Your fav 15 mins of fame story.

Hi guys.

Before I start I have to say to milkyboy well done for this little gem on Shah's thread

'Breaking news. "Nottingham boy found dead. Police appeal for witnesses to the 'spinning back fist murder'. UFO spotted in the area'

cheered me up although I absolutely, fundamentally refute the implications made in this statement......and I passionately stand by the SPINNING BACK FIST.

Anyway back on topic. I was reading an article on James 'buster' Douglas the other day. It basically told his amazing story in beating Tyson and his subsequent struggles with booze and drugs. It got me thinking how an over achieving, average fighter like Douglas can have his name imprinted in the glorious history of boxing.

Of course boxing is littered with fighters who, if not for there particular night of fame, most likely would not even be a footnote in our memory.

So what examples can you offer?

Douglas's big night in Tokyo, Coopers left hook on Ali, or Braddok's win over Baer maybe?

Kirkland Laing's victory over Duran

Danny Williams beating Mike Tyson

Bit unfair on Cooper as he was British HW Champion for about a million years and a decent enough fighter in his own right.

Speaking of Cooper, Smokin' Bert Cooper nearly beating then HW Champion Holyfield.

DAVE667 wrote:Kirkland Laing's victory over Duran

Danny Williams beating Mike Tyson

Bit unfair on Cooper as he was British HW Champion for about a million years and a decent enough fighter in his own right.

Speaking of Cooper, Smokin' Bert Cooper nearly beating then HW Champion Holyfield.

Laings a great shout

Regarding Cooper, I remember straight after his death Pacqiuao fought someone who's name escapes me. Anyway before the fight they tolled the bell ten times in honor of Cooper. I doubt the yanks would have done so had Copper not landed that great hook.

Probably the most unlikely one is that of Billy Backus, one of Canastota's own world champions. An unlikely feature in the welterweight top 10 of 1970, an unlikely pick as voluntary defence cannon fodder for the great Napoles and an even more unlikely victor via cut eye stoppage.

Hammered in the re-match, of course and finished with twenty-odd losses in about 70 fights but Billy's saga made anything Stallone could concoct seem believable.

Douglas wasn't average...A very gifted heavy with one of the best jabs in Heavy history..

Tomas Molinares..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Douglas wasn't average...A very gifted heavy with one of the best jabs in Heavy history..

Tomas Molinares..

Along with the likes of Holmes, Ali, and Lewis yeah?

have a word with yourself TRUSS

Yaqui Lopez anyone?

captain carrantuohil wrote:Probably the most unlikely one is that of Billy Backus, one of Canastota's own world champions. An unlikely feature in the welterweight top 10 of 1970, an unlikely pick as voluntary defence cannon fodder for the great Napoles and an even more unlikely victor via cut eye stoppage.

Hammered in the re-match, of course and finished with twenty-odd losses in about 70 fights but Billy's saga made anything Stallone could concoct seem believable.

Great shout and 1 that totally passed me by but I know the name.

Lopez had more than 15 minutes of fame, losing no fewer than four shots at a belt. The second Saad fight is an immortal, but I remember John Conteh doing a decent number on him in Copenhagen about four years earlier than that. Let's say half an hour of fame there....

One name might be that of Dave Tiberi, victim of a decision loss against Toney that was so rank that even the human waste disposal unit himself accepted (albeit 17 years later) that Tiberi had deserved the nod. Could have had a rematch but never fought again; whether Tiberi was so disgusted that he decided to call it quits, lost his motivation for other reasons or was satisfied with what he had achieved I've never been totally sure.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Douglas wasn't average...A very gifted heavy with one of the best jabs in Heavy history..

Tomas Molinares..

Along with the likes of Holmes, Ali, and Lewis yeah?

have a word with yourself TRUSS

Yaqui Lopez anyone?

He had a great jab....I don't like to see him belittled by someone who's only seen him fight twice...

Stevie Cruz

captain carrantuohil wrote:Lopez had more than 15 minutes of fame, losing no fewer than four shots at a belt. The second Saad fight is an immortal, but I remember John Conteh doing a decent number on him in Copenhagen about four years earlier than that. Let's say half an hour of fame there....

