Oct. 2, 1980 – Larry Holmes scored a TKO of Muhammad Ali in the 11th-round

Larry Holmes, whose left jab is considered one of the greatest weapons in the history of sports, was the WBC Heavyweight Champion from 1978 to 1983, The Ring Heavyweight Champion from 1980 to 1985, and the IBF Heavyweight Champion from 1983 to 1985. He made twenty successful title defenses, second only to Joe Louis‘ twenty-five.

Holmes won his first forty-eight professional bouts, almost matching Rocky Marciano‘s streak of 49 straight wins, including victories over ken norton, Muhammad Ali, Gerry Cooney, and Marvis Frazierr. He is frequently ranked by many boxing experts as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time.

At Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Holmes defended his title against Ali, who was coming out of retirement in an attempt to become the first four-time World Heavyweight Champion. Holmes dominated Ali from start to finish, winning every round on every scorecard. At the end of the tenth round, Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, stopped the fight. After the win, Holmes received recognition as World Heavyweight Champion by The Ring magazine.

Oct. 1, 1975 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Joe Frazier in ‘The Thrilla in Manila’

Muhammad Ali scored a technical knockout of Joe Frazier after the 14th round of their fight in Manila, Philippines to retain the world heavyweight championship. The bout was known ever-after as ‘The Thrilla in Manila.’

The bout is often ranked as one of the greatest fights of 20th century boxing, and is the climax to the bitter rivalry between Ali and Frazier. When Ali was stripped of the title in 1967 over his refusal to join the armed forces when drafted during the Vietnam War, Frazier had petitioned President Nixon to restore Ali’s right to box and even lent Ali money. When Ali finally got his license back, they met in the so-called Fight of the Century, the first time that two undisputed heavyweight champions had met in the ring. The mutual enmity emerged in the build up to the fight, when Ali turned on Frazier, describing him as an “Uncle Tom”, a “white man’s champion” and later, a “gorilla”. Frazier in turn riled Ali by referring to him by his birth name, Clay.

Afterwards the pair continued to trade insults, but by the time they met in a rematch, neither was a champion; Frazier had lost his title to George Foreman and Ali had recently been beaten by Ken Norton. In the build-up to the fight, the two had an infamous brawl in a TV studio while being interviewed by Howard Cosell. The fight itself was largely uneventful and Ali won on points. By 1975, Ali was champion again having unexpectedly regained the title by beating Foreman, whereas Frazier was thought to be washed up. Ali’s camp decided to give Frazier a title shot as a final payday for Joe before he retired. However, the fight proved to be a brutal, give and take affair, with each man taking a lot of punishment. The fight finally ended when Frazier’s trainer Eddie Futch refused to let Frazier come out for the 15th round, meaning Ali won by TKO.

DID YOU KNOW: The Philippines’ first multi-level commercial shopping mall was named after Muhammad Ali as a tribute to his victory. The mall is named “Ali Mall” and is located in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City right beside the Araneta Coliseum in which the “Thrilla in Manila” took place.

Sept. 12, 1951 – Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Randy Turpin to win back the belt in front of 61,370 spectators

By 1951, Sugar Ray Robinson was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing history. That summer, Robinson traveled to Great Britain for a vacation and publicity tour before his scheduled July 10 bout with Turpin, in which Sugar Ray was heavily favored. To the surprise of his fans around the world, however, the surprisingly strong Turpin battered Robinson and won the match in a 15-round decision. Afterward, Robinson requested and was granted a rematch.

Two months later on September 12, the Polo Grounds set a middleweight fight attendance record for the rematch. The crowd was filled with well-known personalities from U.S. Army General Douglas MacArthur to stars of film and stage. Robinson, intent on avenging his loss, trained intensely for the rematch, refusing to once again take his opponent too lightly. From the first ring of the bell, the 31-year-old Robinson dictated the pace of the fight to his 23-year-old opponent, and won each of the first seven rounds decisively. In the eighth round, however, Robinson appeared to tire, and Turpin fought with a new intensity, hitting and hurting Robinson for the first time in the fight. In the ninth round, Turpin delivered numerous right hands to Robinson’s head, opening a cut over his left eye. Still, Robinson was able to wrest back control of the fight in the 10th, when he knocked Turpin down with a right to the jaw. When Turpin was ready to continue, Robinson, re-energized, unleashed an onslaught to his head and body. Two minutes and 52 seconds into the 10th round, referee Rudy Goldstein stopped the fight, and Robinson was showered with adulation from the adoring hometown crowd.

Sugar Ray Robinson vs Randy Turpin II:

Did You Know:
Robinson retired with a record of 173-19-6 (2 no contests) with 108 knockouts in 200 professional bouts, ranking him among the all-time leaders in knockouts.

