Haymaker’s Dozen 3.12.10: Top Events of the Era

Posted by Matt Knowles on 03.12.2010

411mania’s Matt Knowles takes a look back at some of the most memorable events that the sport of boxing has produced over the past two decades. Will the “Bite Fight” beat out “The Dream Fight?” Can the “Fight of the Millennium” stand tall against “Ultimate Glory?” One thing we do know: “The World Awaits!"


Welcome back to the Haymaker's Dozen!!!

This Saturday night, 7-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and former welterweight title holder Joshua Clottey will go to battle for the WBO welterweight strap at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. The title of the pay-per-view promotion is "The Event," in reference to the scene that will take place when over 40,000 fight fans will flock to the 1.2 billion dollar facility for what should be quite the spectacle.

In the spirit of "The Event" I have compiled a list of the top boxing events that have taken place during the "new era" (which amounts to the 1990's and beyond). These are the fight cards that were not necessarily the greatest matches, but the true "events" that captured the attention/imagination of boxing fans worldwide during the pre/post fight hype.

Without further ado, let's get rockin'!!!






Honorable mention: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao
December 6th, 2008 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas

The bout was entitled "The Dream Fight," and the promotional push revolved around the idea that you'd normally only see a bout like this in a video game setting. Well if Manny Pacquiao was "player 1" then he must have put the game setting on "extremely easy" before pressing play, as he went out and shredded De La Hoya for eight one-sided rounds en route to a dominant TKO victory. The event served as the coronation for the PacMan as boxing's next big-money star, while it also represented the end of an era for The Golden Boy. The proverbial "torch," if you will, had officially been passed.





12. Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Kevin Kelley
December 19th, 1997 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

The Man They Called Prince had created an aura of invincibility during his tear through the featherweight ranks over in England in the mid-90's.This bout was his first title defense in the United States, and the choice of Flushing native Kevin Kelley as the opponent, and MSG as the venue, couldn't have been more perfect. A raucous crowd of roughly 14,000 fans (which was about a 50/50 split between NY residents and UK fanatics) went berserk for the entirety of the four round slugfest, as each man scored multiple knockdowns, with the Prince standing tall after blasting Kelley with a sweeping left cross to end the war. This was without a doubt one of the best US debuts for any foreign-born fighter, as well as an amazing scene at the Mecca of Boxing. Funny side note: Naseem's extended ring-walk (to "Men in Black" by Will Smith, followed by a British hip-hop song) lasted nearly as long as the entire fight!





11. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Patrice Charpentier
June 13th, 1998 – Sun Bowl, El Paso, TX

Let's not get too riled up here, ladies and gentleman; this listing is by no means a representation of what people would call a "great fight" or a "huge moment." What this event represented was a the overwhelming popularity of a young man known as "The Golden Boy" who was on his way to a level of super-stardom never before seen in the sport. Over 50,000 fight fanatics showed up to the border town of El Paso to see their Mexican-American hero take on the (cough-cough) #1 WBC contender. From the sounds of things at the opening bell, I'd guess that about 40% of the crowd was comprised of females (who probably just wanted to catch a glimpse of Oscar with his shirt off). Regardless, there were legions of new boxing fans, young and old, male and female, American/Latino/otherwise, being drawn to the sport on this sunny Summer night. The unbeaten welterweight champ thoroughly destroyed his opponent in less than three rounds, to the delight of all in attendance…especially the ladies!





10. Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Greg Haugen
February 20th, 1993 – Azteca Stadium, Mexico City

Five years before De La Hoya had packed the Sun Bowl, Latin legend Julio Cesar Chavez drew roughly 132,000 spectators (no people, that WASN'T a typo….132,000+ fight fans) to Azteca Stadium for his title defense against former world champ Greg Haugen. The outcome, much like the above entry, was practically a formality, as Julio went through his trademark steps of cutting off the ring with the left hook downstairs followed by the sweeping right up top in order to secure a pedestrian TKO victory in the 5th stanza. The scene during the event, from the ring-walks to the ring announcement to the bout itself, was a sight to be seen. For those who appreciate the opening/closing ceremonies during the Olympics, this night had that same kind of surreal feel.





