What's the most unlikely rivalry in the history of boxing?

By this I mean a superstar or great fighter taking on someone who was completely unheralded and losing, only to fight them again in a rematch and get beat again.

Boxing history is full of upsets, Hasim Rahman KO'ing Lewis, Brewster KO'ing Wlad, Montiel winning via DQ over a prime Roy Jones etc but in each case when the rematch was set they were simply dismantled and blown away by the superior fighter who didn't make the same mistake again.

My question though is has there ever been a fight where a completely unheralded guy wins against a huge name in his prime, and then in the rematch stuns everyone by winning again?

I don't count guys like Tarver here as Tarver however much people hate on him is a world class fighter, and Jones was past his prime but I mean guys of the calibre of Rahman or Corrie Sanders etc KO'ing a highly fancied prime fighter and then against all odds doing the same thing again in the rematch?


The best example I can think of is Ricardo Mayorga twice beating Vernon Forrest but is there a better one, boxing historians and ICB this is directed at you. :)

Luis Santana "w" x 2 Terry Norris ;D.....Iran Barkley KO 3 W.12 Tommy Hearns ??

Campbell V Peden comes to mind.

Nate Campbell has enormous talent in the Ring and how he lost to Robbie Peden i will never know except for this, in boxing or any sport underestimate your opponent at your peril and don't drop your hands and stick out your chin:o

Mosley and Vernon Forrest kinda. Forrest ain't really done shit since.

And of course like Biblo said, THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND...

Ricardo Mayorga over Vernon Forrest.

like SSN the one that sprang to mind was Barkley Hearns

Collins Eubank ??


Golota Bowe (yes I know Bowe 'won' both he got hammered !!!)

Junior Jones over Barrera

Carlos Monzon vs Nino Benvenuti
Salvador Sanchez vs Danny Lopez

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Originally Posted by BIG H

Junior Jones over Barrera

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ah yeah great call with Junior Jones, Barrera twice beaten by a man who shouldn't have been fit to lace his gloves.

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by BIG H

Junior Jones over Barrera

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ah yeah great call with Junior Jones, Barrera twice beaten by a man who shouldn't have been fit to lace his gloves.

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Barrera vs Jones II hhhhhmmmm didn't really think Jones one that one just like ODLH vs Mosley II. Oh well :rolleyes:.

But yeah, Terri Norris vs Santana was unbelievable. The guy taking 2 dives, wow. I savored the 3rd fight how Terri Norris jumped and celebrated aggressively yelling at Santana.

I guess you guys missed the part where Bilbo said:

"someone who was completely unheralded..." ;D

So far IMO the only ones that I think appliy are Santana-Norris & Peden-Nate & Monzon-Nino and Lopez-Sanchez.
Talk about guys who had not seen world stage yet and they did it.

The rest IMO the fighters had already been on world stage.

No way does SSM-Forrest, Mayorga-Forrest, MAB-Jones, Golota-Bowe etc. etc. apply.

Here at work and started thinking...

Jorge Castro beating Johnson twice.
Galindez beating Kates.

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

Here at work and started thinking...

Jorge Castro beating Johnson twice.
Galindez beating Kates.

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Jorge Castro "La Locomotora" oh yeah! I remember that fight. He was loosing badly and all of a sudden...BAM!! one punch its all it took to turn the fight around:o.

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Originally Posted by Chino

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

Here at work and started thinking...

Jorge Castro beating Johnson twice.
Galindez beating Kates.

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Jorge Castro "La Locomotora" oh yeah! I remember that fight. He was loosing badly and all of a sudden...BAM!! one punch its all it took to turn the fight around:o.

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I think your confusing this fight I'm talking about Castro-Reggie Johnson.
I think your thinking of Castro-Jackson FOTY 1994.

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

I guess you guys missed the part where Bilbo said:

"someone who was completely unheralded..." ;D

So far IMO the only ones that I think appliy are Santana-Norris & Peden-Nate & Monzon-Nino and Lopez-Sanchez.
Talk about guys who had not seen world stage yet and they did it.

The rest IMO the fighters had already been on world stage.

No way does SSM-Forrest, Mayorga-Forrest, MAB-Jones, Golota-Bowe etc. etc. apply.

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Good points Mick and well noticed.

