The Ten Count 08.31.10: Worst Heavyweight Title Fights

Posted by Patrick Cassidy on 08.31.2010

From McCall breaking down to Lennox Lewis beating on an unknown, we rank the 10 worst heavyweight fights of the past 20 years.

Heavyweight boxing has hit the proverbial wall. There are two men who control the division that's loaded with fighters they've already annihilated. We're unfortunately stuck in a situation where we don't have any serious challengers willing to step up(David Haye. Instead we've been subjected to some awful title fights in the past 20 years. So in honor of that we're taking a look back at the top 10 worst Heavyweight title fights of the past 20 years.




10. Lennox Lewis vs. Zeljko Mavrovic 09.26.1998

You might ask yourself who is Zeljko Mavrovic is and the only answer I can give you is that I have absolutely no idea. Mavrovic compiled 27 early wins against weak European competition before getting the chance at the Heavyweight title. This fight was largely scene as a tune-up fight for Lewis who had the specter of Evander Holyfield on the horizon. Mavrovic gave a spirited performance but the fight amounted to Lewis hitting a moving punching bag. Mavrovic had no answers for Lewis's penetrating jab and coasted to an easy and uneventful Unanimous Decision victory. Lewis went on to bigger and better things and Mavrovic was never seen again.



9.Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov 02.23.08

Just when Wladimir Klitschko was finally picking up momentum among mainstream boxing fans, he had a fight that was so bad and derided that he's never set foot in an American ring since this debacle. Klitschko had begun to pick up steam in the United States and was seen as a possible box office draw if he could unify one of the belts against Ibragimov. In front of a packed Madison Square Garden audience, Klitschko coasted to an easy win using his jab and holding Ibragimov any time he managed to get inside Klitschko's wheel house. Klitschko ignored the advice of his corner to go for the knockout and simply coasted to a win that was derided by both fans and experts. The fight arguably killed his US career and possibly served as a metaphor as to what happened to Heavyweight boxing.

8.John Ruiz vs. Nicolai Valuev II 08.30.08

Ah, the beauty of sanctioning organizations, Ruiz and Valuev may have already fought a complete stinker but with the right people things have been known to get done. So we were subjected to another terrible fight with Ruiz doing his typical holding while Valuev tried to keep him at bay with a weak jab. The bout was reminiscent of an amateur fight rather than a prize fight for a Heavyweight title. Valuev once again proved the victor in a snooze inducing bout and luckily assuring us we'd never see these two in the ring again.

7. John Ruiz vs. Kirk Johnson 07.27.02

Stop if you've heard before… John Ruiz, lots of clinching, repeated low blows, and an inactivity level that is sleep inducing. Once again John Ruiz produced an absolute stinker of a bout when he and Kirk Johnson fought for the WBA world title in the summer of 2002. The fight was typical of what Heavyweight boxing has become in this country, boring, limited skills, and far too defensive. Ruiz outboxed Johnson but it wasn't the type of victory that would expect from a Heavyweight champion.

6. Oleg Maskaev vs. Okhello Peter 12.10.08

Yes, Okhello Peter fought for the WBC Heavyweight title. Doesn't that say what's wrong with the sanctioning organizations? Okhello had no place in a championship fight and that was clear when Maskaev laid waste to him over 12 lopsided rounds in Russia. The fact that the WBC belt, arguably the most prestigious belt in the sport was defended against a complete unknown in Russia should have sent of warning signals of just how far the division had fallen.




5. Vitali Klitschko vs. Kevin Johnson 12.12.09

Coming into the fight Kevin Johnson was a cocky and brash Heavyweight prospect who fought awfully safe but was still an excellent counterpuncher with plenty of speed. It was believed he was likely the best young American capable of beating one of the Klitschko's. Those that believed that were sadly mistaken when Johnson avoided Klitschko for 12 rounds as he was apparently uninterested in a victory. Maybe because the fight had taken place in Switzerland that Johnson felt the need to stay neutral the entire fight. Klitschko walked through an easy UD victory and fans hoping for the next great American Heavyweight were left sadly disappointed.


4. Chris Byrd vs. DaVarryl Williamson 10.01.05

By the time that Byrd and Williamson had met up in the fall of 20005, many fans had written Byrd off as a watchable fighters. His highly careful and defensive minded attack while effective did nothing to endear him to mainstream fans. It didn't help that he was defending his IBF title against an opponent who had built his record on easy opposition and lost every time he faced a significant opponemt. The fight had all the recipes for a disaster and it was just that. Neither fighter seemed prepared to engage and what followed was more resembling of a track meet than an actual fight. Fans at ringside booed heavily and the Showtime announce team was left wondering why this fight was even made.

3.Henry Akinwande vs. Lennox Lewis 07.12.97

Lennox Lewis was previously considered to be the best Heavyweight in the world. That was until he was erased by Oliver Mccall. Lewis fought his way back to the top taking out the likes of Ray Mercer, Tommy Morrison , and Oliver Mccall. Armed with his former title he was set to take on Henry Akinwande who at the time was a rising top 10 prospect who gained a level of fame fighting on Tyson's undercards. It was a heavily hyped fight that was sadly marred by Akinwande's repeated holding. Despite repeated warnings, Akinwande continued to hold leading to the disqualification. Akinwande both lost the fight and respect of millions of fight fans.




2. Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon 09.07.96 Tyson was in the midst of a career revival following his prison sentence for rape. Tyson had already acquired the WBC title when he schooled Frank Bruno and now had his sights set on Seldson's WBA belt. Too bad Seldon was so intimidated by Tyson that he buckled on a punch that replay showed did not even land and was finally put away by a very weak left hook from Tyson. The crowd at the MGM Grand repeatedly chanted "Fix" and Seldon's reputation would never be the same.





1. Lennox Lewis vs. Oliver McCall 02.27.97

What was supposed to be a highly anticipated rematch between Lennox Lewis and Oliver McCall turned into an episode of Maury with McCall seemingly having a mental breakdown before the eyes of a million people. McCall began crying and had to be coaxed to leave his corner. It was as surreal a sight that I've ever seen in boxing and one of my youtube favorites. It's not every day that you see a man have a midlife crisis in the boxing ring. Easily one of the most surreal and disappointing sights in the sport's long history.

Stay tuned for next week when rank the 10 best Heavyweight fights of the past 20 years.