Three Biggest Boxing Rivalries of All Time

No. 1: Muhammad Ali v  Joe Frazier

The two started as friends in the 1970s as Ali worked to get his boxing license reinstated after being stripped of it when he refused to be drafted for the Vietnam War. Frazier ended up being the beneficiary of Ali losing his license and titles. The rivalry was then born when Ali, undefeated (29-0) at the time, set the stage to fight Frazier, who was also undefeated (26-0), for the title.

 

Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fought three times between 1971-75. In the build-up to their first clash Ali labelled Frazier an Uncle Tom and Frazier called Ali ‘Clay’, a name and identity Ali had turned his back on. It rubbed many of the African American community the wrong way, and further enhanced the perception that Frazier was fighting for White America, and Ali was fighting for Black America. This accentuated the simmering tension between the pair. Frazier-Ali had transcended boxing and captured the entire nation. The pair met for the first time at Madison Square Gardens in 1971, with the fight lasting 15 gruelling rounds. Frazier’s aggression and precision led him to a hard-fought unanimous decision victory. It was a defining moment in boxing history. Frazier's triumph ended Ali's undefeated streak.

 

In 1974 the pair came face-to-face for the rematch, both having a shot at George Foreman’s title in their sights afterwards. It was dubbed "Super Fight II." This time, Ali won by unanimous decision and the fight didn’t go past 10-rounds. The second fight had neither the hype nor the quality of the first, as Ali changed tack, winning a narrow decision. 

 

Prior to the final showdown in Manila, Ali dialled-up the acrimony between the two by calling Frazier a “gorilla” in his rhyming taunt – “ it’ll be a thrilla, and a chilla, and a killa, when I get the gorilla, in Manila”. Both fighters pushed themselves to the brink of human endurance. Ali emerged as the pyrrhic victor when Frazier's trainer, Eddie Futch, stopped the fight before the start of the 15th round. Ali himself was done and asked for his corner to take his gloves off, but Futch called an end to Frazier’s night for fear of his safety, only moments before Ali capitulated. It was a fitting end to a trilogy of epic encounters, solidifying their rivalry as one of the greatest in boxing history

 

No. 2: Manny Pacquiao v Juan Manuel Marquez

 

These guys fought four times and we can still legitimately debate who was the better fighter on balance. They say ‘style makes fights’ and these guys produced four competitive, combative and memorable encounters. Pacquiao’s continuous movement and bunches of punches made him very popular to watch - his one-two-straight combination was effective on countless occasions. Marquez encapsulated that Mexican fighting spirit. A fearless counter-puncher with pounding body shots and a tough chin,

 

Their first fight was in 2004. Pacquiao-Marquez would be an epic fight that severely tested both men’s depth of desire. Pacquiao got off to a blazing start, dropping Marquez three times in one round. From then on it was Marquez (30yrs old) outboxing the younger Pacquiao (25yrs old) for long periods. But it was very close. The fight, famously, was scored a draw. There was post-fight controversy when it emerged that one of the three judges had not scored Manny’s blitzkrieg of an opening round 10-6 in his favour. Had judge Clements done what his two counterparts had done, scoring the fight 10-6 for Pac-Man, Pacquiao would have won via split decision. 

 

The draw meant that a rematch had to happen, but it took four years before these two met again. By the time they did Marquez was reigning world champion, although both had established well-earned reputations - Pacquiao had become a global superstar, even if he was the challenger. The fight started cautiously and in round 3 Pacman scored a knockdown that would prove to be critical in how the scorecards tipped in his favour. The fight was won on a margin that only added fuel to the competitive legacy these two were cementing. Manny Pacquiao emerged the winner on a split decision and as the new WBC super featherweight champion of the world. 

 

The heated backdrop to their third meeting was well-founded, with simmering tensions among all those loyal to either fighter. The intense rivalry between the two convened in Las Vegas in 2011, with Pacman’s WBO Welterweight title on the line and  a chance to settle the score. The third fight was extremely competitive, with no less of a contentious outcome after 12-rounds. Pacquiao danced a lot, pushing the pace and Marquez stood his ground, closing the angles. Pacquiao was busier and threw more punches, but Marquez counterpunched with great effect and landed clean shots. In the end Manny Pacquiao won by a majority decision, which enraged Marquez’s corner. Nacho Beristain and JMM felt the result was a great injustice, walking away after the fight with no comment. The fight was extremely close and many felt a majority decision was far too weighted in Manny Pacquiao’s favour. The intensity of the whole bout is what will always be remembered, with such resilience from both fighters.