I think Barrera Jones and Mayorga Forrest fit the criteria though as take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorgas wins over Forrest and neither of them would have very much at all. Same would have been true for Rahman had he beaten Lewis a second time.

It's an interesting topic though I think, trying to think of a big name elite fighter who got beat by an unheralded fighter not once, but twice.

I reckon Forrest and Barrera losing to Mayorga and Jones are the best examples but you are far more familiar than me with older fighters so I'm sure there are several more.

Had Randy Turpin won the rematch with Sugar Ray that would have been another decent example, and maybe Ingemarr Johansson came close over Floyd Patterson, certainly he's only famous for beating Patterson.

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

I guess you guys missed the part where Bilbo said:

"someone who was completely unheralded..." ;D

So far IMO the only ones that I think appliy are Santana-Norris & Peden-Nate & Monzon-Nino and Lopez-Sanchez.
Talk about guys who had not seen world stage yet and they did it.

The rest IMO the fighters had already been on world stage.

No way does SSM-Forrest, Mayorga-Forrest, MAB-Jones, Golota-Bowe etc. etc. apply.

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Good points Mick and well noticed.

I think Barrera Jones and Mayorga Forrest fit the criteria though as take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorgas wins over Forrest and neither of them would have very much at all. Same would have been true for Rahman had he beaten Lewis a second time.

It's an interesting topic though I think, trying to think of a big name elite fighter who got beat by an unheralded fighter not once, but twice.

I reckon Forrest and Barrera losing to Mayorga and Jones are the best examples but you are far more familiar than me with older fighters so I'm sure there are several more.

Had Randy Turpin won the rematch with Sugar Ray that would have been another decent example, and maybe Ingemarr Johansson came close over Floyd Patterson, certainly he's only famous for beating Patterson.

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You see to me Jones was not unknown/unheralded.
Neither was Forrest or Moyarga at the time each won.
But I see your points.

Turpin-SRR would have possibly been the biggest.

How about Herrera beating Olivares twice...

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

I guess you guys missed the part where Bilbo said:

"someone who was completely unheralded..." ;D

So far IMO the only ones that I think appliy are Santana-Norris & Peden-Nate & Monzon-Nino and Lopez-Sanchez.
Talk about guys who had not seen world stage yet and they did it.

The rest IMO the fighters had already been on world stage.

No way does SSM-Forrest, Mayorga-Forrest, MAB-Jones, Golota-Bowe etc. etc. apply.

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Good points Mick and well noticed.

I think Barrera Jones and Mayorga Forrest fit the criteria though as take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorgas wins over Forrest and neither of them would have very much at all. Same would have been true for Rahman had he beaten Lewis a second time.

It's an interesting topic though I think, trying to think of a big name elite fighter who got beat by an unheralded fighter not once, but twice.

I reckon Forrest and Barrera losing to Mayorga and Jones are the best examples but you are far more familiar than me with older fighters so I'm sure there are several more.

Had Randy Turpin won the rematch with Sugar Ray that would have been another decent example, and maybe Ingemarr Johansson came close over Floyd Patterson, certainly he's only famous for beating Patterson.

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You see to me Jones was not unknown/unheralded.
Neither was Forrest or Moyarga at the time each won.
But I see your points.

Turpin-SRR would have possibly been the biggest.

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Totally agree with Mick here thats why i chose my picks carefully Salvador Sanchez was virtually unknown and everyone thought Danny Lopez would hit Salvador Sanchez's big jaw easily and would KO him inside of 4 thats why people were saying "Little Red" vs "Little Unknown" Danny Lopez had made 8 title defenses and had been KOing almost everybody but Salvador Sanchez outboxed Danny Lopez comfortably in both fights although Danny Lopez was more fired up for the rematch he still got counter punched and struggled to land his big bombs and yet again just like the 1st fight couldn't put effective pressure on..........

Its the same with Carlos Monzon vs Nino Benvenuti Carlos Monzon just like Salvador Sanchez was virtually unknown and hadn't been on the world stage before where as Nino Benvenuti had been in there with some great fighters like Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger, and had been fighting at the world stage for years and Carlos Monzon stopped Nino Benvenuti with a devastating right hand in there 1st fight then just overwhelmed him early in there 2nd fight.

