My 5 Favourite Boxing Matches

[Guest saint hits the net]

I've loved boxing ever since I got a small radio for my birthday and used to listen to commentary on the BBc at night - when I should have been getting a good nights sleep for school. Conteh, Minter, Bugner, Stracey, Chris Finnegan - I listened to them all in the early days and have followed boxing ever since. Here are five fights I remember for various reasons.

I: Richard Dunn v Joe Bugner. One of my father's mates suggested that Dunn would win and "what did a youngster like me know about boxing" One thing I did know was Bugner seemed to be durable enough at the time to go the distance - as fifteen rounds against Ali had shown. This contest was never in doubt and Bugner knocked Dunn out in the first round.

2: Bunny Johnson v Rab Affleck. Rab, who can now be seen in the new movie "Gangs of New York" has come a long way since he challenged Johnson for the British light-heavyweight title back in 1979. The town of Irvine was buzzing that a local lad would be fighting for a British title. I was no exception as I knew the Afflecks who lived just around the corner from me . The fight took place in Glasgow and Rab was knocked out in the fourth round.

3: Mike Tyson v Frank Bruno - first fight: I've never known such hype to the build up of a fight. The fight was on pay per view in the early hours of the morning and like many others, me and the mates sat with a few beers and watched the action. This fight , for me, is memorable for a variety of reasons - PPV being new and adding to the excitement as you watched other contests as part of the build-up. Also because of Tyson and the way he boxed - always going forward and a real crowd pleaser plus we had a British boxer to add to the interest. I've never known a first round like this one which had everything. The rest, as they is history, Tyson won in round five.

4: Don Curry v Lloyd Honeyghan: It wasn't often that a British boxer would fight outside Europe and come back with a World title but Honeyghan did it in Atlantic City in 1986, stopping Curry in the sixth round. I stayed up to listen to this fight and was shocked but delighted at the outcome. You have to remember that Curry was well established as a champion at the time having taken the title in 1983 so this was no mean feat by the British boxer.

5: Nigel Benn/Chris Eubank/Michael Watson: I'll cheat here because I can't seperate this series of fights between these boxers. Forget the Ali and Fraziers fights, has there ever been more exciting fights than the first Benn/Eubank encounter or the Eubank/Watson epic when Eubank was out on his feet-literally- in the eleventh yet found the strength to knock Watson out in the following round. If boxing writers ever voted for their favourite series of fights, come Judgement day, their should only be one winner - Benn/Eubank/Watson.

[ST SID]

1. Duran & Leonard x 2, but ultimate was Duran's win on a decision in June 1980. Duran was the punk rocker of boxing, Leonard the Dandy Highwayman. But in this one Leonard went toe to toe with Duran and the spectale was the ultimate boxing experience. If I had a shot at time travel this would be one of my stopping points.

2. Leonard - Hearns, a 14 round knockout.

3. Benny Lynch won a title fight at Love street v Jackie Jurich in 1937, did you go Bill Lees?

4. Cassius Clay exhibition fight in Paisley v Cody Jones in 1965, not the greatest but must have been an amazing day in Paisley.

5. Buchanan v Laguna, Laguna closed Buchanans left eye negating his left jab resulting in the boxing skills getting thrown out in favour of a good old fashioned doing.

[The Rock]

The Rock says this, 'Boxing is a waste of a good wrestling ring'.

[The Vice President of USA]

1 Benn V Gerald McClellan, tragic result - Fantastic Fight

2 Leonard V Hearns

3 Don Curry V Lloyd Honeyghan

4 Ali V Foreman

5 The Carl Thompson fight last year when both boxers were down about 4 times in the first 2 rounds.

[Wilbur]

1. Ali v Foreman. Genius from Ali, allowing the younger, stronger man to throw punches until he had exhausted himself. Superb self-discipline to wait, wait and wait a bit longer until his moment arrived.

2. Cooper v Bugner. Not an epic contest but pure magic to see the pride of England (Our 'Enery) getting the shitty end of a dodgy judging decision. Bugner never received the credit he was due for winning this one.

3. Tyson v Buster Douglas. Brilliant to see 'unbeatable' Tyson getting caught.

4. Clay v Liston. No hoper stops the invincible world champ. Was the fight fixed ? Who cares, wonderful drama.

5. Di Canio v Skinny English Ref. This guy took a dive, mark my words. Paulo barely touched him and down he went in a theatrical stagger-and-stumble routine. Hysterical stuff.

[ST SID]

Best agro on the footie park was the European game where Alex McLiesh would let the keeper kick the ball out. The keeper pointed to his head to warn McLeish, who laughed and blocked him again. The keeper then broke McLeish's nose in some style with a stormer of a headbut. Anyone remember the team or the keeper?

[Guest saint hits the net]

As you say, VPOA, the Benn/McClellan fight was a classic but had a tragic ending.

