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

[jdonaher1]

I say World War 2...

What about Hopkins-De la Hoya, RJJ or Titio? Oscar wins and he and Hopkins switch places on the all-time great list. Suddenly all those middleweight defenses vs. nobodies look worse if the 1st time he steps up and fights a great fighter he loses. Tito is an all time great if he knocks out Bernard. Jones Jr. doesn't look as shiney with a real lose on his record early in the game as well.

[Hoggmeister]

Cassius Clay vs Henry Cooper.

[CFH]

I would have said Clay and Liston. If Liston beat him what would become of Clay. Would he have become Ali ? Would have fought Frazier? What the hell would havew happenend.

If Joe Louis wasn't knocked out by Schmeling the first time he would have been the greatest fighter to have ever laced up gloves.

Good call

[Master]

Dempsey lost to Willard.
Ken Norton v Holmes

No 7 year reign from either heavyweight great.

[KananKrus]

Had defending champion Ledwaba stopped a replacement fighter in the then unkown Manny Pacquiao... Barrera, Morales, Dela Hoya, and Hatton will would have had surely, better longevity to their careers, to say the least.

[JazMerkin]

Had defending champion Ledwaba stopped a replacement fighter in the then unkown Manny Pacquiao... Barrera, Morales, Dela Hoya, and Hatton will would have had surely, better longevity to their careers, to say the least.

Just couldn't help yourself could you??

Well, at least the one beneficial impact of that is we wouldn't have tiresome posters such as yourself constantly looking to bring up their idol at any opportunity.

I'd say Ali-Frazier III was the one to pop to mind, especially as it was so close to going the other way. Ali-Foreman is another one, as that was the fight that really defined greatness.

Going with something different though, I'll side with Duran-Leonard II. Had Leonard not won, had there been no 'No Mas', we would have never had SRL-Hearns & I think it would have completely destroyed the subsequent fights of The Four Kings. Duran would have probably got KO'd by Hearns any way, but I reckon Hearns would box Hagler to a decision, similar to much of the fight with Leonard & there would not be the same mysticism around them. Similar to how there now isn't about Wilfred Benitez, who at the time many were saying was the successor to Sugar Ray Robinson.

[ElTerribleMorales]

Had defending champion Ledwaba stopped a replacement fighter in the then unkown Manny Pacquiao... Barrera, Morales, Dela Hoya, and Hatton will would have had surely, better longevity to their careers, to say the least.

gay

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

If Hearns had of sparked Hagler, then Hearns would of got the biggest 'W' of his career and Hagler would have had only Duran as his best win.

Kinda reshapes the fab-4 argument...

[BIG H]

If Hearns had of sparked Hagler, then Hearns would of got the biggest 'W' of his career and Hagler would have had only Duran as his best win.

Kinda reshapes the fab-4 argument...

A big 'If' though mate

I still think Hearns was arguably more talented than any of them (maybe not Duran ) he just had a suspect beard and spiders legs.

If fights were 12 rounds back then, he would've beaten Leonard, he was robbed in the rematch draw and he KOed Duran

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

If fights were 12 rounds back then, he would've beaten Leonard, he was robbed in the rematch draw and he KOed Duran

I agree, it's a shame he's viewd as that guy who lost all his big fights.

If Hearns had of sparked Hagler, then Hearns would of got the biggest 'W' of his career and Hagler would have had only Duran as his best win.

Kinda reshapes the fab-4 argument...

A big 'If' though mate

Hehe, okay, IF Hearns hadn't had a homoerotic rub-down in the spider leg region, then proceded to brake his hand off Hagler's Jaw..... Maybe then it wouldn't be such a big IF

[jon09]

Theres so many what ifs in the sport of boxing.

Benn vs McClellan

Hopkins vs Trinidad

Frazier vs Ali 1

Chavez vs Randall 1

Hopkins vs Jones

[Zilla]

Ali-Foreman. Had Foreman blown Ali out he would not have disappeared and remade himself. He would have been a right bastard for years and perhaps not had his rebirth in the late 80s, early 90s and would not have knocked out Michael Moorer. And Hulk Hogan would have gotten the grills.

[generalbulldog]

Holyfield-Moorer 1. if Holyfield would have won that match, then there wouldn't have been Moorer-Foreman and Holyfield-Lewis would have happen a lot sooner. Instead they met in '99 and I believe that version of Holyfield was seriously on the decline from having his 3rd fight with Bowe and his 2 subsequent wars with Tyson, too many ring wars for Holy at that point.

[CutMeMick]

I think everyone will agree when I say that Joe vs. Max could have potentially changed the world. So in those terms aside from Jeffries vs. Jackson I can't see any other fight doing so.

As for the history of the sport any one fight can change the history drastically when you think about it. But for the sheer impact I think Tyson vs. Douglas is the biggest.

Sanchez vs. Gomez
Arguello vs. Olivares
JCC vs. Martinez
Lopez vs. Rosendo 1
SRR vs. Maxim

[PRIDE OF BOSTON]

There were alot of good ones that would have had huge cultural impacts such as...(mentioned prior)

Jeffreys Johnson
Schmelling Louis II

Ali Foreman... Just think about if he had walked out the winner... We may not know this loveable guy who sells grills today. Would he have ever adopted that personality?

There's so many... But a few that got me really thinking that have happened recently were...

Hopkins Taylor I... There probably never would have been a two and then what reason would bernard have had to move up? He was still fairly comfortable at MW and had Pavlik come along down there, I'm still pretty sure he'd box just as well. He may still have been champion today at MW.

Gatti Ward I: Had Ward lost he would have retired... Think about it...

This is a fun topic. Well done.