Greg Page vs Mark Willis certainly was a shocker Mark Willis was nothing more than a journeyman where as Greg Page was a skilled former Heavyweight Champion who had been praised by Muhammad Ali it certainly was a shocker seeing Greg Page losing to someone like Mark Willis.

Valerie Mahfood/Ann Wolfe to go to the females
Ann fought Valerie as a virtual unkown,Valerie was a former champ
On top of it Ann had lost their first meeting,now Ann is a legend in female boxing

Vuyani Bungu w x2 Kennedy Mckinney ??

Bramble wx2 Mancini ??

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

Good points Mick and well noticed.

I think Barrera Jones and Mayorga Forrest fit the criteria though as take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorgas wins over Forrest and neither of them would have very much at all. Same would have been true for Rahman had he beaten Lewis a second time.

It's an interesting topic though I think, trying to think of a big name elite fighter who got beat by an unheralded fighter not once, but twice.

I reckon Forrest and Barrera losing to Mayorga and Jones are the best examples but you are far more familiar than me with older fighters so I'm sure there are several more.

Had Randy Turpin won the rematch with Sugar Ray that would have been another decent example, and maybe Ingemarr Johansson came close over Floyd Patterson, certainly he's only famous for beating Patterson.

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You see to me Jones was not unknown/unheralded.
Neither was Forrest or Moyarga at the time each won.
But I see your points.

Turpin-SRR would have possibly been the biggest.

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Totally agree with Mick here thats why i chose my picks carefully Salvador Sanchez was virtually unknown and everyone thought Danny Lopez would hit Salvador Sanchez's big jaw easily and would KO him inside of 4 thats why people were saying "Little Red" vs "Little Unknown" Danny Lopez had made 8 title defenses and had been KOing almost everybody but Salvador Sanchez outboxed Danny Lopez comfortably in both fights although Danny Lopez was more fired up for the rematch he still got counter punched and struggled to land his big bombs and yet again just like the 1st fight couldn't put effective pressure on..........

Its the same with Carlos Monzon vs Nino Benvenuti Carlos Monzon just like Salvador Sanchez was virtually unknown and hadn't been on the world stage before where as Nino Benvenuti had been in there with some great fighters like Emile Griffith, Dick Tiger, and had been fighting at the world stage for years and Carlos Monzon stopped Nino Benvenuti with a devastating right hand in there 1st fight then just overwhelmed him early in there 2nd fight.

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Nah Ice you're missing my question entirely. Monzon is one of the greatest middles of all time no way he can be considered unheralded.

To put it clearly the question I'm asking is 'What great fighters, i.e world champs p4p stars have lost TWICE to a fighter who apart from beating the said star had an unspectacular career.

We see that it's quite common in boxing for a relative underachiever or under performer to sensationally beat one of boxings bests, for example Rahman KO'ing Lewis, but I wanted to know specifically had there been any examples of a relatively unheralded fighter (on a world stage) beating a fighter and then against the odds beating them again.

Monzon in now way shape or form qualifies as he went on to be arguable the greatest middleweight of all time.

But both Mayorga and Jones fit the criteria perfectly. Both fighters entire resume's stand on their performances against Barrera and Forrest, they are simply not known to the boxing public at large except in relation to those wins.

Randy Turpin would have been another after his shock win over Robinson but he lost (albiet only just) the rematch so doesn't qualify.

So that's it in a nutshell, are there any other DOUBLE winners where an otherwise unremarkable fighter (and both Jones and Mayorga would be considered completely unremarkable in an elite sense) sensationally beat a great fighter not once, but two times, winning the rematch as well?

I think so far Jones and Mayorga are clearly the best examples........

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

Valerie Mahfood/Ann Wolfe to go to the females
Ann fought Valerie as a virtual unkown,Valerie was a former champ
On top of it Ann had lost their first meeting,now Ann is a legend in female boxing

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again TM I'm not talking about upsets I'm talking about otherwise journeyman fighters who are famous for beating a great fighter two times.

Ann Wolf is now a superstar of womans boxing so she doesnt qualify at all.

I'm on about perennial underachievers, or those who never in their entire career became 'great' but against the odds scored not one but TWO wins over a fighter who was considered great.

Mayorga beating p4p star Forrest twice is a definite one, Jones twice beating p4p all time great Barrera is another.

Take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorga's wins over Forrest and they are entirely unremarkable. Those wins were sensational and unlikely and I want to know how many more like that there have been in history.

