7 Classic Fights Between Undefeated Boxers

In the advent of the pay-per-view phenomena, many recent matches have turned out to be just a bunch of sleep-o-ramas where one can simply grab a pillow and not worry about missing anything. Is this what the sweet science of boxing has reverted to? Now let's try to freshen our memories. Here are seven previous classic mega-bouts between undefeated fighters, in chronological order, that provided enough electricity to light up the Las Vegas skyline:

1. Joe Frazier (26-0) vs. Muhammad Ali (31-0), Mar. 08, 1971

With The Greatest coming out of a three-year hiatus, "The Fight of The Century", the first in the Ali-Frazier Trilogy, was supposedly the vehicle for his reclaiming of the WBC and WBA heavyweight titles. However, a victorious Smokin' Joe was emphatic in handing Ali his first defeat instead. Frazier floored Ali in the 15th round enroute to a unanimous decision triumph.

2. George Foreman (37-0) vs. Joe Frazier (29-0), Jan. 22, 1973

In the 1973 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year, Frazier was floored 6 times, 3 times in the 1st round and another 3 times in the 2nd round, when the fight was stopped by the referee, giving the brutal TKO conquest to Foreman.

3. Wilfredo Gomez (21-0-1) vs. Carlos Zarate (52-0), Oct. 28, 1978

It was a battle of frighteningly powerful knockout artists, Gomez winning all 21 within the distance after a draw in his first bout while Zarate knocking out a tremendous 51 opponents in 52 fights. With the WBC super bantamweight title on the line, it was no surprise that it took only 5 rounds to determine the winner. Would it be youth or experience that will prevail? This time the younger fighter, "Bazooka" Gomez, won.

4. Sugar Ray Leonard (25-0) vs. Wilfred Benitez (38-0-1), Nov. 30, 1979

It was a hard-fought 2nd defense of the prodigy Benitez, who became the youngest world boxing champ at age 17, for the WBC welterweight crown which saw him hit the canvas on the 3rd canto and bleeding in the forehead with a cut. The referee Carlos Padilla stopped the bout seconds before the end of the 15th round for a TKO win, with Leonard leading on all score cards.

5. Michael Spinks (27-0) vs. Larry Holmes (48-0), Sep. 21, 1985

A historic bout, given that a Holmes victory would have matched Marciano's unblemished 49-0 record, while a Spinks win will make him the first ever light heavyweight champion to become heavyweight king. As fate would have it, Spinks snatched a piece of history away from Holmes with a unanimous decision victory, taking the IBF heavyweight title along with it.

6. Riddick Bowe (31-0) vs. Evander Holyfield (28-0), Nov. 13, 1992

Unanimous decision win in 12 rounds by Bowe, their first fight in a trilogy. Many were doubtful that Holyfield could take on the huge Bowe but Real Deal proved in this fight the true warrior that he is. Round 10 was named Round Of The Year by Ring Magazine as a tribute to the two men giving in a round where the favor shifted from one to the other in a see-saw battle for supremacy in the heavyweight division.

7. Felix Trinidad (38-0) vs. Fernando Vargas (20-0), Dec. 02, 2000

A total war in the truest sense, Trinidad scored a 12th round TKO victory for the WBC/ WBA/ IBO junior middleweight titles. The Aztec Warrior managed to floor Trinidad once in the 4th round, but Trinidad made Vargas kiss the canvas a total of 5 times (twice in the 1st round and 3 times in the 12th round) when the bout was stopped.

Enrico Monsanto is a freelance writer. He writes mainly about guitars, music and sport-related topics. Most of his work can be seen at his blog, http://monsaint.blogspot.com

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