9. Joe Calzaghe vs. Mikkel Kessler
November 3rd, 2007 - Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales

When the two best super middleweights on the planet hold the majority of the belts, have unbeaten records, and are wildly popular, the promoters better make sure that the bout is presented on the biggest stage possible. Such was the case when 50,000+ European fight freaks turned out to see Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler do battle for the unified 168-pound world championship. Millions of fans on both sides of the Atlantic watched on TV as the boxer-punchers went to battle for 12 competitive rounds. In the end, Calzaghe's awkward angles and non-stop punching volume won over the judges, as this was Joe's crowning achievement in the super middleweight class.





8. Felix Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins
September 29th, 2001 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Without re-living the entire history of September '01, I'll just go ahead and mention that this was one of the 1st major sporting events in New York City following the tragic event. As much criticism as Don King has gotten for his actions over the years, I must say that the patriotic vibe that his company presented on this pay-per-view card was something that we could all be proud of, regardless of our feelings toward the Spikey Haired One. And despite my newfound dislike of B-Hop over the past few years, this was his big moment in the sports spotlight. As a roughly 3-1 underdog against the unbeaten Puerto Rican sensation, Bernard boxed a masterpiece and unified the middleweight crown via 12th round TKO.





7. Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Oscar De La Hoya
June 7, 1996 – Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas

Roughly 12 years before Oscar would "pass the torch" to Manny Pacquiao, he was the recipient of that same "torch" from Julio Cesar Chavez, the most beloved Mexican prizefighter in history, and the most consistent "action fighter" of the 80's and 90's. Sadly, it took the boxing public a couple of years to really recognize that this had taken place (mostly due to mixed perceptions about Oscar's celebrity status), but this truly was a big moment nonetheless. In the last monumental bout in the parking lot at Caesar's, Oscar ripped and tore through Chavez' vulnerable grill, prompting a somewhat anticlimactic TKO victory in round 4. Another major foot-note about the bout was that it was somewhat of a trip back in time, promotionally, as the broadcast was only available through closed-circuit feeds at theaters and arenas.





6. Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis
March 13, 1999 – Madison Square Garden, New York City

Following Iron Mike's implosion in the Holyfield rematch, the general sports public had a pretty bad taste in their mouth about the sport of boxing. The 1st bout between Holyfield and Lewis, in the attempt to unify the heavyweight championship for the 1st time in nearly 7 years, was a huge step in the right direction towards re-gaining the attention of the casual boxing fan. This was really the first monster event for Madison Square Garden since their return to the sweet science roughly 3 years earlier. The bout sold out within days, and the PPV numbers were projected to be through the roof. I vividly remember watching the bout from home, and recall how dramatic the "buzz" was leading up to the opening bell. In hindsight, it was a very important moment for the sport, even though the draw outcome may have temporarily drawn people away just as Tyson's biting incident had.





5. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad
September 18th, 1999 – Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas

"The Fight of the Millenium" didn't exactly turn out to be the "Leonard-Hearns 2.0" that most of us expected, but the event itself was without question one of the biggest, baddest promotions of our lifetime. This marked the 1st big fight at Mandalay Bay in Vegas, however the show had exactly zero tickets sold to the general public (since the local casino's and businesses scooped up every trinket). You had the two best welterweights in the world, each with a world title, each undefeated, and each with the pull of the two most powerful promoters in history (Arum and King, respectively). The conspiracy theorists will tell you that this was more about King vs. Arum, especially considering the questionable outcome, but I'd rather remember how cool it was to have such a big fight to end the 90's, and how much commotion the promotion created.





4. Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson
June 8th, 2002 – The Pyramid, Memphis, TN

One of the vivid memories I have of this promotion was Lennox Lewis' proclamation that he was attempting to "cement his legacy" by defeating Mike Tyson, the one big-name opponent that had eluded the 3-time heavyweight title holder. In two words: "Mission: Accomplished."