One name might be that of Dave Tiberi, victim of a decision loss against Toney that was so rank that even the human waste disposal unit himself accepted (albeit 17 years later) that Tiberi had deserved the nod. Could have had a rematch but never fought again; whether Tiberi was so disgusted that he decided to call it quits, lost his motivation for other reasons or was satisfied with what he had achieved I've never been totally sure.

Yeah you make a good point re Lopez I just think if you mention Yaqui to fans the 2nd fight with Saad would no doubt come up on account of how tremendous it was. How did Sadd survive that 8th round?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Douglas wasn't average...A very gifted heavy with one of the best jabs in Heavy history..

Tomas Molinares..

Along with the likes of Holmes, Ali, and Lewis yeah?

have a word with yourself TRUSS

Yaqui Lopez anyone?

He had a great jab....I don't like to see him belittled by someone who's only seen him fight twice...

Stevie Cruz

Not belittling the guy but you stated he had 1 of the GREATEST jabs in heavy history?????????

First time I have heard that said I must say. He was an average decent fighter TRUSS but no above average puts in a performance like he did against Holy.

Referees with a more elastic definition of what constitutes grounds for a stoppage is the answer there, Onetwo.

It was only two or three years later that poor old Duk Koo Kim died and Davey Moore got a referee who didn't seem too bothered whether he met a similar fate against Duran; the subsequent outcry led to a much tighter rein on boxers taking punishment. I doubt whether Saad or Bobby Chacon would have been permitted to earn their stellar reputations if they had been fighting over the past fifteen years. The punches that saw Groves stopped by Froch in their first fight, for instance, would have been regarded by Saad as nothing more than a necessary aperitif, a livener to prompt him into a miraculous comeback.

captain carrantuohil wrote:Referees with a more elastic definition of what constitutes grounds for a stoppage is the answer there, Onetwo.

It was only two or three years later that poor old Duk Koo Kim died and Davey Moore got a referee who didn't seem too bothered whether he met a similar fate against Duran; the subsequent outcry led to a much tighter rein on boxers taking punishment. I doubt whether Saad or Bobby Chacon would have been permitted to earn their stellar reputations if they had been fighting over the past fifteen years. The punches that saw Groves stopped by Froch in their first fight, for instance, would have been regarded by Saad as nothing more than a necessary aperitif, a livener to prompt him into a miraculous comeback.

Haha yeah

Speaking of Chacon I wonder who reffed that fight with Limon? Stevie Wonder???

The ironic truth is, of course, that if there had been a half-decent ref for Chacon-Limon IV, we'd never have been served up with a contest that is without doubt one of the half-dozen greatest championship scraps of all time.

A reminder of how much boxers have to pay for the enjoyment of we armchair fans.

We don't like to talk about Tiberi-Toney around here, captain. To be fair, a lot of people have it in for 'Lights Out' and the fight was in Tiberi's home town, so the crowd were going crazy for everything he did and ignoring Toney's work, which has skewed people's perception of the fight. A lot of the rounds were actually close.....

Don't worry, I jest! Highway job and I suspect that, had it not been for that delay in the action between rounds five and six due to Tiberi having to have both his gloves changed and which allowed Toney (who was blowing out his arris by the fifth) to get a few valuable extra minutes of rest, he might just have suffered an ignominious stoppage loss in that fight, or been pulled out by his corner. After that break he had two of his better rounds in six and seven....But he was banjaxed again by the twelfth. Lucky boy.

Keith Mullings was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb for Terry Norris to slaugher in late 1997 in their WBC Light-Middleweight title fight. Norris had recently been acquired by HBO from Showtime and the Mullings fight was supposed to be a glorified sparring session for Norris to look great in ahead of his proposed (and practically signed) showdown in 1998 with HBO's star man Oscar De la Hoya.

