Your personal Favorite Fight of All Time, and why

[ICB]

It doesn’t have to be the greatest fight of all time… just your personal favorite. What fight did you see that thrilled you the most? That instantly became your personal favorite of all time? That you’d watch over and over again?

My own Favorite Fight of All Time (no surprise here) was the Trinidad-Vargas fight.

There are many factors involved. First, Tito was on the rise and had already won the hearts of Puerto Rican boxing fans everywhere. He was starting to get the vastly overdue recognition from the U.S. media after his win (albeit controversial) over Oscar de la Hoya. Then… there was the Puerto Rican-Mexican boxing rivalry thing. Few sporting events get the people here (in P.R.) as excited as a PR-Mexican championship fight.

Then there was Vargas himself. Young, arrogant, and undefeated… a tough brawler and puncher who distanced himself from De la Hoya when he claimed: “This Mexican won’t run.”

So the buildup to the fight was tremendous. I admit to have been a bit nervous, ‘cause I had seen Vargas in some impressive KO victories. Then there was the fight itself. Vargas knocking over the fake stone blocks in his grand entrance to the ring, complete with Aztec warriors and fire coming out of the ground. Then while getting the last pre-fight instructions, Vargas’ look of total disdain toward Tito. One of his handlers pulled him away briefly for a last minute shot of water (yes, I remember… I’ve seen it many times), and when Vargas turned back toward Tito, he came to within inches of Tito’s face. Real intimidating stuff.

Then the bell rang. First, let me mention that my house was full of people watching the fight. I had to take the TV out to the terrace so everyone would fit (and to minimize any damage from excessive celebrations). Anyway, when Tito knocked Vargas down in the very first round, we all erupted in wild cheering. I thought the fight was over. But to Vargas’ credit (and what made the fight an instant classic), he showed his heart and his guts, and he survived that first round. Not only that, the fight became a tremendous battle of survival, with both men giving and taking with all they had. There was a nervous quiet stretch, when Vargas knocked Tito down and won some of those middle rounds.

Then the end of the fight. I wanted a knockout, not a decision. And when the KO came, it was delirium all over again.

Some people don’t understand this, but boxing can cause this sort of thing like few other sporting events can. To the British boxing fans here, can you imagine the scene in Las Vegas (and all across England) had Hatton somehow pulled off not just a win, but a KO victory over Floyd Mayweather? Hell… they’d STILL be clearing the streets of Las Vegas and in Manchester. Also, although not very big in Puerto Rico or the U.S., how about football? (or what we call “soccer”) Anyone who watches the news knows just how intense the fans at a soccer match can be. Especially when rival countries are facing each other. Well… that’s what it’s like.

So although there’s probably been better fights (though I can’t think of many), Trinidad-Vargas is MY alltime personal favorite. What’s yours?

I can't name just one thats impossible for but i will name my best fights for each weight class.

Heavyweight Larry Holmes vs Ken Norton = Holmes is my favorite Heavyweight of all time so its no shock i have this fight here, the reason why i love this fight is because the mixture of brawling and boxing, and the 15th round IMO is even better than Bowe vs Holyfield 1.

Cruiserweight Evander Holyfield vs Dwight Muhammad Qawi = Quite simply because its the best Cruiserweight fight of all time, every round is like Round Of The Year, both men combined threw over 100 punches every round, it truly was brutal slugfest from start to finish.

Light Heavyweight Matthew Saad Muhammad vs Yaqui Lopez 2 = Muhammad happens to be one of my favorites he was like the 70s/80s version of Arturo Gatti always in a entertaining fight. the 8th round of this fight is something you have to see to believe, Muhammad was hit with brutal hooks body and head, round about 20+ unanswered punches yet Muhammad didn't even flinch, and then he comes back from that brutal beating to go on to dominate Lopez, a true classic.

Super Middleweight Michael Watson vs Chris Eubank 2 = Forgetting the tragedy this was one of the best fights of all time, and i think this fight gets seriously over looked. Just watch the 11th round and tell me that isn't one of the best rounds in boxing history.

Middleweight Roberto Duran vs Iran Barkley = Duran was a natural Lightweight so this is what makes this fight special aside from the action, because Duran looked tiny compared to the 6 foot plus Barkley, and Duran was also what 36/37 here ?? so that just makes it even more special. Duran took brutal body and head shots from the monster puncher Barkley who was fresh off KO Hearns, yet somehow Duran comeback floored Barkley and stood toe to toe with a man that was so much bigger than him and he managed to win, it truly was amazing, considering where Duran started off.

Jr Middleweight Fernando Vargas vs Felix Trinidad = This fight had everything knockdowns, great KO, brutal exchanges, its easily the best Jr Middleweight fight of all time no question IMO.

Welterweight Thomas Hearns vs Sugar Ray Leonard 1 = The reason i love this fight is because i love a mixture of fantastic boxing and great brawling, and this fight had exactly that, they were two of best Welterweights at that time no question, it had knockdowns, brawling, boxing, an exciting come from behind TKO from Leonard, what else could you ask for ??

Jr Welterweight Meldrick Taylor vs Julio Cesar Chavez 1 = One of the most controversial fights of all time, even though i didn't agree with the decision. I still think its one of the greatest fights of all time, it had brutal exchanges, and excellent boxing from Taylor, and to stop Taylor with 2 seconds left in the fight is truly astonishing and just shows how much determination Chavez has.

Lightweight Diego Corrales vs Jose Luis Castillo 1 = I love inside fighting and this fight was exactly everything i love about boxing, heart, skill, will, determination, it was already one of the best fights of all time even without the 10th round, but the 10th round just put the cherry on the cake amazing fight end of.

Super Featherweight Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon IV = This is the 80's version of Rafael Marquez vs Israel Vasquez 3, very similar fight with Chacon getting decked in the 3rd and 10th, and is behind on the judges scorecards going into last round, but Chacon comes out and gives it everything his got and decks Limon with seconds left in the 15th, which gives him the nod, brutal fight, knockdowns, great exchanges, it had everything.

Featherweight Alexis Arguello vs Ruben Olivares = One of my personal favorites, amazing boxing from both fighters, and brutal exchanges, Olivares gave it everything he had in the 12th round to stop Arguello but he couldn't seal the deal, and Arguello comes out for the 13th round and drops Olivares with a devastating left hand, then goes on to stop him, amazing fight.

Super Bantamweight Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor = Brutal fight even more brutal than Barrera vs Morales 1 IMO, it truly was like something out of Rocky film, i remember in one of the rounds where both fighters had to be picked up and put back in the corners because they were both that tired. It also had brutal finish amazing fight.

Bantamweight Johnny Tapia vs Paulie Ayala 1 = Amazing fight although i haven't seen this in awhile so sadly can't remember much about it.

Super Flyweight Kid Akeem vs Robert Quiroga = the action in this fight is truly astonishing every second in every round is exciting, even though i didn't agree with the decision the action is just unbelievable.

Flyweight Dave McAuley vs Fidel Bassa 1/2 = Brutal fights thats why i named both because i can't split em for certain the best Flyweight fights of all time that i've ever seen.

Jr Flyweight Humberto Gonzalez vs Michael Carbajal 1 = Unbelievable fight Carbajal was down 3 times and comebacks to stop Gonzalez in the 7th round, it truly was a Rocky finish.

Minimumweight Ricardo Lopez vs Rosendo Alvarez 1 = My knowledge on Minimumweight isn't the best but i have this as my favorite for the simple reason Lopez is one of my favorites, and the quality of boxing in this fight is superb.