10. CARL FROCH v Jermain Taylor, WBC super-middleweight title, Ledyard, Connecticut, USA, April 25, 2009
Taylor asked: “Who’s Carl Froch ?” ahead of his challenge for the Midlander’s WBC super-middleweight title. Froch, making the first defence of the belt he had won by outpointing Jean Pascal four months earlier, showed the world who he was in dramatic fashion. After 11 rounds, Froch was losing on two of the cards – and he won by stoppage with just 14 seconds left.
9. CHRIS EUBANK V Graciano Rocchigiani, WBO super-middleweight title, Charlottenburg, Germany, February 5, 1994
Rocchigiano was a 35-0 southpaw and former IBF super-middleweight champion who promised to marry his sweetheart once he had beaten Eubank, making the ninth defence of his WBO belt. To the annoyance of the would-be bridesmaids gathered at ringside, Eubank won unanimously on the scorecards. Rocchigiani was some fighter. He went on to win the WBC light-heavyweight title.
8. DENNIS ANDRIES v Jeff Harding, WBC light-heavyweight title, Melbourne, July, 1990
Harding had come in at short notice to upset Andries in one of the best give-and-take slugfests of the 1980s and the following summer, they did it again with the more youthful Harding, 11 years’ Andries junior, heavily fancied to prevail. After six rounds of hard toe-to-toe action, Harding was ahead on two of the cards, but, sensing the Aussie was tired, Andries went for broke in the seventh – and knocked him out.
7. BILLY-JOE SAUNDERS v David Lemieux, WBO middleweight title, Canada, December, 2017
Saunders took his boxing to a new level to comprehensively outbox one of the most feared pound-for-pound punchers on the planet in his own backyard. Saunders promised to school Lemieux and that’s exactly what he did. The Canadian slugger had no answer to his jab-and-counter style and had Saunders pressed more in the second half of the fight, he may well have got the stoppage. He settled instead for a landslide points win.
6. WAYNE MCCULLOUGH v Yasuei Yakushiji, WBC bantamweight title, Nagoya, Japan, July 30, 1995
The ‘Pocket Rocket’ from Belfast, silver medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, faced what Sky Sports commentators described as “a mountainous task” in Japan – and he rose to the challenge superbly against Yakushiji, making his fourth defence of the WBC bantamweight title. McCullough churned out non-stop punches to win a split decision on the scorecards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDHD9pPaLLA
5. JACK ‘KID’ BERG v Kid Chocolate, Lightweight fight, New York, August 7, 1930
Brilliant Cuban Chocolate was unbeaten in 56 fights (one draw) – and then ran into ‘The Whitechapel Windmill.’ Berg, the East Ender who turned pro at 14 and was given his nickname in recognition of his non-stop attacks, beat him on a split decision over 10 rounds.
4. KIRKLAND LAING v Roberto Duran, Welterweight fight, September 4, 1982
Laing always did blow hot and cold and when he fought Roberto Duran, he had his very best night. Such was the perceived gulf in class between Duran and Laing, there were calls for the fight to be scrapped. It went ahead, with Duran enjoying a weight advantage of around half a stone, and, as manager Mickey Duff said he would, Laing won on points, ruining Duran’s plans for a big fight with Tony Ayala jr. Laing being Laing, he didn’t box again for another 12 months.
3. JOHN H STRACEY v Jose Napoles Mexico City, December 6, 1975
Napoles, known as ‘Mantequilla’ or butter in recognition of his smooth boxing, was world welterweight champion for around six years, his reign was interrupted by cut eye defeat to Billy Backus that was soon avenged, until he ran into John H Stracey, the Terry Lawless-trained East Ender who had won British and European honours. In front of more than 40,000 hostile fans in Mexico City, Stracey got off the floor in the opening round to pummel 36 year old Napoles to defeat in six rounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_rN1elOUAI
2. TYSON FURY v Wladimir Klitschko, IBF, WBA Super and WBO heavyweight titles, Dusseldorf, November, 2015
On an amazing night, Fury, the muddled Manchester man child not taken entirely seriously by everyone, left the dominant heavyweight of his era scratching his head with his movement and ring intelligence and won unanimously on the scorecards. In Germany. Klitschko had been champion for nine and a half years.
1. LLOYD HONEYGHAN vs Donald Curry, WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight titles, Atlantic City, September, 1986
Curry and Marvin Hagler were the top two in most pound-for-pound lists and the talk was that, once Curry had dealt with Honeyghan, a brash South Londoner known as ‘The Ragamuffin Man,’ he would go up to middleweight to face Hagler. That was the plan – and Honeyghan ruined it, to the surprise of everyone – apart from himself. “I’m going out there to bash him up,” he promised – and that’s exactly what he did. He left Curry with a broken nose, gashed bottom lip and a cut over his left eye that would need 20 stitches to close. After six rounds, Curry could take no more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GfCVvvlBX0
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