July 21, 1989 – Mike Tyson TKOs Carl Williams in 1:33 of the first round

The fight would only last 93 seconds, becoming Mike Tyson‘s second quickest title fight after his 91 second victory over Michael Spinks the previous year. Tyson and Williams began the fight trading punches with each other, though Tyson’s aggressiveness caused Williams to hold several times. About 76 seconds into the round, Williams attempted to hit Tyson with a left jab. Tyson countered and hit Williams with a left hook that sent Williams to the canvas. Though Williams was able to get back on his feet and was seemingly ready to continue the fight, referee Randy Neumann controversially stopped the fight and awarded Tyson the victory by technical knockout.

Video of Tyson vs Williams:

June 27, 1988 – Mike Tyson KOs Michael Spinks in 91 seconds

Both men were undefeated and each had a claim to being the legitimate heavyweight champion; Mike Tyson held the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Spinks held the Ring Magazine belt and was considered the lineal champion.

Tyson vs. Spinks was the richest fight in boxing history up to that point, grossing around $70 million, $10 million more than the previous record holder, the Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard bout in 1987. 600,000 households bought the fight on pay per view, generating $21 million. A further $12.3 million came from the 21,785 live gate, almost double the previous live gate record of $6.8 million set by Hagler vs. Leonard. The fight also surpassed the 1987 Super Bowl as the highest-grossing single day sporting event in history. It is estimated to have generated $344 million in gambling revenues in Atlantic City, over $100 million more than a typical four day weekend in June. The Trump Plaza casino achieved a record drop of $11.5 million on the day of the fight.

Spinks never boxed again and announced his retirement from the sport a month later. The Tyson fight was the only loss of his professional career. Tyson also spoke of retiring, hinting that “this may be my last fight.” The win over Spinks has been described as the pinnacle of Tyson’s boxing career. It was also his last fight under longtime trainer Kevin Rooney, who was dismissed by Tyson in December. Tyson made two more successful title defences before losing to James ‘Buster’ Douglas in a major upset in 1990. He continued fighting until 2005, but was unable to replicate his earlier achievements. Tyson and Spinks have both been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

May 30, 1987 – Mike Tyson TKO’d Pinklon Thomas in six rounds for heavyweight title

BACKGROUND
In 1986, the three major boxing organizations, the WBA, WBC and IBF teamed up with HBO to develop a unification tournament that would ultimately unify all three Heavyweight titles and determine the next Undisputed Champion. The first fight in the series pitted WBC Heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas against Trevor Berbick on March 22, 1986. Berbick would capture the WBC Heavyweight title after defeating Thomas by unanimous decision and move on to face the undefeated Mike Tyson in his first title defense. Tyson dominated Berbick in their match, knocking out the champion in the second round to win his first heavyweight championship. Meanwhile, James “Bonecrusher” Smith would defeat Tim Witherspoon to become the new WBA Heavyweight champion, thus setting up a match with Tyson with both fighter’s titles on the line, which Tyson would win by unanimous decision. The IBF champion Michael Spinks was scheduled to defend his title against Tony Tucker with the winner of that match moving on to face the winner of the Tyson–Smith bout. However, Spinks decided to pullout of his match with Tucker, instead choosing to face Gerry Cooney in a more lucrative fight that would pay him $4 million, leading to the IBF stripping Spinks of their title. As a result, the organizations sanctioned an event that would see Tyson defend his WBA and WBC titles against Thomas, while Tony Tucker and James “Buster” Douglas would meet each other for the vacant IBF crown. The winners of these two matches would then face one another for the right to become the next Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

THE FIGHT
Tyson was the aggressor for nearly the entire fight, costantly getting the better of Thomas with his power punches. Tyson was nearly able to get the victory in the first round. With about 40 seconds left in the round, Tyson staggered Thomas with a left hook–right hook combination. With Thomas’ back now against the ropes, Tyson delivered an 8-punch combination in an attempt to get the knockout victory, but Thomas was able withstand Tyson’s assault and survived the round without being knocked down. Thomas was able to rebound and last another four full rounds with Tyson, using his left jab to keep Tyson off-stride while clinching Tyson whenever Tyson came close. The fight would come to an end with a minute remaining in round 6. 30 seconds into the second minute, Tyson was able to catch Thomas with a left hook that clearly hurt the challenger. Tyson would follow this with a relentless 15-punch combination that dropped Thomas to the canvas for the first time in his professional career. Before referee Carlos Padilla, Jr. could reach the count of 10, Thomas’ trainer Angelo Dundee entered the ring causing Padilla to stop the fight and officially declare the result a technical knockout victory for Tyson.

AFTERMATH
Tyson’s victory would officially setup a unification match with Tony Tucker, who was able to capture the IBF Heavyweight Championship by defeating Buster Douglas by unanimous decision prior to the Tyson–Thomas fight. The two men went the full 12 rounds, with Tyson ultimately picking up the victory by unanimous decision to become the first Undisputed Heavyweight Champion since Leon Spinks in 1978.

