The 25 Greatest Fights of the 1980's (One man's opinion)

[hawk5ins]

I was inspired to put this together after reading a recent issue of Boxing Monthly that profiled the Duran Barkley fight. The comment made in the article was that the 80’s Three greatest fights would include this War, but the argument would be whether to rank it #1, 2 or 3.

Well I think it was indeed a great fight, but the 80’s were so chocked full of Great and Epic bouts that not only would I have a hard time seeing it make the top 10, it would be pushed very hard to make the top 20! That says more about the # of Great bouts in the decade than it does about how great Duran Barkley was!

So I decided to list what I felt were the greatest fights of a decade, full of Great fights.

I think the biggest debate will come with my top 2 selections as many if not most will call the 4th Chacon Limon bout the best of the decade if not the best of all time (That selection IMO goes to Saad Johnson I, which was a 70’s bout!)

I know there is actually a separate thread dedicated to that very discussion of Chacon Limon being superior to Pryor Arguello. I would never argue too hard with that call as there are legitimate arguments for that being the case. I personally don’t think you can go wrong either way. I give the ever so slight edge to Pryor Arguello. But what a year for great fights eh? Gomez Pintor makes the top 10 and Sanchez Nelson rounds out the top dozen.

The 80’s. Any wonder why I love to discuss this decade so much?

Let me know your thoughts and critiques.


1-Aaron Pryor KO14 Alexis Arguello 1982
2-Bobby Chacon W15 Bazooka Limon 1982
3-Bobby Chacon W12 Cornelius Boza Edwards 1983
4-Marvelous Marvin Hagler KO3 Thomas Hearns 1985
5-Sugar Ray Leonard KO14 Thomas Hearns 1981
6-Matthew Saad Muhammad KO14 Yaqui Lopez 1980
7-Wilfredo Gomez KO14 Lupe Pintor 1982
8-Roberto Duran W15 Sugar Ray Leonard 1980
9-Marvin Johnson KO13 Jean Marie Emebe 1986
10-Marvelos Marvin Hagler KO11 John Mugabi 1986
11-Evander Holyfield W15 Dwight Muhammad Qawi 1986
12-Salvador Sanchez KO15 Azumah Nelson 1982
13-Jeff Harding KO12 Dennis Andries 1989
14-Aaron Pryor KO7 DuJuan Johnson 1981
15-Salvador Sanchez KO8 Wilfredo Gomez 1981
16-Julio Cesar Chavez W12 Juan Laporte 1986
17-Roberto Duran W12 Iran Barkley-1989
18-Simon Brown KO14 Tyrone Trice-1988
19-Evander Holyfield KO10 Micheal Dokes 1989
20-Alexis Arguello KO14 Ray Mancini 1981
21-Ray Mancini KO14 Deuk Koo Kim 1982
22-Jose Luis Ramirez KO4 Edwin Rosario 1984
23-Matthew Hilton W15 Buster Drayton 1987
24-Thomas Hearns D12 Sugar Ray Leonard 1988
25-Stevie Cruz W15 Barry McGuigan 1986

10 Honorable Mentions:

Iran Barkley KO3 Thomas Hearns 1988
Daniel Zaragoza W12 Paul Banke I 1989
Juan Kid Meza KO1 Jamie Garza 1984
Mike Weaver KO 13 Gerrie Coetzee 1980
Cornelius Boza Edwards KO 14 Bobby Chacon 1981
Livingstone Brambel KO 14 Ray Mancini 1984
Azumah Nelson KO 11 Wilfredo Gomez 1984
Thomas Hearns KO4 Juan Roldan
Tony Lopez W12 Rocky Lockridge 1988
Sugar Ray Leonard W12 Marvelous Marvin Hagler 1987

Hawk

[walshb]

It's quite hard to add to that list; but I'll throw in Barry-Eusebio 1985

I'll throw in Tyson-Berbick 1986

I'll throw in Lopez-Molina 1989

I'll throw in Benn-Watson 1989

I'll throw in Whitaker-Mayweather 1987

[hawk5ins]

Brief and onesided with no real outstanding round among the two rounds that did occur.

A Leonard Hagler, while not a great bout from top to bottom, did at least have a Great round in the 9th and the 6th and 7th rounds were no slouches either (Leonard Hagler got an Honorable mention due to the drama of the fight as well as the aforementioned excellent rounds. But I admit, it would not crack my top 25. Yes, anyone who saw my 100 Greatest fights ever List, there has been many changes. And what would have qualified SRL Hags in a top 25 80's list based on that compilation, no longer exists due to the changes made in my top 100 fights list.)