Regarding the Cooper / Bugner fight, I saw a programme on Sky Sports a few years ago which charted the fighting career of their enery. He has never talked to the referee (Harry Gibbs) since that day. Talk about holding a grudge.

I should have added that Lloyd Honeyghan relinquished his title a few months after beating Don Curry, because he refused to defend it against South African Harold Volbrecht as a protest against apartheid.

[HSS]

1.Dundee Utd,1977 cup game.

2.Any Hibs game at Love St.

3.The **** at Love St,3-3,1977

4.Dryborough Cup Final v Abaaaaadeen

5.Oldham away,ASC.

[Bloomsbury Bud]

1. Watt vs Pittalua (not a great fight but a Scottish world champ was born)

2. Wark vs Artero (either one from last year, 2 classics)

3. Duran vs Leonard - Duran's victory

4. Ali vs Foreman - rumble in jungle

5. Hamed vs Barerra (great to see him get so thoroughly outclassed)

[North Sea Saint]

Buchanan v Duran (K.B got punched in the Ali McGraws after the bell and got cheated out of his title)

Ali v Foreman

Watt v Pittalua ( I was at this one)

Barerra V Morales (a classic)

Lewis V Tyson

[Alba]

1) Mickey Ward v Arturo Gatti 1 - if you like boxing and have never seen this fight, get it on tape and watch it. It's just incredible. It's like a real-life Rocky fight.

2) Benn v McClellan - lucky enought to be at this one. Fantastic, regardless of the aftermath.

3) Honeyghan v Curry - get in there Honey!!!

4) Lewis v Tyson - how much did I enjoy seeing Silly Voice getting taken apart?

5) Hamed v Belcastro - possibly the most complete domination of a world-class fighter EVER.

BTW, if anyone's as keen on the fight game as me (SHTN, ST SID?), you might want to have a look at the SecondsOut chatroom. Quite a few Scots on there.

http://www.secondsout.com/

[AndyBud]

Barerra V Morales (a classic)

Have to agree. absolute classic.

Was recently at Barreras fight against Jonny Tapia and he is an awesome boxer. This, however, was not a classic match!

[Bill Lees]

Watching two men trying to beat each other senseless ?

Where's the jollies in that ?

[ST SID]

Watching two men trying to beat each other senseless ?

Where's the jollies in that ?

Ah, come on now Bill, are you trying to tell us you have never been battered about the ring ;)

[Guest Pompey]

1. Lewis - Tyson

2. Ali - Foreman

3. Tyson - Francis (For sheer disappointment)

4. Gervais - Bovey

5. Tyson - Bruno

The Rock asks this, 'Where in Blue Hell is Athenry?'

Athenry is in Galway, Ireland. When I was watching the GAA All-Ireland Football final on TV a while ago, Galway won, and the commentator said "They'll be dancing in the streets and fields of Athenry tonight" Edited January 13, 2003 by Pompey

[Guest Super Caley]

1) Barrera-Morales 1: Amazing, not a backward step taken all night, shame about the bum decision though.

2) Ali-Frazier 3: The Thrilla in Manilla, neither man at his peak, but neither would give in, until Eddie Futch stopped the fight and probably saved Smokin' Joes life.

3) Hagler-Hearns: Boxing like Rocky. Two of the best fighters of the 80s decide to say b0ll0cks to all that jab and move crap and have a square go. Haglers iron jaw wins the day via brutal KO in the 3rd.

4) Benn-Barkley: Perhaps the greatest one round fight ever? Two tough, scary middleweights slug it out, with Benn overpowering the Blade with three knockdowns after being severely shaken himself.

5) Duran-Leonard 1: The Brawl in Montreal. Hands of Stone draws Sugar Ray into a slug fest and mugs him with his grit and skill. Probably the pinnacle of Duran's career.

[Ally]

I missed the first 4 rounds of Barrera v Morales cos I fell asleep, but the last 8 rounds were absolutely immense. A dodgy decision at the end of it all... classic fight.

[Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes]

Amazed at the lack of Jim Watt mentions.

1. Best fight I've seen was when Watt beat Sean "Headbutt" O'Grady. That was feckin' superb! Whiney, whingeing psuedo Irish Yank versus a Scottish bloke? No contest and, after an accidental right good stookie, it wasn't.

2. Leonard V. Duran circa 1981. Leonard took the absolute c*nt out of Duran. Dropped his guard and stuck his chin out for Duran to hit then drew back just in time. An absolute pisstake of the highest order.

3. Ali V. Foreman, as Wilbur says, shows incredible self-discipline. Ali never told anyone what he was going to do and people feared for him. Ach, look if you wanna know just watch the film When We Were Kings. Great stuff.

4. Another great fight was Jim Watt against Irishman Charlie Nash. Went the distance and for once I could actually see there was more to this thing than guys just knocking lumps out of each other. Both fought a great fight and were complimentary of each other. Watt won on points and another defence of his title was under his belt.

5. Barry McGuigan V. Eusebio Pedroza. The Clones Cyclone was one of the few people to unite the whole of Northern Ireland and the Republic into not giving a monkey's about sectarianism when he did the business at Loftus Road back in '85. Of course, when asked for a word afterwords he said "I'd like to thank you, Harry, for comin' along, I'd like to thank everyone for their support, I'd like to thank the viewrs at home, I'd like to thank Pedroza for giving me a chance.." it was like a bloody Oscars acceptance speech!

Honourable mentions go to Alan Minter getting his arse felt against Marvellous Marvin Hagler, Ali V. Frazer, Watt V. Howard Davis and Paisley's very own John "Cowboy" McCormack winning an Olympic medal in Melbourne in the 1950's.

[Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes]

Other fights worthy of a mention:-

1. My mate Stevie Anderson and his brother John lamping seven shades of brown stuff out of a bunch of wee neds who thought they were being smart when mouthing off to them.

2. Celtic Soccer Casuals at Love St. in the away end chanting at the LSD. The proper Celtic fans then proceeded to give them an utter, utter hiding, blood and teeth flying everywhere. Only time I've had anything good to say about the Green Bigots.

3. Aberdeen, Boxing Day 1990. We went in fancy dress and lost to a last minute goal. Fighting broke out at the beach end when the game finished. All I remember seeing from the top of the stairs looking to the other side of the road was Donald Duck, Bashful the dwarf and two halves of a pantomime cow charging at the sheepsters, throwing punches then retreating swiftstyle.

4. Italy V. Chile, World Cup 1962. Seen it on telly a few times. Never ceases to amaze how there was only two players sent off. Chest high tackles, booting folk up the hin' end, headbutts, broken legs, the lot. And that was from the first minute to the last.

5. Jack McIlroy V. Tam Pentland, dinner hall, John Neilson High School, one interval in 1983. Absolute feckin' mayhem! All over the place, knocking tables & chairs out the road, everyone watching from outside. Even the pals they had on their sides kept well clear. Teachers never bothered to to break it up, they just called in the Plods. When they got there the head-bouncing-off-windows count had reached double figures, tables were upturned, chairs were broken in several pieces. Amazingly, they only got suspended. And none were directed to the nearest boxing coach. Damn! Chance missed.

Fights we'd love to have seen:-

1. Billy Abercromby V. Chic Charnley.

2. Billy Abercromby V. Ian Ferguson.

3. Chic Charnley V. Ian Ferguson.

4. Ian Ferguson V. Ian Ferguson.

5. Love Street Syndrome V. There's A Store Where The Creatures Meet

[Guest saint hits the net]

.4. Another great fight was Jim Watt against Irishman Charlie Nash. Went the distance and for once I could actually see there was more to this thing than guys just knocking lumps out of each other. Both fought a great fight and were complimentary of each other. Watt won on points and another defence of his title was under his belt.

You rightly mention Jim Watt and he has been involved in some memorable fights - not forgetting that he went fifteen rounds with Ken Buchanan in 1973 when Ken won the British Lightwight title.

I hate to ask, Howard, particularly as you listed some great fights and certainly know a bit about boxing, but could you be mistaken regarding the Watt/ Nash contest ? I can only remember those fighters fighting once and Watt knocked Nash out in round four. Maybe they met on another occasion ?

[Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes]

I coulda sworn that went the distance. Mibbe it's the Howard Davis fight I'm thinking of. Well, shows you what I get for trying to be a know-all smartarse!

[Guest saint hits the net]

From memory, Nash knocked Watt down in the first round but Watt recovered to knockout the Irishman in the fourth. That fight took place at the Kelvin Hall.

It probably was the Davis fight you are thinking about - Watt beating the American on points in a fifteen round marathon - think this fight was at Ibrox. Watt had another cracking slugout with Sean 'O' Grady, an American who had 26 fights in his first year as a professional - that fact always stuck in my mind. Watt stopped 'O' Grady round about the 11th/12th I think.

[Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes]

Now you come to mention it, yes, I think it was Davis. A marathon, as you said. Ig I recall properly Davis was wearing pink shorts. Hmmmm.

The Sean O'Grady one was a belter. The daft b*****d turned up at Parkhead the previous Saturday and stood in the centre circle wearing a Celtic jersey waving to the crowd. Then went to Ibrox to fight Jim Watt. What the hell did he think would happen????

Bit of controversy to that fight; O'Grady had the upper hand when there was an accidental clash of heads. It opened a cut on O'Grady's forehead which ultimately lead to the fight being stopped. Many Green Bigots at the time and since have claimed Watt cheated O'Grady out of the fight. And they were all bloody Scottish as well! Feckin' traitors, that lot, to a man. They're the real Taliban. Ach, f**k, I can't WAIT for this game on Burns' Night!

Edited January 17, 2003 by Howard Hughes in BlueSuedeShoes