The build-up to this bout is one that will never be duplicated, as the site had to be moved from Vegas to Memphis due to Tyson being denied a license to fight in Nevada (a state, mind you, where prostitution and gambling are not only legal, but encouraged). The denial was mainly due to the mini-riot that broke out during the announcement of the bout in January of '02, where Tyson bit Lennox on the leg during the big skirmish. Each man held separate press conferences from there on out, and even once they both got to the ring on June 8th, there was a barricade of security guards keeping the men separate until the opening bell. Long story short, Lewis dominated Tyson, knocked ‘em out in the 8th, and "cemented his legacy." Frankly, ever since Lennox' departure one bout later, the heavyweight division has never been the same. Memmmmm...ries….





3. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
May 5th, 2007 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas

It was the most popular fighter of our generation against one of the most talented boxers of any era. That statement, on its own, would have produced roughly 1 million pay-per-view buys. What Oscar and Floyd attained in this mega-promotion, however, will forever be the stuff of legend, at least in the financial statements. A sold-out MGM Grand crowd was joined by roughly 2.15 million PPV subscribers (paying $54.95 in the process) on Cinco De Mayo '07 for what was the most successful promotion in the history of the sport.

On the side of every bus in town on fight week, there was a billboard for the fight. On every 12-pack of Tecate at the bottle shops, you'd see Oscar and Floyd's faces. At every gas station, there were promotional posters being given out, courtesy of RockStar. The cross-over promotional tools used for this event were cutting edge and incredibly well marketed, to say the least. The bout itself was relatively predictable, with Mayweather taking control halfway through the contest en route to a split decision victory, but the promotion and its financial repercussions were out of this world.





2. Pernell Whitaker vs. Julio Cesar Chavez
September 10th 1993 - AlamoDome, San Antonio, TX

My 7th grade experience at Silverado Junior High in Napa, CA was relatively uneventful; I played a lot of basketball, got pretty good grades, and basically just stayed outta trouble. There were always some issues with fighting on campus, but nothing overwhelming. Then came the 1st two weeks of 8th grade in September of 1993 which were...how do I say…a little different. During every opportunity that presented itself (ie morning break, lunch break, between classes, after-school bus loading, etc) there were fights. Not just 1-on-1 scraps, but BRAWLS. We're talking anywhere from 10-20 energetic teens throwing hooks and crosses at each other with no remorse. I'll save you some of the details in regards to the specifics of the campus rivalries, but the tussles that took place all revolved around one specific debate: Chavez or Sweet Pea?

For one young sports fan, it was this particular week that exemplified the overwhelming passion that boxing fans have for their respective hero's. The two weeks leading up to the much-anticipated WBC welterweight showdown between Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez, in my opinion, were easily the most exciting time to be a fight fan. This wasn't simply for the violent display of male hormones on one specific middle school campus, but for how the event got everyone, young and old, talking boxing of all things, for weeks leading in to the contest. The draw outcome, just as was the case with Holyfield and Lewis, tends to tarnish the legacy of the event, but nobody can ever deny the energy and passion that the promotion of this bout had created.





1. Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II
June 28, 1997 – MGM Grand, Las Vegas

I will admit that a great deal of bias went in to making this the #1 entry, being that Pops and I attended the bout for his 40th birthday. It was my 1st trip to Sin City, and even as an aloof 17 year old, the town made a big impression on me. All personal feelings aside, the event was an international spectacle, as it was easily the most anticipated heavyweight title rematch since the Ali era. Just to put it in perspective, Iron Mike was on the cover of SI during the week leading up to the bout, and both men were on display on the cover the following week. How often do you see a boxer on an SI cover these days?

Their first bout in November '96 was a classic victory for Evander, as he shocked the world by smashing Tyson with counter right hands in the closing moments of round 10, thereafter ending the contest seconds into the 11th to claim the TKO victory. In the much-anticipated rematch…well I'm sure you know what happened (CHOMP!), but either way, this was boxing's very 1st 100-million dollar bout, as the PPV receipts were right around the 2 million mark. The event basically set the tone for all major PPV events of the future, as nine-figure promotions now generally occur every couple of years, with eight-figure paydays for the participants. If my math is correct, that's almost enough dough to surgically repair a human ear…almost.

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SO…which "events" do you believe were the best? Which were listed accurately? Which ones were forgotten on the list? It's time for YOU, the fight freaks, to let us know what you think!!!