10. Muhammad Ali v Sonny Liston I 1964: We saw Ali fighting blind after Liston’s team put some unknown ointment on his gloves.
9. Alexis Arguello v Aaron Pryor: The alleged mixed drinks cheat … keep a special eye on the trainer Panama Lewis.
8. Mysterious Billy Smith: A variety of foul tactics including but not limited to: elbows, headbutts, knees and sometimes even biting … disqualified 13 times.
6. = Julio Cesar Chavez vs Meldrick Taylor I: Possibly the worst stoppage in boxing history.
6. = Floyd Mayweather & Roy Jones: Suffered disgraceful robberies during their Olympic efforts.
5. Jack Dempsey v Jack Willard: Willard and Tex Ricard proposed that Dempsey had loaded his gloves.
4. Danny Green vs Paul Briggs: The most shocking dive seen in the ring.
3. Antonio Margarito: A pasty white substance in his hand wraps.
2. Abner Mares vs Joseph Agbeko: The most low blows ever landed in a fight & …‘the most disgraceful performance by a referee I have seen in the last 15 years.’
1. Billy Collins vs Luis Resto: ‘This was a 30 minute assault.’ 10 Most Disgraceful Cheats in Boxing, Boxing Legends TV 17.35
‘I’m Tommy the Duke Morrison, a heavyweight with 24 knockouts, and I’m going to the top.’ The Darkest Secret in Boxing History!? Boxing Legends TV 22.57
Just before the Morrison & Tyson fight came into fruition, Buster Douglas shocked the world with an historical upset over the seemingly unbeatable Tyson. ibid.
Morrison vs [Ray] Mercer WBO World Championship: By the end of the fourth round Tommy’s mouth was wide open. ibid.
Heavy drinking, drug taking and by all accounts to the people closest to him nymphomania … This was an every night thing. ibid.
Morrison vs Foreman WBO world championship: Once Morrison became world champion, noticeable changes in his appearance and performance became apparent to all. ibid.
Morrison had no choice but to take the [blood] test … ‘I have tested positive for the HIV virus.’ ibid.
Claims that he was first told he was HIV positive in 1989. ibid.
Boxing’s Five Great Shocks:
i Sugar Ray Robinson lost to Randolph Turpin at Earls Court London (world middleweight title) 10 July 1951;
ii Sonny Liston lost to Cassius Clay in Miami (world heavyweight title) … Liston, a 1/7 favourite;
iii George Foreman lost to Muhammad Ali in Zaire (world heavyweight title);
iv Barry McGuigan lost to Steve Cruz in Las Vegas (world featherweight title: McGuigan struggles in the 110 degree heat of the Las Vegas desert and fades in the latter rounds to lose unanimously on points to Texan Cruz;
v Mike Tyson lost to James ‘Buster’ Douglas in Tokyo (world heavyweight title) … Douglas a 42-1 shot. Daily Mail article 22nd April 2001
Heavyweight champions of the world: holders of sport’s richest prize. The true icons of the century of moving pictures, a mirror of their age. The kings of the ring. Kings of the Ring, BBC 1995
4 July 1919 Dempsey v Willard: Willard had held the title for four years. He entered the ring an overweight 245 pounds, 60 pounds heavier than Dempsey. In the first round and for the first time in his 8-year career Jess Willard was knocked to the canvas. He went down 6 more times in the first round alone. ibid.
Joe Louis was boxing’s new big deal. Black America had its first great hero … He was also a totem of free world democracy … Joe Louis donated all the earning from two of his fights to US Army relief … but War had robbed him of his best years. ibid.
Outside the ring Marciano slipped easily into the showbiz world. He was the perfect champion, the idol of the post-war generation. He never put a foot wrong. ibid.
Golovkin … Kovelev … Lomachenko … Oleksandr Usyk … Artur Beterbiev … Murat Gassiev … The Rise of Eastern European Boxing, 2017
The recent rise of Gennady GGG Golovkin has been one of the fastest rises to fame of an overseas fighter in Boxing history … This time it seemed the hype is real … There was a new awe in the air of devastation coming. ibid.
One of the most notable nuances of Eastern European boxing is the style of the probing jab to set up the strong right hand. ibid.
Vasyl Lomachenko: He seems to work in timing that is always ten steps ahead of his opponent … The right foot inside step around technique and left foot pivot is one of Lomachenko’s most valuable footwork techniques to create and open angles used with precise calculated timing to confuse the opponent opening him up by creating a new angle. However, he is one of the few fighters to step to the right then pivot to the left in a back and forth manner to gain unorthodox and advantageous striking angles as a strategic offensive fighting style. ibid.
Sergey Kovalev: Kovalev would fight for free on undercards desperately trying to get the attention of promoters simply because nobody would pay attention to his career. In 2011 after the death of his opponent Roman Simakof, feeling tremendous guilt and depression Kovalev wanted to give up boxing forever. ibid.
‘In one night a man can make $20 million boxing or he can lose his life boxing.’ Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer, PBS 1992
‘At its worst it is uncontrolled mayhem and confusion.’ ibid.
‘Boxers are coming from the lowest dregs in society.’ ibid.
‘It’s a rotten scummy terrible way to do things.’ ibid. ex-manager
‘The Sewer’: Shannon Briggs training gym. ibid. caption
In Youngstown Ohio where Lucius Avenue and Erie Street intersect sits the gritty Southside boxing club. Inside the cramped gym, Kelly Pavlik, the number one ranked middleweight contender in the world and defender of Youngstown’s storied boxing history, is training for his upcoming fight. The Kelly Pavlik Story, 2007
He was the hottest thing on television. Everybody was just in awe of this guy. The Good Son: The Life of Ray Boom Boom Mancini, Mickey Rourke, 2013
He was a star; when he fought, people watched. Big time. ibid. Sugar Ray Leonard
Korea’s Kim Near Death After Vegas Title Fight. ibid. Valley Times Sports headline
He always tries to be the good Samaritan. ibid. daughter
I first went into a boxing gym as a child … I didn't like to get punched in the head, man. My father didn’t give a fuck. My dad wanted me to be a boxer because he was trying vicariously to live life through me. Losers I:The Miscast Champion ***** Netflix 2019, Michael Bentt
Someone did not give Jerry Jones the fucking script [Lost KO1]. The most singular humiliating thing to a boxer is getting knocked out in public, man. My father was present. He went ballistic … I had never encountered like that kind of darkness before, that self-hatred, self-loathing. ibid.
Tommy Morrison v Michael Bentt: ‘And a good right by Bentt and Tommy Morrison is down in the first round!’ … Morrison down again … ibid. US fight commentary
You can have all the talent in the world but if you’re not brought along the right way, if you don’t have someone who’s looking out for your best interests, you’re fucked. ibid. Mickey Rourke
96 hours I was out for. And I see a light … I was always in conflict in like why I fought in the first place. ibid. Bentt
Most of us don’t prepare ourselves for failure. ibid. Freddy Roach
And I wrote a piece, Anatomy of a Knockout. ibid. Bentt
To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you’re not, pretend you are. Counterpunch, Muhammad Ali, Netflix 2017
So many of the gyms I boxed at have closed their doors. Today most kids would rather play basketball or football, do anything but get in the ring. You can’t play boxing, it’s not a game, it’s a test, of how much you can hit without being hit. Brutality is apparent to both its appeal and its demise. ibid. Jay Goldman
Atlas Cops and Kids [last free gym in New York] which has quickly become one of these most successful boxing programs in the country. ibid.
In 2012 the US men’s boxing team – the team that’s won more than any other country – didn’t win a single medal. ibid.
For the last decade Floyd the Money Mayweather has been the face of boxing. ibid.
Boxing is beyond work. It’s war. ibid. Sugar Ray Leonard