SOME ALTERNATIVE CHOICES
Boxing history is overloaded with great rounds. Here’s a selection of rounds that, for different reasons, are worthy of a mention
ROUND 1: MICHAEL MOORER V BERT COOPER, 1992
Moorer, the pre-fight favourite, is almost knocked out in the first 30 seconds as Cooper cannons into him like a man possessed. By the end of the session it’s ‘Smokin’ Bert who is in survival mode.
ROUND 2: MICHAEL KATSIDIS V GRAHAM EARL, 2007
Earl, after being floored three times in round one, was decked again to start the second. His corner threw the towel, which referee Mickey Vann duly threw back out, before Earl dropped Katsidis.
ROUND 3: ISRAEL VAZQUEZ V RAFAEL MARQUEZ, 2007
This rivalry is often forgetten when naming the sport’s finest but it shouldn’t be. This third round of their rematch exhibits why. It is educated violence of the highest order, from start to finish.
ROUND 4: JOE LOUIS V JERSEY JOE WALCOTT, 1947
Louis, the all-conquering world heavyweight champion, was trying to prove that the knockdown he’d endured in round one was a fluke when, in the fourth, he was dropped for a second time. He gamely fought back, briefly stunning Walcott, only to be put under pressure again.
ROUND 5: DEAN FRANCIS V TONY OAKEY, 2008
With Francis tiring badly and his face awash with crimson, he nonetheless battled valiantly in this two-way domestic classic with Oakey. The drama intensified as the doctor was called to inspect Francis who, after being permitted to continue, grabbed hold of a second wind that would eventually carry him to victory.
ROUND 6: DANNY WILLIAMS V KONSTANTIN AIRICH, 2008
One to highlight how truly insane this sport can be. Williams, fighting away from home in Spain, must already have been fearing the worst when he was counted after obvious slips and lost points for not so obvious low blows. In the sixth, promoter Ahmet Oner rang the bell at 1-41 when Airich, his fighter, was dropped heavily.
ROUND 7: CHRIS EUBANK V NIGEL BENN, 1990
Take your pick from any of the amazing rounds these two bitter enemies shared. The seventh of their first fight was particularly savage as Benn attacked for much of the round until Eubank located his tormentor’s chin with a brutal left-right combination. Benn, who had been about to throw shots of his own, suddenly looked vulnerable.
ROUND 8: JAMES DOUGLAS V MIKE TYSON, 1990
With one eye swollen shut after being thoroughly outboxed by gargantuan underdog, Buster Douglas, Tyson seemed to rescue the fight with one almighty right uppercut. But Douglas rolled over and beat the count in a moment of extreme drama.
ROUND 9: LARRY HOLMES V TIM WITHERSPOON, 1983 Coming out of a clinch, as Holmes complained to Mills Lane, Witherspoon socked him and had the champion in real trouble.
ROUND 10: ALAN MINTER V KEVIN FINNEGAN, 1976
Minter was boxing well in their sequel before, in a thrilling round 10, a bruised and bloodied Finnegan began his comeback that left him agonisingly close to victory on the scorecards after 15.
ROUND 11: TOMMY COYLE V DANIEL BRIZUELA, 2014
A scrap worth revisiting. Both went down four times, with each geting dropped in an impossibly wild round 11 in which Coyle was also deducted a point.
ROUND 12: CARL FROCH V JERMAIN TAYLOR, 2009
On thing we’ve been missing is the KO finish, so let’s wrap this all up with exactly that. Froch, behind on the cards, produced one of the most dramatic finishes of them all when he stopped Taylor with just 14 seconds remaining on the clock.