Thrilla in Manila

One of the epic battles / fights mentioned in the previous memorable boxing trilogies post. The phrase they don’t make em like this anymore comes to mind, as Muhammad Ali takes on Joe Frazier for a third time, in a boxing trilogy for the ages!

Who was the first boxer to beat Ricky Hatton as a professional?

Who was the first boxer to beat Ricky Hatton as a professional?  Stockport-born Richard ‘Ricky’ Hatton made his professional boxing debut against Colin McAuley at the Kingsway Leisure Centre in Widnes in September, 1997, winning by technical knockout in the first of four scheduled rounds. Forty-three fights and just over a decade later, he would finally surrender his unbeaten record to the similarly unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On December 8, 2007, in a fight billed, imaginatively, as ‘Undefeated’, Hatton (43-0-0) challenged Mayweather Jr. (38-0-0) for the World Boxing Council (WBC) and The Ring world welterweight titles. In the sixth round, Hatton was deducted a point by referee Joe Cortez for hitting his Mayweather on the back of his head, having pushed him off-balance through the top rope.

Thereafter, Hatton began to tire and Mayweather started to take control. With just under two minutes remaining in round ten, Mayweather landed a powerful left hook that knocked Hatton to the canvas, via a ringpost. Hatton rose at the count of eight, but was unsteady on his feet and, despite hanging on valiantly, was caught with two more left hooks that knocked him down again. After 1:35, Cortez waved off the contest, without starting a count, to give Mayweather victory by technical knockout.

Hatton subsequently returned to the light-welterweight division, making two successful defences of his International Boxing Organisation (IBO) world light-welterweight title, against Juan Lazacano and Paulie Malignaggi, before being knocked out in the second round by Manny Pacquiao, back at the MGM Grand Arena, in May, 2009. After a three-year hiatus, he made a brief, but unsuccessful, return to professional boxing before retiring with a 45-3-0 record.

Memorable Boxing Trilogies

Memorable Boxing Trilogies  In boxing, few scenarios captivate the public like a trilogy, where fighters repeatedly go to war, engaging in epic matchups that are by their very nature – (the viewers desire for rematch after rematch!) destined for the history books. There are several memorable trilogies we could turn our attention to, so we’ve selected three from across the decades that in our view, definitely make the grade. In you’re too young to have seen some first time around, check them out on Youtube sometime. Sure you likely already know the outcomes, but these are unmissible encounters that deserve us returning to on occasion.

First in line for a mention, and one young and old boxing fans alike will keenly recall are the three heavyweight match-ups between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. From 2018 to 2021, this trilogy had it all: controversy, WWE Undertaker style comebacks, and the will be overcome adversity. The first fight of the trilogy ended in a controversial draw, notable for Fury’s dramatic recovery from what initially looked to be fight-ending knockdown. In the rematch, Fury showcased his boxing prowess, stopping a deflated looking Wilder in the seventh round. Wilder just couldn’t find the answers. The trilogy ended with a return to the epic nature of their initial bout, with Fury overcoming adversity (being knocked down twice) to secure a victory by way of knockout in the eleventh round.  In the modern era where few fights fans actually want to see even happen – and Youtubers are treated as boxing Gods – it’s a miracle that we got to enjoy such an epic series of fights.

Rewinding the years back to the 1990s, the heavyweight battles between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe saw two warriors of what many now see as a golden era of boxing, go to war. Their initial 1992 fight was a closely fought contest that saw Bowe win out. The rematch the following year was another top-tier encoutner, with Holyfield edging out Bowe to reclaim his title. The trilogy wrapped up two years later in 1995 amidst the bizarre “Fan Man” incident that I’m sure we all remember, with Bowe securing a victory by TKO. Remember that these two legends of the rings were around in the era of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and the like. It was a who’s who of heavyweight greats.

Last but not least, no talk of boxing trilogies is complete without the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fights being placed in the mix. Taking place in the early to mid-1970s, this trilogy was more than a sporting event; it was a cultural and political symbol of the times. Their first meeting in 1971, dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” saw, to the shock of fans, Frazier handing Ali his first career defeat. Ali, a dertermined individual by any standard, went back to the drawing board and won the rematch in 1974. With one win a piece, this set the stage for the iconic “Thrilla in Manila” bout the following year.  It was a fight in which Ali emerged victorious after Frazier’s corner stopped the fight before the 15th round (remember the 15 round days?).

With boxing politics so often in the way now, trilogies like these may become thin on the ground going forward, but I do hope not. No sport does rivalries like boxing, and these are just a few examples from over the years that have enthralled fans both at and away from the arena.

Who was the first boxer to take Anthony Joshua the distance in a professional bout?

Who was the first boxer to take Anthony Joshua the distance in a professional bout?  Currently ranked #3 in the world by BoxRec, heavyweight boxer Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua is a former unified world heavyweight champion, but lost his titles, for the second time, by unanimous decision, to Oleksandr Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25, 2021. He also lost a rematch with the unbeaten Ukrainian, by split decision, at the Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20, 2022, thereby taking his professional record to 24-3-0, including 21 knockouts.

The first time Joshua lost his titles, and his hitherto unbeaten 22-0-0 record, at Madison Square Garden, New York on June 1, 2019, he was on the receiving end of one of the major upsets in boxing history. Making his debut in the United States, in a fight in which he had, frankly, little to gain, Joshua was knocked down four times by his unfancied opponent, Andy Ruiz Jr., before losing by technical knockout in the seventh round.

Ruiz Jr. took what was described as the ‘opportunity of a lifetime’ when the highly-regarded Jarrell Miller was denied a boxing license by the New York State Athletic Commission after testing positive for a variety of prohibited substances. He was identified as a ‘potential banana skin’ for Joshua by one pundit, but generally regarded as having minimal chance of beating the Briton, who was priced up at a prohibitive 1/25 to retain his titles.

Nevertheless, the fact that Joshua was defending a pre-fight record of 22-0-0 bears testament to his early success and meteoric rise to the top of his profession. The Watford-based fighter made his professional debut at the O2 Arena, London on October 5, 2013, when he needed just 2 minutes and 47 seconds to register a first-round technical knockout of his opponent, Emmanuel Leo.

After a succession of early stoppages, Joshua was taken beyond three rounds for the first time by compatriot Dillon Whyte, again at the O2 Arena, London, on December 12, 2015; Joshua won that bout by technical knockout in round seven. It was not until the eight fights later, at the Principality Stadium, Cardiff, that defending WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker took him the distance but, even then, Joshua won by unanimous decision.