The period of Turki Al-Alshikh is now in full swing as main boxing playing cards proceed to be introduced and followers are lastly granted their want of the perfect combating the perfect – for probably the most half.
Now, there may be additional pleasure as these occasions start to happen away from the Center East and the announcement of Israil Madrimov vs. Terence Crawford has acquired the entire of the US speaking and claiming it might arguably be the best card to ever happen throughout the pond.
Right here, we at Boxing Social have ranked what we imagine to be the strongest playing cards to ever be staged in the US of America.
5. Lennox Lewis (22-0) vs. Tony Tucker (48-1) – eighth Might 1993
In fifth place we have now opted for Lennox Lewis’s first defence of the WBC heavyweight title, the place he was tasked with Tony Tucker (48-1), getting down to show that he was a worthy champion after being awarded the belt exterior of the ring – attributable to Riddick Bowe’s reluctance to face him.
Lewis would step as much as the problem and ship a cushty unanimous-decision victory over the American, dropping his opponent twice.
On the undercard, Gerald McClellan was topped as WBC middleweight champion as he knocked out Julian Jackson, after the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez prolonged his report to 87-0 with a stoppage win over Terrence Alli in an eleventh defence of his belt.
In the meantime, Chavez’s fellow 140lbs and former opponents Hector Camacho and Meldrick Taylor additionally appeared on the invoice, every of whom had been multi-divisional world champions.
4. Israil Madrimov (10-0-1) vs. Terence Crawford (40-0) – third August 2024
We’re positioning Madrimov-Crawford at a decent fourth, though admittedly it is going to be simpler to rank the occasion after it’s completion.
Terence Crawford will rightfully be revered as an awesome of the game, after changing into the primary man to be an undisputed four-belt champion in a number of divisions and eventually defeating Errol Spence Jr in a efficiency that shall be really helpful as a must-watch for generations.
‘Bud’ will debut at super-welterweight in a WBA world title problem towards Madrimov, who’s already being missed, however make no mistake – this can be a powerful affair for the American.
Elsewhere on the invoice, we’re positive to witness a thriller as Vergil Ortiz Jr. takes on Tim Tszyu in a struggle that was on many individuals’s ‘must-see’ lists originally of the yr. The truth that this bout is on an undercard is totally insane.
Accompanying that potential struggle of the yr, is the return of unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr, while highly-rated David Morrell steps as much as light-heavyweight for the primary time, Isaac Cruz makes a primary defence of his light-weight world title and novice sensation Andy Cruz fights for the fourth time of his skilled profession.
3. Larry Holmes (31-0) vs. Earnie Shavers (59-7-1) II – twenty eighth September 1979
If you’re in search of high-profile names on a Don King card then Holmes-Shavers II is the final word occasion from the notorious promoter, that includes 5 Corridor of Famer’s on the invoice.
Holmes got here near shedding his undefeated report within the main-event, being dropped for the second time in his profession towards the hard-hitting challenger, earlier than rallying and scoring an eleventh-round TKO victory to defeat Shavers as soon as once more.
Earlier than that, Puerto-Rican fan-favourite Wilfredo Gomez knocked out Carlos Mendoza to defend the WBC super-bantamweight crown, while ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard improved to 25-0 with a first-round knockout towards Andy Value, every of these bouts coming after contests involving the enduring Roberto Duran and one of many best heavyweights to by no means win a world title – Jimmy Younger.
2. Jack Dempsey (52-5-8) vs. Billy Miske II (52-11-16) – sixth September 1920
Pipped on the submit is the cardboard that was promoted as ‘Boxing’s Best Struggle Card’ on the time and rightfully so, as Jack Dempsey defended the heavyweight world title towards Billy Miske, lower than two years after their authentic and disappointing six-rounder went the space.
Dempsey would get the stoppage this time, dropping Miske for the first-time in his profession and changing into the one man to ever knock him out when the struggle was dropped at an finish within the third-round – a real testomony of the facility that ‘The Manassa Mauler’ was blessed with.
On the undercard Dempsey was joined by two of boxing’s all-time superstars, as the best heavyweight to by no means win a world title, Sam Langford, misplaced a controversial-decision to Invoice Tate in what was the 227th skilled outing of his profession.
This efficiency was then adopted by the looks of the controversial pound-for-pound quantity one in every of all-time, Harry Greb, who gained a call of his personal towards Chuck Wiggins in his 189th bout.
1. Julio Chavez Jr (89-1-1) vs. Frankie Randall (49-2-1) – seventh Might 1994
Nonetheless, for our cash Chavez-Randall II headlined the best card to ever grace the ‘Land of the Free’, because the Mexican hero bounced again to avenge the primary defeat of his 91 struggle profession with a technical split-decision victory over Frankie Randall, topping a Don King card merely billed as “Revenge: The Rematches”, as 4 WBC world title clashes had been run again for a second time.
Gerald McClennan knocked out Julian Jackson once more, however this time within the opening spherical as he retained the WBC middleweight title, though that was the one consequence that matched the respective preliminary encounters.
Azumah Nelson would lose his WBC super-featherweight title to Jesse James Leija after drawing eight months earlier, while Terry Norris gained again in super-welterweight title by outpointing Simon Brown to say revenge after being knocked out of their first assembly.
Meldrick Taylor would additionally seem on the cardboard, in addition to a fifth world title contest for the WBC minimumweight strap the place Ricardo Lopez claimed a unanimous-decision over Kermin Guardia in a battle between two undefeated fighters who had featured in a mixed 57 contests up till that time.
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