 

It was at the end of the following year, in December 2012 that these two matched up against each other for the fourth and final time. Marquez knocked Pacquiao down in the third round with a strong right hand and then Manny put Marquez down in the fifth. Marquez was in a trouble in the fifth, but saw himself to safety, coming back out in the 6th to end the fight with one of the most historic KO’s in boxing history. With one second left on he clock Marquez threw a counterpunch that knocked Manny out cold, falling flat onto the canvass, facedown. Both the fight and the knockout were named by The Ring magazine as best of the year! There was no controversy in how this fight ended, but it was praised for more thrilling action.

 

This rivalry all begun with a draw that could so very easily have been a first-round stoppage win for Pacquiao. The rivalry ended over eight years later with one heck of a right hand from Marquez. The legacy tipped 2-1-1 in favour of Pacquiao.

  

No. 3: Arturo Gatti Vs Micky Ward

 

These two fighters came head-to-head in 2002 for the first time and instantly secured a place in boxing history. The Ring magazine named it ‘fight of the year’ and it sparked an all-time great trilogy, involving 30-rounds, which concluded just 13-months after it started.

 

In fight one Gatti started off better and the end of the third round was a slug fest between the two fighters. Round 8 saw Gatti take some punishing shots to the head and he was saved by the bell. Round 9 then saw a record 102 power punches landed inside 3mins, as they took turns putting one another through the kind of torture test that standard human frailties of pain and fatigue ordinarily yield to. In the last round, both fighters just unleashed as many shots as they could and as soon as the final bell rang, they both fell into each other's arms. Ward was declared the winner.

 

In fight two the early rounds were all Gatti’s. The fight was a tale of a younger, more athletic fighter outpointing the less technical opponent. Gatti imposed his superior footwork and speed, he’d ditched any notions of slugging it out again, like fight one. In Round 3, Gatti landed a thudding straight right that put Ward down on the canvas. Ward was badly hurt, and Gatti then leant into Ward for the rest of the round. Sometime during the fight, Ward’s left eardrum burst after Gatti had bashed the side of his head. Ward still showed a dogged refusal to submit, landing hard blows to the body and having some success in the final round, but it was too little too late. The judges awarded Gatti a unanimous decision win.

 

Gatti famously said “I used to wonder what fighting my twin would be like. Now I know.” Ward, then 37 years old, declared that their third bout would be his final fight, and he ended his career with a bang.

 

In fight 3 Gatti dominated the early action, but in Round 4 he broke his hand by punching Micky’s hip. Realising this, Ward pounced on his man, subjecting him to an unforgiving beating that left the Italian cut above his right eye and swelling. When Gatti returned to his corner end-of-round-4, his trainer asked him what he wanted to do about his hand. “I gotta keep going,” replied Gatti.

 

Now handicapped, Gatti was on the cusp of losing the fight. Ward landed a hard right hand that sent Gatti sprawling on the canvas. Again Gatti displayed amazing recuperative powers, and got back up, winning the next few rounds. By round 10, both fighters were at their physical and emotional limits. The two simply stood toe to toe, slugging it out until the bell sounded, when the two warriors embraced with the greatest respect and mutual admiration. Gatti was announced the winner but the world applauded the depth of desire, heart and iron will showed by both men. 

 

The three fights between these two curiously saw no knockouts and there were no world titles on the line, but Arturo “Thunder” Gatti and “Irish” Micky Ward fought for more; they fought for pride, respect, their names and their lives. After their sensational trilogy, the two men became friends. Ward might have retired, but he remained forever present in Gatti’s life as a friend and later, even as a trainer. The battle injuries inflicted on each man didn’t matter anymore, just their devotion to each other.

 

Expressing our physicality is an essential counterpoint to our modern, screen-oriented and cosseted lives. This is when we feel most free to be ourselves. As information and intelligence become the domain of computers, we place an increasing value on the one human ability that cannot be automated: emotion.

Be you - be REAL.