On Boxing -- Part 2

The best fight I ever saw (not live, of course) was in 1985 on closed circuit television (the pre-pay-per-view way for regular folks to see top fights) at the Ellis Auditorium (or was it the Cook Convention Center? Never mind. Both are right next to each other) in downtown Memphis. A fighter myself at the time, I got some comp passes to the fight. It was the mostbrutal two-plus rounds of fighting I had ever seen. The atmosphere was electric. One could tell the crowd was expecting something special,and they got it. When Round 1 began, both Thomas Hearns and Marvelous Marvin Hagler met in the center of the ring and threw bombs. It was apparent the fight would not go the distance. I got tired just watching these two go at it. Round 1 has been called the "best single round" of boxing ever. Rightfully so, I might add.





In the third, Hagler had to go for the KO because the fight was in danger of being stopped on a cut that he had suffered at the hands of Hearns's monster shots. It was a great fight that neither man deserved to lose. The "Hit Man" was born in Memphis, so many of the locals were pulling for him. I wanted Halger to win. I actually hated to see either guy lose this one. It was an outstanding fight.

The best fight I ever saw live was the Edison Miranda-Kelly Pavlik fight in Memphis in 2007. I had heard of Pavlik, but I had no idea he was the fighter he was. Miranda, I had heard, was a heavy-handed puncher, but he paled in comparison to Pavlik in either power, conditioning or toughness. Kelly has it all, and it was on full display on this Saturday night in Memphis, as the "Ghost" stole the show from the headliner, Jermain Taylor, who would lose his title to Pavlik a few months later.