vs Peter McNeeley: Mike Tyson vs. anyone was highly anticipated.

     People would say is Tyson going to knock him out in the first or second

     Round? When will Tyson destroy him? However, the one I wanted to see the most,

     was against Peter McNeeley. Why this fight? Tyson had just gotten out of prison

     McNeeley was a big unknown fighter with power. Could Tyson shake of the rust

     could McNeeley overcome his fears? No, Tyson KO first round, but still, we all

     wanted to see it.

9.   Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler: Two great fighters, two different styles,

     two separate camps. You wanted to see if Leonard was really that good. Was

     Hagler able to live up to the hype of his career. It ended up being a great

     fight.

8.   Arturo Gatti vs. Mickey Ward II:  What more do you need to know except that

     fight No.1 between these two was an awesome fight. A lot of folks didn't

     know Ward before this fight; however, they got to know him real well and fell in love

     with him. We all loved Gatti and he always came to fight. This one lived

     up to the hype.

7.   Carlos Monzon Vs. Nino Benvenuti: If you are not a big boxing fan, but just

     a fan of sports, you may not know these two, but when this one was set up,

     all boxing fans went wild. Both fighters were tough as nails, and neither

     one knew the meaning of the word quit.

6.  Bernard Hopkins Vs. Oscar De La Hoya: Hopkins was killing every fighter in his

    way. De La Hoya was loved by 95 percent of all fans. It was hard to choose who

    to cheer for. De La Hoya had a Halo over his head, Hopkins had a bounty over

    his. It was truly a great fight.

5.  Muhammad Ali (AKA Cassius Clay) Vs. Charles "Sonny" Liston: 1965, Lewiston

    Maine? What, where, not Madison Square garden, not Vegas, Not Atlantic City,

    No, Maine. Clay won the first one then embraced the Muslim religion took the

    name Ali vs. The Vegas Gangster, Liston. Had Liston killed a man? Was Ali

    against whites and the USA itself? I was at ringside for this one and was

    hooked on forever on boxing.

4.  Ali Vs Frazier III: This one in 1975, we all felt it was one of the last times

    we would see these two great warriors against each other. Maybe after the

    first couple of fights, we just knew that this one would be great.

3.  Ali Vs. Foreman: Big George will destroy Ali, he is old and can't fight, he

    can't take Foreman's power. Foreman will walk through him to get to the next

    fighter. Poor Ali, let's all watch and see him finally get shut up for good.

    Oops, Ali by KO in 8, take that Ali haters!

2.  Joe Lewis Vs. Max Schmeling: 1938 everyone with a radio was listening to

    this one. After Schmeling beat him in 1936 giving Lewis his first loss

    ever, He became a hero in Germany. People all over the world sat in front

    of their radios, or went to bars to listen with friends. Lewis was

    the man in this one.

1.  Muhammad Ali Vs. Joe Frazier: Both heavyweight champions were undefeated.

    You loved Ali or hated him, you loved Frazier, or didn't care. I don't think

    anyone could hate Smokin Joe, a Southern Baptist, and a great fighter. Across

    the ring, Ali, the greatest of all time, he had been forced out of boxing

    for three and a half years for refusal to fight in Viet Nam. Now he was back,

    two impressive fights under his belt, Frazier so ready to ruin Ali, it was

    tension at the top level. One round, the 15th decided it all, isn't that they

    way it should be?