THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
Some truly epic performances decorate Matt Christie’s review of the big fight anniversaries
Bernard Hopkins vs Felix Trinidad, Lloyd Honeyghan vs Donald Curry and more
5 EDWIN ROSARIO w ko 2 LIVINGSTONE BRAMBLE
September 26, 1986; Abel Holz Stadium, Miami Beach, FL
EDWIN ROSARIO’S erratic nature defined him. A fighter who could savage unsuspecting champions when they least expected it. A fighter who could fall short when the opposite seemed likely. Livingstone Bramble was deemed an immoveable object after effectively ending the career of Ray Mancini and, at the time of accepting Rosario’s challenge, was the highly-regarded WBA lightweight boss. Right on cue, with the odds stacked against him, Edwin the Ferocious turned up. The Puerto Rican scored with a blazing left hook in the second. Bramble stood tall but could not keep Rosario off him. A right hand soon dropped Bramble for the count.
DID YOU KNOW? Rosario’s victory was such big news in America that Ring Magazine opted to go with a photo of Edwin celebrating on their front cover instead of Lloyd Honeyghan’s win over Donald Curry.
WATCH OUT FOR: The manner in which Rosario raids Bramble when he has him in trouble. “Chapo” was one of the most devastating punchers of his era.
4 NASEEM HAMED w rsf 8 STEVE ROBINSON
September 30, 1995; Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
CYNICS who choose not to give Naseem Hamed his due for this impeccable beatdown will point to Steve Robinson and label him a journeyman who got lucky when he won the WBO featherweight title. Those cynics would be missing the point. Hamed, only 21, rose in weight to dethrone an established belt-holder in his hometown, one who had beaten Colin Mcmillan, Paul Hodkinson and Duke Mckenzie and one who, even in America, was ranked among the best in the world at 126lbs. Hamed – hit by a coin on his way to the ring – was at his awe-inspiring and spiteful best on this night. It’s likely that Robinson, had he encountered anyone other than Hamed, would have been at his best, too.
DID YOU KNOW? Steve Robinson objected to having to fight Hamed. He did not feel Hamed, who had never before fought at feather, deserved the chance and demanded more money that never came.
WATCH OUT FOR: Hamed and his trainer Brendan Ingle offering commiserations and congratulations to Robinson in the immediate aftermath.
3 BERNARD HOPKINS w rsf 12 FELIX TRINIDAD
September 29, 2001; Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
FELIX TRINIDAD was 40-0 (33) and on the hottest of hot streaks. He was installed as the 2/1 favourite against long-time middleweight leader Bernard Hopkins and his purse of $9m dwarfed the $2.5m promised to his opponent. Almost all observers picked Trinidad to win. Hopkins did not care. In the best performance of his long and brilliant career, he oozed greatness as he picked holes in Trinidad before stopping him in the 12th. It was of course an emotional night for all involved: This climax to the World Middleweight Championship Series had originally been scheduled for September 15, only to be postponed after the 9/11 terror attacks.
DID YOU KNOW? Trinidad was in such bad shape after the 10th round that the ringside doctor asked him if he was capable of fighting another round.
WATCH OUT FOR: That exciting 10th, particularly the last minute. Trinidad sensed the fight was slipping away and went for broke. Hopkins met fire with fire to all but confirm the outcome.
2 KEN BUCHANAN w pts 15 ISMAEL LAGUNA
September 26, 1970; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
KEN BUCHANAN was a pasty Scot from Edinburgh, a city where the stifling heat that raged in Puerto Rico was pure fantasy. Ismael Laguna, the world lightweight king, knew the conditions of his homeland well. The logic went that Laguna would cruise to a points victory as a tiring Buchanan lost his way amid the sweat and pressure. That thinking seemed spot on in the early going as the tricky champion bobbed and weaved and flaunted his speed of hand and foot. But Ken matched the balletic Laguna move for move, forced the fight with his jab and – just when it looked like Laguna might take over down the stretch – he made himself at home in the 100-degree heat and finished the fight the stronger of the two.
DID YOU KNOW? The BBB of C did not recognise the WBA title at stake (Laguna had been stripped of the WBC belt because of a fall-out with a promoter) and did not give Buchanan permission to box abroad.
WATCH OUT FOR: The assault in the 12th when Buchanan gains control of a gruelling bout, staggering the champion.
1 LLOYD HONEYGHAN w rtd 6 DONALD CURRY
September 27, 1986; Caesars Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, NJ
LLOYD HONEYGHAN did things the old fashioned way, winning British, Commonwealth and European welterweight titles before securing a shot at the formidable Donald Curry, one of only two undisputed world champions in the sport (Marvin Hagler was the other). Familiar murmurs of Curry struggling at the weight did little to dissuade experts that he would win. What followed was arguably the greatest of all victories achieved by a British fighter as he took the fight to Curry from the start, wobbled him in the second, gritted his teeth in rounds three and four, before regaining control in the fifth. At the end of the sixth, on the advice of the ringside doctor, Curry was pulled out.
DID YOU KNOW? After having 20 stitches administered to his cut eye, another to his lip, and a broken nose treated, Curry called a press conference at 1.30am where he delivered promises that he would rule again.
WATCH OUT FOR: The right hand that clatters into Curry’s jaw in round two. It was when the impossible became possible.