I'm not sure the Fifth round of Caveman Lee Johnny LoCicero was enough to pull that fight into consideration, but it was such an amazing round (better than Meza Garza, which I did add) that possibly it does merit an honorable mention here.

Hawk

[sweet_scientist]

I was inspired to put this together after reading a recent issue of Boxing Monthly that profiled the Duran Barkley fight. The comment made in the article was that the 80’s Three greatest fights would include this War, but the argument would be whether to rank it #1, 2 or 3.

Well I think it was indeed a great fight, but the 80’s were so chocked full of Great and Epic bouts that not only would I have a hard time seeing it make the top 10, it would be pushed very hard to make the top 20! That says more about the # of Great bouts in the decade than it does about how great Duran Barkley was!

So I decided to list what I felt were the greatest fights of a decade, full of Great fights.

I think the biggest debate will come with my top 2 selections as many if not most will call the 4th Chacon Limon bout the best of the decade if not the best of all time (That selection IMO goes to Saad Johnson I, which was a 70’s bout!)

I know there is actually a separate thread dedicated to that very discussion of Chacon Limon being superior to Pryor Arguello. I would never argue too hard with that call as there are legitimate arguments for that being the case. I personally don’t think you can go wrong either way. I give the ever so slight edge to Pryor Arguello. But what a year for great fights eh? Gomez Pintor makes the top 10 and Sanchez Nelson rounds out the top dozen.

The 80’s. Any wonder why I love to discuss this decade so much?

Let me know your thoughts and critiques.


1-Aaron Pryor KO14 Alexis Arguello 1982
2-Bobby Chacon W15 Bazooka Limon 1982
3-Bobby Chacon W12 Cornelius Boza Edwards 1983
4-Marvelous Marvin Hagler KO3 Thomas Hearns 1985
5-Sugar Ray Leonard KO14 Thomas Hearns 1981
6-Matthew Saad Muhammad KO14 Yaqui Lopez 1980
7-Wilfredo Gomez KO14 Lupe Pintor 1982
8-Roberto Duran W15 Sugar Ray Leonard 1980
9-Marvin Johnson KO13 Jean Marie Emebe 1986
10-Marvelos Marvin Hagler KO11 John Mugabi 1986
11-Evander Holyfield W15 Dwight Muhammad Qawi 1986
12-Salvador Sanchez KO15 Azumah Nelson 1982
13-Jeff Harding KO12 Dennis Andries 1989
14-Aaron Pryor KO7 DuJuan Johnson 1981
15-Salvador Sanchez KO8 Wilfredo Gomez 1981
16-Julio Cesar Chavez W12 Juan Laporte 1986
17-Roberto Duran W12 Iran Barkley-1989
18-Simon Brown KO14 Tyrone Trice-1988
19-Evander Holyfield KO10 Micheal Dokes 1989
20-Alexis Arguello KO14 Ray Mancini 1981
21-Ray Mancini KO14 Deuk Koo Kim 1982
22-Jose Luis Ramirez KO4 Edwin Rosario 1984
23-Matthew Hilton W15 Buster Drayton 1987
24-Thomas Hearns D12 Sugar Ray Leonard 1988
25-Stevie Cruz W15 Barry McGuigan 1986

10 Honorable Mentions:

Iran Barkley KO3 Thomas Hearns 1988
Daniel Zaragoza W12 Paul Banke I 1989
Juan Kid Meza KO1 Jamie Garza 1984
Mike Weaver KO 13 Gerrie Coetzee 1980
Cornelius Boza Edwards KO 14 Bobby Chacon 1981
Livingstone Brambel KO 14 Ray Mancini 1984
Azumah Nelson KO 11 Wilfredo Gomez 1984
Thomas Hearns KO4 Juan Roldan
Tony Lopez W12 Rocky Lockridge 1988
Sugar Ray Leonard W12 Marvelous Marvin Hagler 1987

Hawk

Good stuff Hawk.

Personally I'm glad you put Pryor-Arguello on top rather than Chacon-Limon/Edwards, because Pryor-Arguello was contested at a much higher skill level, which is a relevant consideration when talking great fights - at least in my opinion. Chacon's fights were great battles of will power with brutal violence, but they lacked a bit of refinement.

But on a slugfest note, if you're talking two blokes beating the living shit out of each other without too much in the way of tactics, then Kelvin Seabrooks vs. Thierry Jacob must make the list.

The only other fight I'd probably suggest, and only in the way of an honourable mention, is Eusebio Pedroza vs. Patrick Ford. That was a great fight imo, with Pedroza being uncharacteristically aggressive (at least uncharacteristic in that he became aggressive pretty much from the word go rather than waiting a while to pour it on) and though it became a bit one sided, Ford kept throwing shots and fighting until the last ounce of fighting spirit left his body. That fight ruined what would have been a very good fighter.

