What Fight Would Have Changed History The Most, If It Went The Other Way?

I was watching the Mayweather-Marquez fight and it got me thinking. Had Marquez won, (he wasnt going to but this is purely hypothetical), he would have become an icon, and Mayweather would go from being, considered by many, to be one of the best fighters of the last 25 years, to being remembered for that loss. There are other variables of course like comebacks, how he lost, etc, but back to the topic; what fight in history would have changed the landscape of boxing the most if the other guy won? I'd have to say Ali-Frazier. That was probably one of the most significant fight during a difficult era. Had Ali won, not only would Frazier have been denied his greatest win, but 2 and 3 would likely have never happened.

Good question...

Ali - Foreman?

Louis - Schmelling II?

Maybe in all the wrong ways but how about James Jeffries as the "great white hope" vs Jack Johnson.

Julio Cesar Chavez and Meldrick Taylor 1990
Oscar De la hoya and Ike Quartey
Kostya Tzyu and Hatton
Augustus and Figuroa (just kidding but Augustus did win that fight)

IMO it'd be Chavez/Taylor I

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Originally Posted by BoomBoom

I was watching the Mayweather-Marquez fight and it got me thinking. Had Marquez won, (he wasnt going to but this is purely hypothetical), he would have become an icon, and Mayweather would go from being, considered by many, to be one of the best fighters of the last 25 years, to being remembered for that loss. There are other variables of course like comebacks, how he lost, etc, but back to the topic; what fight in history would have changed the landscape of boxing the most if the other guy won? I'd have to say Ali-Frazier. That was probably one of the most significant fight during a difficult era. Had Ali won, not only would Frazier have been denied his greatest win, but 2 and 3 would likely have never happened. Also without that win, Frazier would have probably cut have cut his career even shorter and Cus DiAmato may have retired sooner and may have never discovered Mike Tyson. Any thoughts?

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Cus D'amato and Joe Frazier? Someone correct me, but wasn't it Eddie Futch that train Frazier his whole career?

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Originally Posted by generalbulldog

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Originally Posted by BoomBoom

I was watching the Mayweather-Marquez fight and it got me thinking. Had Marquez won, (he wasnt going to but this is purely hypothetical), he would have become an icon, and Mayweather would go from being, considered by many, to be one of the best fighters of the last 25 years, to being remembered for that loss. There are other variables of course like comebacks, how he lost, etc, but back to the topic; what fight in history would have changed the landscape of boxing the most if the other guy won? I'd have to say Ali-Frazier. That was probably one of the most significant fight during a difficult era. Had Ali won, not only would Frazier have been denied his greatest win, but 2 and 3 would likely have never happened. Also without that win, Frazier would have probably cut have cut his career even shorter and Cus DiAmato may have retired sooner and may have never discovered Mike Tyson. Any thoughts?

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Cus D'amato and Joe Frazier? Someone correct me, but wasn't it Eddie Futch that train Frazier his whole career?

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No, You are correct I was thinking about Floyd Patterson. Futch was a great trainer, maybe the greatest.

I think Chavez-Taylor would have a ematch and Chavez would win. Then I think there would be a third fight which Chavez would win too, ultimately coming out on top either way. We will never know how great Taylor could have been but I think we got tyhe best of him. Part of his style was to get in exchanges. That was how he fought. He was wreckless. If he was brought up in a different atmosphere with a diferent trainer that could keep him on his game and stick to his skills and ability, he could have been one of the greatest of all time imo.

The thing about Chavez vs Taylor,great pick....but is Taylor still 'ruined'.Physically taxing fight but that had to be one of the most mentally debilitating fights in recent memory.Two frigging seconds!Taylor could show to be a boxing fool prior to that,but after it was as if someone had flipped a switch.

James Toney vs. RJJ

#1 p4p who?

I'll say Ali-Frazier III.

And Mayweather-Hatton. We would've been spared the 2,332,506 Joe Cortez excuse threads.

Id have been interested to see if Eubank had got a mega fight with Jones had he not lost to Collins.

Same again with Calzaghe:p

I'd say Ali Frasier II

Tyson-Douglas changed the entire history of the sport and till to this day has a lasting effect.

Surely the most dramatic night in the sports history. Sure thriller in manilla, rumble in jungle are the 2 biggest fights in the sport but for sheer history tyson-douglas has to rank up their as number 1

Tyson just turned up assuming all he had to do was step in the ring and blow out just another fighter which he did for the best part of 4 rounds. All of a sudden this complete nobody was actually hurting the unbeatable force and nobody but nobody would of gone on to predict what actually happened!!

Naz v Barerra