May 24, 1976 – Ali TKOs Dunn in fifth round for boxing Heavyweight title

Dunn was knocked down five times in five rounds. After the fight, Muhammad Ali promised the gloves he had used in the fight to British promoter Mickey Duff, who was raising funds for Chris Finnegan, a terrific fighter who had lost sight in one eye. When he passed his gloves to Duff in the ring, Ali told Duff to look inside. In one it was written ‘Ali wins’ and in the other ‘round five’.

After winning the European Heavyweight title with a third round TKO OF Bernd August in April 1976, Dunn was given the chance of fighting for the WBC and WBA titles against Muhammad Ali in Munich, for which he received £52,000 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £472,500 in 2011).

Dunn is also notable as the only Yorkshireman ever to fight Ali, who knocked him out 2:05 minutes into the fifth round; this was to be the last knockout Ali ever achieved in his professional career. Although he was seriously overmatched, many British fans have said that Dunn made one of the most courageous showings of any British fighter when he faced Ali.

May 21, 1966 – Muhammad Ali TKOs Henry Cooper in 6 for heavyweight title

Henry Cooper twice fought Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), firstly in a non-title fight in 1963 at Wembley Stadium. Clay was knocked down by Cooper, later saying on British television that Cooper “had hit him so hard that his ancestors in Africa felt it”. The fight was stopped due to deep cuts in Cooper’s eyes in the fifth round.

Cooper fought Ali, now world heavyweight champion, for a second time at Highbury. However Ali was now alert to the danger posed by Cooper’s left and more cautious than he had been in the previous contest; he held Cooper in a vice-like grip during clinches, and when told to break leapt backward several feet. Accumulated scar tissue around Cooper’s eyes made him more vulnerable than in the previous meeting and a serious cut was opened by Ali, which led to the fight being stopped, Cooper again suffering a technical knockout when he was ahead on the scorecards.

Video of Ali vs Cooper II

Mar. 25, 1958 – Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Carmen Basilio to regain middleweight championship

It was the fifth and final title of his career.

Robinson is considered by many to be the greatest prizefighter in history. No less an authority than heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali has said, “My idol will always be Sugar Ray Robinson, who was, and remains, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to have ever lived in this century.”

In 1957 Robinson lost the title to Carmen Basilio, a steady puncher whose claim to fame was that he had never been knocked down. Going into their championship rematch, held March 25 in 1958, the once-indomitable Sugar Ray was a 2-to-1 underdog.

Robinson and Basilio traded punches for the majority of the match, with Robinson closing Basilio’s left eye completely by the seventh round. (Basilio later said that he could not see after the fourth round.) In the ninth round, Basilio came out attacking, and Robinson stopped slugging and started to box, dancing and jabbing at Basilio. This was the last great fight of Robinson’s career, and he showcased all of his veteran skills, avoiding Basilio’s punches and delivering a stunner in the 15th that nearly knocked Basilio down. In the end, the three judges awarded Robinson the victory and his fifth middleweight title, a record for any men’s division.

Video of Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio II:
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About Sugar Ray Robinson:
Robinson began began boxing after three years of high school in New York City. He was 85-0 as an amateur with 69 of those victories coming by way of knockout, 40 in the first round. Robinson won the Golden Gloves featherweight title and turned professional in 1940. He won the welterweight championship in 1946 by defeating Tommy Bell and the middleweight championship for the first time in 1951 by knocking out Jake La Motta. When Robinson retired from boxing as middleweight champion in 1952 he had lost only three times in 137 bouts.

Returning to boxing in 1955, he was the first boxer ever to regain a title after retiring. Robinson became the first man in boxing history to win a divisional (weight class) world championship five times when he regained the middleweight title in 1958 by defeating Carmen Basilio; he lost the title in 1960 to Paul Pender. In his prime, the swift, hard-punching Robinson was rated the best boxer, pound for pound, of his time.

Mar. 16, 1996 – Mike Tyson won the WBC heavyweight championship with a TKO of Frank Bruno in the third round

In his fourth attempt, Bruno had captured the WBC title from Oliver McCall, who on his part, took the belt from Lennox Lewis. Tyson and Bruno met once before in February 1989. Tyson defended his heavyweight crown then when he knocked Bruno out in the fifth round.

This was the second fight between the Bruno and Tyson and the third post-prison opponent for Tyson. Clearly frightened in the ring, Bruno was repeatedly warned for clinching in the first two rounds of the fight. Tyson battered Bruno in the third, sending him sliding incoherently down the ropes 50 seconds into the round and regaining the WBC title. The fight was the last of Frank Bruno’s career in boxing. Tyson was paid a reported $30 million and Bruno a reported $6 million.

Tyson would go onto add the WBA belt by defeating champion Bruce Seldon in one round in September that year. Seldon was severely criticized and mocked in the popular press for seemingly collapsing to innocuous punches from Tyson.

Video of Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno bout: