which fight would you show your friends to comvert them to a boxing lover

im sure most of us have friends who are casual fans of boxing, but just know the usual suspects (ie hatton, khan, mayweather and haye) but dont have much knowledge beyond those guys. i do and a lot of them prefer UFC to boxing, saying the action is more intense. i had this debate and promised them i could show them a few fights and change there opinion- which to my suprise i did. i showed them lennox lewis vs vitali klitchscho, then gatti vs ward I. they were impressed by the lewis fight, but were blown away by the gatti/ward fight, and we ended up watching all 3 of them.

which 2-3 fights would you show your friends to try and get them hooked into boxing?

Morales vs Barrera- 1, 2 and 3
Pacquiao vs Marquez- 1 and 2
Khan vs Maidana

Gatti v Ward - its not boxing... its beauty.
Calzaghe v Lacy - an absolute schooling.
Mosely v Margarito - underdog comes through.
Barrera v Morales - toe to toe back and forth

There's my few favourite modern fights, shown a few friends Gatti v Ward and they have all been amazed by the brutality but constant heart shown. That fight goes above boxing...

Oops, I posted 4. I guess I can be forgiven though... take Calzaghe off the list

calzaghe lacy is a good call, remember enjoying that fight at the time, 12 rounds of lacy getting pasted, thought his corner should have pulled him out though

For grace and artistry, Muhammad Ali v Cleveland Williams. For a good old tear up, Rafael Limon v Bobby Chacon IV and, for a little bit of everything, Sugar Ray Robinson v Carmen Basilio I.

Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo I

Mayweather vs ODLH

The defensive materclass May put on was Orgasmic

Any of the first 3 of Marquez vs Vasquez
Bowe vs Holyfield I
Gatti vs Ruelas (just to be different from the Ward offerings)

Skelton - Sprott

Tua-Ibeabuchi
Gatti-Ward 1,2 or 3
Foreman-Moorer - just for the shock and elation of the end
Marciano-LaStarza for brutality, Marciano-Charles 2 for a finish, Marciano Walcott 1 for "that" punch
Duran-Buchanan, Duran-DeJesus 2 & 3, Duran-SRL 1

And Sprott-Skelton, of course.

Ali vs Foreman- For me, the greatest moment in sports.

Benn vs Eubank I- Terrific fight between two British boys should appeal to the casual fan

Tony Zale Vs Rocky Graziano II- the most gruelling and brutal action packed series you're ever likely to see.

Possible KO of the year guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5bcA2ZQlnU

Bang. If i could pick one punch from this month so far i'd show them that one!

Where did the training technique thread go?

alma wrote:

coxy0001 wrote:Possible KO of the year guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5bcA2ZQlnU

Bang. If i could pick one punch from this month so far i'd show them that one!

Ouch!

Reminded me of Williams vs Martinez II when he just walks into a huge howitzer... more so the noise of the punch connecting... sickening sound!

Knockout of the year so far for me personally....

The Galveston Giant wrote:Where did the training technique thread go?

Coxy said 'dong'

Think we know what BHop is going to be doing once he retires.

Archie Moore versus Yvonne Durelle in 1958 was an astonishing bout, and would be right up there near the top of my list of fights to show the casual fan. As Windy has already mentioned, Limon-Chacon IV takes some beating, too. Don't think I've ever seen a more intense pace set and maintained for an entire fifteen rounds. Incredible stuff.

La Motta-Dauthuille II and Chavez-Taylor I would rank high too in terms of phenomenal comebacks and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, which is always something that sets the pulse racing. On top of that there's Hagler-Hearns, Dempsey-Firpo, the Zale-Graziano trilogy, Barrera-Morales I, Castillo-Corrales I, Holmes-Norton...We could be here all day. Impossible for me to narrow it down to two or three, I reckon!

Come to think of it, Cornelius Boza-Edwards' wars with Chacon and Limon wouldn't be a bad shout, either.

How about Foreman-Lyle? Two guys giving it absolutely everything they've got.

So hard and virtually impossible to narrow down to one, so rather than try will offer up a few in different categories

Old Time Moore Durelle
Modern Morales Barrera 1
Domestic Macklin Moore

Anyone who does not enjoy them is destined never to enjoy the sport, or indeed life itself.

I'd like to highlight the skill rather than the grerat brawls..

Starling - Honeyghan
Curry - Jones
Leonard - Green
Mayweather - Hatton
Hagler - Sibson

Maybe some great ko's thrown in like.........

Jackson - Graham
Nelson - Cowdell
Manny - Hatton

Holmes vs Norton

Lyle vs Foreman

Chuvalo vs Patterson

Surprised no one mentioned Duran v Leonard 1. I think that gets underrated. Back and forth war where both guys whowed incredible athleticism to keep it up.

John Bloody Wayne wrote:Surprised no one mentioned Duran v Leonard 1. I think that gets underrated. Back and forth war where both guys whowed incredible athleticism to keep it up.

Yep, was a wonderful and totally absorbing fight. A rare case of two genuine all-time greats, in or around their prime, producing something like their best against each other. Probably a 'wood for the trees' situation which means it doesn't always get mentioned as one of the great bouts. It didn't have a spectacular knockout (or even a knockdown), or a dramatic turnaround, but it was 'in the pocket' fighting of the highest order. Real animosity between the pair of them too, which always helps!

In terms of classics which took place in a British ring, how about Des Morrison-Joe Tetteh, Clinton McKenzie-Colin Powers, Frankie Randall-Edwin Rosario and Tom Collins-John Moody?

Spot on with Randall-Rosario, Chris, the best fight I've ever seen in person. I got to know Frankie a bit a few years later (in between his reigns as WBC and WBA light-welter champ) and he was adamant that Rosario was by far the hardest hitter that he had ever met, and that this particular fight was one of those that he had enjoyed the most, even though he had come out narrowly on the short side of the decision. You should have heard the York Hall appreciation for both men during the final round of their fight - absolutely spine-tingling.

As a top five fights for the interested visiting Martian, I might put up Moore-Durelle I, Leonard-Hearns I, Pryor-Arguello I, Chacon-Limon IV and the much neglected, but absolutely classic, war that was Bassa-McAuley I. If another classic were needed, then Ali-Frazier I, but I would also endeavour to show the keen Martian as much of the build-up leading to the most anticipated fight of all time as possible.

For sheer virtuosity, I would offer Sanchez-Gomez.