Greatest Fight Of All Time:

Almost every weekend we boxing fans toon in on one of the major networks to watch boxing, as deep in our mind we hope for that great fight that most times doesn’t happen. We hope to see the greatest fight of all time, we hope to see a fight unfold and become bigger and bigger then we ever anticipated. There has been a few fights billed as the Fight of the Century, some billed as fight of the decade or the year, some turn out to be as good as advertised and of course some don’t.

We just saw a few classics in September. GGG vs Canelo, Jose Ramirez vs Antonio Orozco and Kosei Tanaka vs Sho Kimura. As it is very difficult to list all the great fights of all time, we take a look back at some of the great fights in the last 50 years. Also please feel free to comment on others fights you thought were great or heard were legendary.

1970- Carlos Monzon vs Nino Benvenuti

1971- Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier

1975- Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier

1980-Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard

1981- Sugar Ray Leonard vs Thomas Hearns

1981- Alexis Arguello vs Ray Mancini

1982- Alexis Arguello vs Aaron Pryor

1984- Thomas Hearns vs Roberto Duran

1985- Marvin Hagler vs Thomas Hearns

1987- Sugar Ray Leonard vs Marvin Hagler

1990- Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor

1992- Riddick Bowe vs Evander Holyfield

1993-Julio Cesar Chavez V Pernell Whitaker

1993-Humberto Gonzalez vs Michael Carbajal

1996- Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield

1997- Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley

1998- Arturo Gatti vs Ivan Robinson

2000- Oscar De La Hoya vs Shane Mosley

2000-Erik Morales V Marco Antonio Barrera

2002- Mikey Ward vs Arturo Gatti

2003- Mikey Ward vs Arturo Gatti

2004-Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez l

2004-Erik Morales V Marco Antonio Barrera

2005- Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo

2008-Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez ll

2011-Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez lll

2012-Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez IV

2017- Wladmir Klitschko vs Anthony Joshua

2018- Gennady Golovkin vs Canelo Alvarez

The greatest fight I ever saw was Corrales versus Castillo. I just can’t seem to get that fight out of my mind, how special it was. Corrales I believe was the #1 p4p boxer in the world that day (when he walked into the ring) and Castillo when focused, motivated and trained properly is as good as anyone that has stepped foot into the boxing ring (And he was ready that night). From the starting bell these two warriors fought in a phone booth. The action and pace that they were fighting at was unreal ( they where throwing heavy artillery shots right from the get-go, Big shots that would knock out a regular contender), after a few rounds you new you were watching something special. As most of us fans were watching, deep in our mind we were starting to ask ourselves could this possibly be the best fight we have ever seen (as our mind raced to remember other great boxing fights) these two Warriors kept on going at it, at a pace and explosiveness which is unprecedented. Going into the second half of the fight, the fans were speechless in there mind, but going nuts as there body was buzzing. On this night when everything was perfectly aligned you knew that it was going to have the perfect ending. It was going to have drama and edge of your seat-couldn’t believe what you were watching ending. Before too long the fight ended in disbelief, just like the perfect fight should have and it was as clear as a KO Punch that is was the best most exciting fight I (and most fans including the commentators) have ever seen on live TV. That night as most of us shut our televisions off and got ready for bed, we were at a high, a high that you can only get from the most exciting sport in the world, feeling the happiness and joy of being a boxing fan and understanding that we just witnessed something extremely special that will we will remember for the rest of our lives. Corrales was the smaller man that night, The shape of his body and his mindset that night is unmatched. The rare time we see a warrior ready for battle like that can only be equaled to in a sports contest. Even in all of Athletic history it can’t be surpassed (if that’s not special enough, I don’t know what is). All those weeks, months and years of watching fights and looking for that single action packed edge of your seat fight all paid off that evening. As I went to sleep that night, I thought/realized for all of Boxings issues and faults, why I love boxing so much and why it’s the best sport in the world.

PAC / Marquez

Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez is by far my favorite Trilogy. All four of their fights were not only historic and action packed and amazing to watch, but all four were there own special events. Both of these gladiators trained and trained and gave everything they had.

Pacquiao Marquez l, May 8, 2004

Marquez came out in the first round and walked forward, naturally the bigger man, he came ready for War. He got some very good hard punches in early as he tried to set the tone. But Pacquiao’s speed and straight left hand caught Marquez by surprise and knocked him down. Marquez not only got knocked down three times in the first round but he took some very vicious hard shots in the last 45 seconds of the 1st round and surprised many he survived the first round. Referee Joel Cortez did a terrific job of officiating. The fight was amazing with boxing eyes seeing different things transpired during the fight. The first fight ended in a draw but many people don’t know that It was actually by accident as judge Clements accidentally scored the fight a draw because he recorded a 10-7 round for Pacquiao instead of a 10-6 round in the first round, he apologized and admitted he made the mistake the next day. Remembering that there was three knock downs in the first round this is how the scorecard’s read, 115-110 pac (Judge Stewart gave Pac 7 rounds & Marquez 5), 113-113 (Judge Clements gave Marquez 7 rounds & PAC 5 rounds), 110-115 (Judge Jutras has Márquez winning 10 rounds and PAC only 2). So there are many different perspectives on the fight. I thought that Marquez outboxed Pacquiao and beat him but a draw was fair. If anyone ever asks why they call boxing the Sweet Science, have them watch PAC/Marquez l.

