FLOYD ‘Money’ Mayweather takes on fellow welterweight ‘Sugar’ Shane Mosley in an all-American superfight today, a latter-day rarity that draws us to look back at some of the all-time great US bouts. Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier (October 10 1975)
The Thrilla in Manila was one of the greatest fights of all-time in the golden era of heavyweight boxing between two of the undisputed masters of the trade.
Originally pencilled in for Cairo, promoter Don King accepted an audacious request by Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos to hold the bout in Manila.
Ali and Frazier hated each other, with the former representing the burgeoning culture of American outsiders who shunned the mainstream and protested against the Vietnam war while the latter was so entrenched in the establishment that Ali insulted him with the term “Uncle Tom”.
Frazier was even madder by their third fight in ’75, after Ali continued the insults in the build-up – despite his opponent personally petitioning former President Richard Nixon to revoke a ban on Ali for refusing a call-up to Vietnam in the Sixties, which allowed a ’71 fight that Ali won.
Frazier was considered washed-up and Ali’s camp was relaxed – few predicted what would follow.
“It will be a killa … and a chilla … and a thrilla … when I get the gorilla in Manila,” Ali said. And he got “the gorilla” in the end, but only after 14 gruelling rounds in sweltering heat.
Ali won most of the early rounds but a middle-fight comeback by Frazier put Ali on the ropes and a shock was on the cards.
But Ali regained control and launched a three-round assault that left Frazier’s eyes so swollen that trainer Eddie Futch threw in the towel.
Evander Holyfield v Mike Tyson (June 28 1997)
Tyson-Holyfield II: The Sound and the Fury aka ‘The Bite Fight’ was the infamous fight in which controversial ‘baddest man on the planet’ Tyson feasted on Holyfield’s ears.
Holyfield had dominated and knocked-out Tyson in their first fight seven months previously, flooring Tyson for only the second time in his career.
Fight II continued in a similar vein, with reigning champ Holyfield bossing Tyson, who complained of head-butting from his opponent after a cut opened above his right eye.
Then came the first bite. Tyson came into round three all-guns blazing but, after Holyfield held him in a clinch, he bit him on the top of his right ear.
Before the round, Tyson was ordered to reinsert his mouth-guard after trying to fight without it, but he still managed to remove an inch-deep chunk of Holyfield’s ear causing referee Mills Lane to call a time-out.
Lane – a late call after the Tyson camp protested the appointment of Mitch Halpern, who officiated their first bout – bizarrely allowed the fight to continue with a two-point penalty on Tyson after the ringside doctor said Holyfield was fit to continue.
It mattered little as Tyson promptly gnawed on Holyfield’s left ear, causing the fight to be stopped and Tyson disqualified.
Holyfield defended his title against Vaughn Bean and Michael Moorer before losing it to Lennox Lewis, while Tyson returned from his ban but continued his degeneration into drug, alcohol and legal problems and never won a major title again.
Muhammad Ali v George Foreman (October 30, 1974)
The Rumble in the Jungle not only pitted champion Foreman against former champ Ali but also put promoter King against the establishment in one of his first major professional events.
King promised the pair $5 million each if they signed, but he did not have the money so used his negotiating skills to convince Zaire’s President Mobutu Sese Seko to stage the fight in Kinshasa.
Both spent much of the summer training in Zaire to acclimatise to the hot, humid conditions, during which Foreman received an injury that delayed it from the original date in September.
A three-day black music festival preceded the bout, which was hugely hyped across the globe as the ultimate showdown between two African American sporting superstars.
Foreman, unbeaten at 40-0, was the favourite as Ali had lost twice and struggled twice against Frazier and Ken Norton – both of whom had been knocked out by Foreman.
Ali started aggressively, using his speed to land a hail of punches before retreating to the ropes to conserve energy. Foreman moved closer but could only make contact with Ali’s body. Ali had altered his normally slack defence to put his fists up to his face, allowing him to protect his head and counter-punch to Foreman’s.
Ali also used the elastic ropes to pull away from Foreman when he did make contact – minimising the effect of his successful punches – while drawing him into energy-expending clinches.
This pattern continued and Foreman eventually tired and his punches became wilder – in the eighth Ali was able to rain a succession of head shots that grounded the champion, leading the referee to end the fight with an eight count.
Sugar Ray Leonard v Thomas Hearns (September 16 1981)
Leonard-Hearns I: The Showdown was the first of two bouts between two of the greatest welterweights of all-time and one which saw a remarkable comeback from Leonard against the bigger Hearns.
Speed-freak Leonard, at 30-1, was the WBC welterweight champ and had won the WBA junior middleweight title a few months previous to facing Hearns.
The heavy-punching – and unbeaten – Hearns held the WBA welterweight title after three successful defences, the most recent of which was against Pablo Baez that summer.
Las Vegas was packed as Hearns used his superior reach to move ahead on points as the fight wore on, although Leonard did appear to win the sixth and seventh despite judges saying otherwise.
Leonard’s left eye swelled up by the fifth and, by the start of the 13th, he looked down and out,
But he came out like a man possessed and, with nothing to lose, unleashed his trademark quick blows to stun Hearns.
Round 14 continued in the same vein, as Leonard pinned Hearns against the ropes, beating him up and forcing referee Davey Pearl to stop the fight.
Jonny Reagan v Jack ‘Nonpareil’ Dempsey (December 13 1887)
Boxing was illegal in the US in the 19th century and, thanks to a police raid and severe fog, the original Jack Dempsey (not to be confused with his more famous, 20th century namesake) had seen his bout with Reagan pulled on two occasions.
This time they decided to evade the cops and the elements by fighting by the sea using the help of a tug boat in Huntingdon, New York, just off Long Island.
Defending middleweight champ Dempsey – Irish-born but an American by this point – was easily the favourite, with Reagan a little-known challenger, as they began the fight wearing only two-ounce gloves.
By round seven, Dempsey had closed up Reagan’s left eye although the challenger battled gamely despite the water rising into the ring and around his ankles.
As the small crowd moved inland with the tide closing in, the fighters opted to look for firmer ground using a nearby tugboat so as to avoid scrapping on sand which slowed both men down.
Eventually they found a suitable patch 25 miles away, docked and set up another makeshift ring.
Despite Dempsey having the edge, Reagan would not be beaten as the fight went on, and on, and on until – in round 35 – Reagan suffered a cut lip.
Eventually his strength sapped and, before round 45 (yes, 45!) could begin, Reagan’s corner conceded one of the longest fights in history.
Dempsey held the title for four more years until he was knocked out by Bob Fitzsimmons, while Reagan faded into obscurity. (Eurosport)