Cue Terry having one of those horrible off nights out of nowhere and, after a promising start, gradually finding a way to get himself stopped by a man who had something like a 14-7 record and who would promptly make one defence before losing his belt and never winning a fight of any significance again.

But regardless of how short and out-of-the-blue a reign it was, it was a fantastic story for Mullings who grabbed the opportunity with both hands and brought Norris' days as a top level fighter to a close. I believe Mullings was part of the US Armed Forces before he launched his pro career in the ring, too, although I could be wrong on that one.

Would anyone include Hasim Rahman in this?

I know he did'nt just vanish off the scene after his ko win over Lewis in South Africa but it was a big enough shock back then. Remember Lewis re-naming him Has-been Rahman after the rematch.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Would anyone include Hasim Rahman in this?

I know he did'nt just vanish off the scene after his ko win over Lewis in South Africa but it was a big enough shock back then. Remember Lewis re-naming him Has-been Rahman after the rematch.

If you do then surely you have to include Leon Spinks

Jimmy Braddock would have to warrant a mention. Absolute journeyman who had once given up the sport. Was only drawn back into it through the abject poverty of the depression. Not only got a chance at the greatest prize in the sport, but secured a completely unlikely victory over the far more gifted but inconsistent Baer.

A fight that often gets overlooked in the pantheon the sports many upsets.

Rowley wrote:Jimmy Braddock would have to warrant a mention. Absolute journeyman who had once given up the sport. Was only drawn back into it through the abject poverty of the depression. Not only got a chance at the greatest prize in the sport, but secured a completely unlikely victory over the far more gifted but inconsistent Baer.

A fight that often gets overlooked in the pantheon the sports many upsets.

Very true

even got a book and Hollywood movie to boot.......

as well as Louis's life saings

Steve Robinson's 2 years as WBO World featherweight champion. Until that pesky Naz came along and ruined it all

Breidis Prescott.

Steve Collins could be one. A journeys man pro in the States who got beaten when he steps up makes his way to the UK and become the big fish in a small pond.

Carlos maussa. 

Not sure how he ever got a shot at Vivian Harris in the first place. Harris had been on a good run beating some decent if unspectacular opponents. Somehow, not looking himself he Punches himself out and Maussa, the only man I've seen in a title fight with less idea how to box than Freddie flintoff wins by ko. Including a final shot to Harris' head while Harris was already on the canvas.

Our Ricky suddenly gets very excited at the prospect of a unification fight, and a few months later as good as retires maussa.

And did that fight stink, much like most Hatton title fights to be honest, never understood the notion that he was exciting to watch.

John H Stracey, gets floored but then proceeds to find Napoles' Achilles heal and cuts him up.

Steffan wrote:Steve Robinson's 2 years as WBO World featherweight champion. Until that pesky Naz came along and ruined it all

Aah, the very definition of "15 minutes of fame"

There's also Ezra Sellars who was involved in a mini classic 6-7 KD thriller with Carl Thompson and almost became my favourite overseas fighters of all time when he dropped Johnny Nelson during a WBO title bid only to be stopped himself after being thumbed in the eye (or similar)

Tocker Pudwill - Joe Calzaghe's most famous foe...if only for his bizarre name

Dan Sherry - tried to get Chris Eubank DQ'd after claiming he'd been headbutted. (Didn't he fight Nigel Benn as well? Sherry not Eubank, I know that bit)

Fan Man?

rick_dagless wrote:Fan Man?

The woman who rang into the ring when her son was being battered and hit his opponent with her shoe?

Lee the C0ck froch

ShahenshahG wrote:Lee the C0ck froch

That's being a bit kind isn't it Shah?

How about the man in the hat in the AMir Khan Peterson fight

DAVE667 wrote:

rick_dagless wrote:Fan Man?

The woman who rang into the ring when her son was being battered and hit his opponent with her shoe?

.... Comedy gold... Tony Wilson's mum

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AZKO7U8MFGU

rick_dagless wrote:Fan Man?

Killed himself............Our winged friend......

Holy will always be grateful for his appearance.....Reckon he would have lost the second Bowe fight without a thirty minute break..