Pacquiao Marquez ll, March 15, 2008

Almost 4 years after there first fight, these two warriors fought again in Vegas with Kenny Bayless as the third man in the ring.
In their second fight after watching video and making adjustments they both went to war again (just like in the NBA championships after one team loses they go back to the tape and make adjustments and come back and win the second game). Both fighters vowed after the first fight, that the second fight would be clear cut and they would win. It was another great fight with some believing Marquez outboxing Manny. The 10th round changed all that when Pacquiao caught Marquez with a very powerful left hand punch (great power). Marquez somehow someway got back up and finish the round. Both fighters landed big in the Championship rounds as we put another great fight in the books. Pacquiao won by split decision 115-112, 112-115, 114-113.

Pacquiao Marquez lll, November 12, 2011

Three years and eight months after the second fight they fought a third time and again both vowed that this would be the fight to end all the unanswered questions of who really is better. And boy were those fights legendary and edge of your seat. What an amazing time to be a boxing fan. Watching Manny Pacquiao in his prime be as quick and explosive and powerful as any boxer in history (quickest straight left hand in boxing) against maybe the smartest boxer of our generation, Juan Manuel Marquez the astonishing counterpuncher (Pernell Sweet Pea Whitaker was arguably the smartest boxer, but Marquez’s counterattack went to a new level). Both fighters taking the best the other dished out. Tony Weeks refereed the third fight and Pacquiao won this time by Majority Decision, much to the crowds dismay, you heard almost the whole arena Boo. Scores were 115-113, 114-114 & 116-112.

After three spectacular fights that will go down in history as some of the greatest. It seemed like we had no answer to who the better man was, Half the fans believe Marquez’s counterpunching and pinpoint accuracy scored more and the other half thought Pacquiao’s power punching and stay busy aggressiveness was better.

Pacquiao Marquez lV, December 8, 2012

8 years and 7 months to the day they started there epic trilogy these two warriors that will be forever linked (even though on there own they still go down as one of the best ever) fought a 4th time. Pacquiao showed his youth by being very aggressive and showing a lot of energy. Marquez landed a strong over the top right that send Pacquiao down in the third round (first time Pacquiao went down in the trilogy). The fifth round was One of the greatest boxing rounds you’ll ever see. Pacquiao landed a straight left hand that floored Marquez, Marquez got up and continued to fight and landed some good shots of his own, towards the end of the round, Pacquiao landed a right hook that staggered Marquez and broke his nose. In the 6th round Pacquiao went after a bloodied Marquez and actually had Marquez in some very serious trouble. It was the moment that Pacquiao had been waiting for (for a long long time), he had Marquez right where he wanted him and he went in relentless for the kill. The weary Marquez was able to take the punishment as he has showed a chin of steel throughout his career, and then out of nowhere quicker than the eye can blink, A counter right hand punch by Marquez that knocked Manny Pacquiao out cold. After referee Kenny Bayless made sure Marquez went to a corner, he didn’t even count. Manny Pacquiao was out cold for over two minutes and there was a lot of concerned until he finally awoke. And just like that Marquez shocked all the fans watching with a very clear ending to an amazing trilogy.

It is funny because even though I believe Marquez had out-boxed Manny Pacquiao in the trilogy, fans who thought Pacquiao won the earlier fights make some excellent points. For example, one fan was telling me that PAC was just being too careless and too aggressive in fight number four and if he just was a little bit more patient he would never have eaten that huge counter punch, and quite honestly that does make sense, as you can tell in his later fights, he was more careful not to get caught going in to wild. Pacquiao has tried multiple times to lure Marquez into the ring for a fifth fight. Marquez has insisted that the trilogy was over and that fight would be his legacy, but I believe truthfully that he may have out priced himself out of a 5th fight. He had earned the right to ask for what he thought he deserved, but rumor has it, he might have asked for $20 million to fight PAC again. Bob Arum (Manny Pacquiao’s promoter) wasn’t going to pay that. Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will forever be linked for the Remarkable Trilogy they had. The Trilogy may perhaps be argued for generations to come on who the better man was. Pacquiao vs Marquez is nothing short of extraordinary and you can make the argument that their first fight was the greatest fight of all time.