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

Valerie Mahfood/Ann Wolfe to go to the females
Ann fought Valerie as a virtual unkown,Valerie was a former champ
On top of it Ann had lost their first meeting,now Ann is a legend in female boxing

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again TM I'm not talking about upsets I'm talking about otherwise journeyman fighters who are famous for beating a great fighter two times.

Ann Wolf is now a superstar of womans boxing so she doesnt qualify at all.

I'm on about perennial underachievers, or those who never in their entire career became 'great' but against the odds scored not one but TWO wins over a fighter who was considered great.

Mayorga beating p4p star Forrest twice is a definite one, Jones twice beating p4p all time great Barrera is another.

Take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorga's wins over Forrest and they are entirely unremarkable. Those wins were sensational and unlikely and I want to know how many more like that there have been in history.

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But the time Wolf was a 5-1 nobody,who Mahfood had allready beaten,fighting against an ex-champ

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by Trainer Monkey

Valerie Mahfood/Ann Wolfe to go to the females
Ann fought Valerie as a virtual unkown,Valerie was a former champ
On top of it Ann had lost their first meeting,now Ann is a legend in female boxing

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again TM I'm not talking about upsets I'm talking about otherwise journeyman fighters who are famous for beating a great fighter two times.

Ann Wolf is now a superstar of womans boxing so she doesnt qualify at all.

I'm on about perennial underachievers, or those who never in their entire career became 'great' but against the odds scored not one but TWO wins over a fighter who was considered great.

Mayorga beating p4p star Forrest twice is a definite one, Jones twice beating p4p all time great Barrera is another.

Take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorga's wins over Forrest and they are entirely unremarkable. Those wins were sensational and unlikely and I want to know how many more like that there have been in history.

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But the time Wolf was a 5-1 nobody,who Mahfood had allready beaten,fighting against an ex-champ

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Yes but that is not the question I'm asking. I'm not asking about upsets.

What got me thinking was Lewis's KO defeat to Rahman and Wlads ko loss to Brewster. Both were beaten in huge upsets but both came back to KO their opponents.

I wondered how many times in history had a fighter lost by sensational upset, and then fought a rematch and against the odd lost again?

To my mind Barrera losing twice to Jones and Forrest losing twice to Mayorga are the best examples of this.

Randy Turpin almost pulled off the biggest upset of all because he nearly beat Robinson the second time around as well but Sugar Ray pulled it out the bag so he doesn't count.

Obviously Ann Wolfe went on to do great things so doesn't fit the criteria of the question that I asked.

If Wolfe would have beaten her, and then beaten her again, and then gone on to have an entirely mediocre and uninspired career she would have qualified but she didn't so she doesn't ;)

So far I think it's Jones and Mayorga who best fit the bill. Both won world titles but were unspectacular champions and not expected to beat elite fighters. Although Jones I feel was a little better, he did go on to beat Tom Johnson after all.

Mayorga on the other hand has no other big name win on his record. He won his belt against Andrew six head Lewis, a paper champ if ever there was and has lost to every name fighter he's ever fought, Tito, Oscar, Spinks etc but he got those two wins over an absolute prime Vernon Forrest who at that time was considred to be in the p4p top 10.

Mayorga did go on to beat Vargas, but that really was a badly past his prime Vargas and so doesn't really add a great deal to Mayorga's resume.

So anyway, are there any other big double fight upsets against established champs along the same lines as Mayorga and Jones?

And remember I'm not talking about one off upsets, of which there are hundreds, I'm talking about the underdog winning BOTH the first fight AND the rematch. :)

One could make a case for Rahman-Maskaev.

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Ivan Robinson would of been stopped in the 1st fight had it been 12 rounds he was out on his feet but i've seen a few of his fights he looked like a good skilled fighter quite suprised he didn't achieve more.

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Ivan Calderon would of been stopped in the 1st fight had it been 12 rounds he was out on his feet but i've seen a few of his fights he looked like a good skilled fighter quite suprised he didn't achieve more.

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Gatti was fighting Jr.Flys ?;D. Robinson really shocked me that night...He was a solid boxer but that night,they needed a phone booth,great fight.......another fighter in a long line that have held on way to long staying around.