[PeteLeo]

On the club level, I really enjoyed Chris Calvin KO 10 Bret Summers (1985, I think). And, if it wasn't included, there was Bobby Czyz KO 2 Willie Edwards sometime during the decade. PeteLeo.

[walshb]

The Tsyon-Berbick pick is a bit unusual; I suppose I picked it for two reasons: It's impact and significance, and it is a favorite of mine.

I also happen to think it was one of the best two rd destructions and display's of savagery and skill you will see. Tyson was brutally good in the bout!

Hagler-Leonard I never rated. There was some spark missing in the fight. Hagler looked nothing like the best middle ever, or even best middle of the day; and Ray ran for the most part. It just never did anything for me!

[Surf-Bat]

Freddie Roach vs. Tommy Cordova

Caveman Lee vs. John LoCicero

Milton McCrory vs. Mike McCallum

Henry Tillman vs. Bert Cooper

All these fights are forgotten beauties

[Michael Frank]

My adds, with reasons:

-Hilmer Kenty-Espana I (a shocker; the audience was in a frenzy throughout)
-Hearns-Cuevas (a great event; a superstar is born, even at the expense of it being one-sided)
-Leonard-Duran II (an all-time classic, everyone on the edge of their seats AT THE TIME, if some disappointed afterward with the ending)
-Jerry Martin-James Scott -- Martin pulls the shocker in Scott's home--Rahway State Prison -- a barnburner throughout, and Scott goes down twice
-Mike Spinks W15 Eddie Mustafa Muhammad - just grueling
-Hearns-Duran - I love blowouts by the great Hitman, and still this was an alltime shocker (plus I can watch it repeatedly, so it's great to me)
-Leonard-Hagler --on sheer living out much more than the expected steamrolling of Leonard; and a great event; very watchable to this day
-Roberto Duran-Davey Moore (not evenly contested, but a true classic)
-Starling-Honeyghan (a personal favorite, admittedly not rock 'em sock'em)
-Dokes-Weaver II - "a hot time in the old town tonight"--per Angelo Dundee
-Holmes-Cooney (fight much better than might have been expected)
-several Nigel Benn fights; I'll go with Benn-Watson
-Marlon Starling KO4 Jose "The Threat" Baret - a personal favorite; Starling walks into the guns of a bomber with his ear-muff defense, but solid defense and superior overall skills turn the tide, brutally so
- Eddie Gregory-Marvin Johnson - Who says Gregory was in boring fights? Heck, maybe even add Gregory (now Mustafa Muhammad)-Jerry Martin, too.
- Leon Spinks-Bernardo Mercado - Leon surprises in exciting fashion
- Chavez-Rosario - like Duran-Moore, a brutally one-sided affair, but a great performance by the growing (weightwise) Chavez

My "removes":

Gomez-Pintor
Arguello-Mancini
Mancini-Kim
Pryor-Johnson (by far my favorite of these 4)

I just can't re-watch these bouts, having seen them all at least twice, and that is part of my criteria; whereas Leonard-Duran II, for instance, I can watch over and over, just for the elite skills, personalities, etc.

[hawk5ins]

Excellent call on McCallum McCrory.

And any Tommy Cordova-Freddie Roach-Stevie Cruz-Victor Acosta-Dana Roston-Lenny Valdez-Lupe Suarez combination you can come up with during the early to Mid 80's ESPN days is aces in my book as well.

Hawk

[walshb]

I will add in Honey-Curry for the sheer upset that it was; and Honey was a demon in this bout.

Hagler-Minter was an awesome display by Marvin; this was Marvin at his best IMO.

McCallum-Jackson was really brutal while it lasted.

Bassa-McCauley 1987...brutal fight

The list is too American. I'm trying to add in a few
from outside the States.

[hawk5ins]

for this is action. A GREAT fight. As in Action, brutality, pier six, RUMBLE.

Historical significance, marquee performances or amazing upsets need not apply.

However, McCallum Jackson is indeed a worthy addition as it was a very brutal yet brief affair.

Hawk

[PD99]

Post prime Duran v Cuevas was a pretty good dust up for as long as it lasted.

[kikibalt]

Tony Baltazar vs Robin Blake...runner-up to fight of the year!!

[KOJOE90]

From here in the UK.

Mark Kaylor vs Roy Gumbs. 1983.

[Overhand_Right]

No Larry Holmes-Tim Witherspoon?!

Page-Coetzee was good back & forth action too, with a savage kayo.

[HE Grant]

Great list Hawk !