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Ivan Calderon would of been stopped in the 1st fight had it been 12 rounds he was out on his feet but i've seen a few of his fights he looked like a good skilled fighter quite suprised he didn't achieve more.

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Gatti was fighting Jr.Flys ?;D. Robinson really shocked me that night...He was a solid boxer but that night,they needed a phone booth,great fight.......another fighter in a long line that have held on way to long staying around.

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Robinson had a habit all through his career of taking fights he really wasnt ready for

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

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Originally Posted by ICB

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Ivan Calderon would of been stopped in the 1st fight had it been 12 rounds he was out on his feet but i've seen a few of his fights he looked like a good skilled fighter quite suprised he didn't achieve more.

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Gatti was fighting Jr.Flys ?;D. Robinson really shocked me that night...He was a solid boxer but that night,they needed a phone booth,great fight.......another fighter in a long line that have held on way to long staying around.

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Yea i corrected it just noticed my mistake i just watched an Ivan Calderon fight so he was still on my mind but i remember they were comparing that fight to Meldrick Taylor vs Julio Cesar Chavez which is a good comparison Robinson used good combinations and boxed well on the outside but often exchanged much more than he had to and had it been 12 rounds we would of seen another Taylor vs Chavez like comeback/ending but without the controversy.

Ali- Cooper, yeah Cooper didn't win but he came close to a huge upset

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

Nah Ice you're missing my question entirely. Monzon is one of the greatest middles of all time no way he can be considered unheralded.

To put it clearly the question I'm asking is 'What great fighters, i.e world champs p4p stars have lost TWICE to a fighter who apart from beating the said star had an unspectacular career.

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Oh! I get it now...
Then you can scratch off Castro, Monzon, Sanchez.
Put Junior Jones back on it...
Thanks for that Bilbo now it's clear.

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Originally Posted by Spicoli surfs 'Nawlins

Ivan Robinson Vs. Arturo Gatti x 2........this one always blows me away.I thought Gatti would finish what Cardona started but more suprising was Ivan standing in and going hell bent in an awesome slug fest.

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Good one Spicoli...

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Originally Posted by Bilbo

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Originally Posted by CutMeMick

I guess you guys missed the part where Bilbo said:

"someone who was completely unheralded..." ;D

So far IMO the only ones that I think appliy are Santana-Norris & Peden-Nate & Monzon-Nino and Lopez-Sanchez.
Talk about guys who had not seen world stage yet and they did it.

The rest IMO the fighters had already been on world stage.

No way does SSM-Forrest, Mayorga-Forrest, MAB-Jones, Golota-Bowe etc. etc. apply.

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Good points Mick and well noticed.

I think Barrera Jones and Mayorga Forrest fit the criteria though as take away Jones wins over Barrera and Mayorgas wins over Forrest and neither of them would have very much at all. Same would have been true for Rahman had he beaten Lewis a second time.

It's an interesting topic though I think, trying to think of a big name elite fighter who got beat by an unheralded fighter not once, but twice.

I reckon Forrest and Barrera losing to Mayorga and Jones are the best examples but you are far more familiar than me with older fighters so I'm sure there are several more.

Had Randy Turpin won the rematch with Sugar Ray that would have been another decent example, and maybe Ingemarr Johansson came close over Floyd Patterson, certainly he's only famous for beating Patterson.

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Wasn't Johansson an olympic medallist though? I am not sure I may be wrong but something sticks in my head about him and the olympics and therefore he would be somewhat heralded just for some olympic glory!

I must say I am stuck for answers to this question I'll think of some though!

Yeah he may well have been a medalist, although as we've seen with Khan and Audley it doesn't mean a whole lot.

Certainly Johannson is only known to the general public in relation to his trilogy with Patterson, but I believe Floyd won overall so doesn't count.

I think it's Mayorga that's the best example so far. Forrest was a top 10 p4p, maybe even top 5 at the time and Mayorga smashed him in a huge upset. But to then get the win a second time, there arn't many underdogs that have done that.

I'm not familiar with Ivan Robinson though so he may well be a good example.

I also liked Maskaev Rahman as well, I mean both those defeats were brutal for Hasim, and both fights he was expected to win.

It's a really interesting question though I think, I mean I can think of loads of upsets like Baldomir Judah, Wlad Sanders, Tyson Douglas etc but none of them followed it up with a win a rematch.

There probably can't be many who have achieved this.........