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Hopkins
Vs. Taylor- Will History Repeat Itself?
(JUN 25) LOS ANGELES- With unbeaten Jermain Taylor - a rising star with
credentials - taking on Bernard Hopkins - the long-reigning middleweight
champion who is considered by most to still be at his prime - on July 16
at the MGM GRAND in Las Vegas, it’s interesting to take a look at some
of the other bouts from the modern era (1960 - present) that mirror this
type of matchup.
Let’s start with the Heavyweights:
* In 1964, the young, brash, and undefeated Cassius Clay, a Gold Medal
winner in the 1960 Rome Olympics at 178 lbs., takes on the fearsome
Charles “Sonny” Liston, who was coming off two straight first round
knockout wins over Floyd Patterson.
Result: A monster upset, as Clay makes Liston retire on his stool after
six rounds.
* In 1971, it was “Smokin” Joe Frazier vs Muhammad Ali, the former
Cassius Clay. Though Ali may not be all the way back from his forced
three-year exile, both men are unbeaten – a first in a heavyweight world
title fight. Each claim to be the real heavyweight champion and both
combatants have captured Olympic Gold (Frazier in 1964 at HW).
Result: In an epic bout of international proportions, Frazier decks Ali
in the final round, thus allowing him to capture a close, but unanimous
15 round decision.
* In 1973, fearsome punching George Foreman, a 1968 Olympic Gold Medal
winner at heavyweight, and unbeaten as a pro, challenges Joe Frazier for
the crown. Result: Big George bounces Joe off the canvas like a rubber
ball six times, taking just two rounds to capture the championship.
* In 1977, Leon Spinks, one of five U.S. Olympic Gold Medal winners (he
won at 178 lbs.) in Montreal in 1976, took on the now legendary Muhammad
Ali. Even at age 36, it was felt that A! li would still have too much
experience for Spinks, who though undefeated, only had seven (6-0-1) pro
bouts.
Result: The aggressive, go-for-broke style of Spinks carried him to a
split decision win over 15 rounds.
* In 1992, Riddick Bowe, an unbeaten star on the rise (31-0) and winner
of a Silver Medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics at super-heavyweight (over
201 lbs.), faced undefeated (28-0) heavyweight champion Evander
Holyfield.
Result: Bowe took a hard-fought 12 round decision, in an unforgettable
war.
Cruiserweight:
* In 1986, Evander Holyfield, a 1984 Olympic Bronze Medal winner at 178
lbs., is unbeaten at 11-0 in his less than two year pro career. He
nonetheless steps in with Dwight Muhammad Qawi, the defending WBA 190
lb. title holder. The former light-heavyweight champ is 27-2, and making
the second defense of the title.
Result: In a heated battle, Holyfield pulls out a 15 round split
decision.
Light Heavyweight:
* In 1981, 1976 Olympic Gold Medal winner (at 165 lbs.) Michael Spinks
goes into the ring unbeaten at 16-0 against WBA king Eddie Mustafa
Muhammad, a 44-fight veteran. The 29 year-old champ was making the third
defense of the title. Result: Spinks floors Muhammad and pulls away en
route to a 15 round unanimous decision victory.
Middleweight:
* In 1967, Giovanni “Nino” Benvenuti challenges champion Emile Griffith.
Not only is Benvenuti a 1960 Olympic Gold Medal winner in the
welterweight division, but he is also voted the outstanding boxer of the
entire Games. He is 71-1 as a pro and has already won a world title at
154 lbs. Griffith had previously been the welterweight world champion.
Result: Benvenuti captures the title via a 15 round decision in The Ring
magazine Fight of The Year.
&nbs! p;
* In 1986, John “The Beast” Mugabi tries to take the title from Marvin
Hagler. Mugabi is a 1980 Silver Medal winner at welterweight. A fearsome
puncher, he has never lost as a professional. Hagler has held the title
for nearly six years, and is coming off his epic stoppage (April 1985)
of Thomas Hearns.
Result: Hagler wears down Mugabi for an 11th round stoppage.
Other notable bouts of this type:
1979: Ray Leonard, Olympic Gold Medal winner (130 lbs.), captures the
welterweight title with a 15th round stoppage of Wilfred Benitez, who
was also a former junior-welterweight champ. Both men were unbeaten
entering the bout.
1980: Thomas Hearns, the unbeaten “Hitman” from Detroit, faces WBA
welterweight champion Pipino Cuevas of Mexico. Cuevas had made 11
successful defenses of the title, but on this night he was destroyed in
two rounds.
1980: On the same day that Hearns took out Cuevas, Aaron Pryor, who had
lost to Howard Davis in the lightweight division trials to make the 1976
U.S. Olympic team, goes into the ring at 24-0 against two-time WBA
junior-welterweight champ, Antonio Cervantes, who was making the seventh
defense of the title in his second go-around as champion. Pryor swarms
all over Cervantes and stops him in four rounds.
1982: American Bernard Taylor, one of this nation’s most decorated
amateurs, would have gone to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow had the U.S.
not boycotted the Games. At 18-0 he went after WBA featherweight
champion Eusebio Pedroza, who was unbeaten in 14 defenses of the title.
Pedroza kept the title via a 15 round draw.
1984: Richie Sandoval was another boxer deprived of the chance of
competing in the 1980 Olympics. The bantamweight is 22-0 when he steps
in the ring with Jeff Chandler, the long time WBA 118 lb. champ, who was
making his tenth defense. Sandoval stops Chandler in the 15th round to
claim the title.
1988: Meldrick Taylor, an Olympic Gold Medal winner in 1984 at age 17,
is undefeated in 20 bouts as he goes after IBF junior welterweight
champion James “Buddy” McGirt, who was making the second defense of the
title, and had been beaten only once in 40 bouts. Taylor stops Mc Girt
in the 12th and final round.
NeXt in Line – Hopkins vs Taylor, will be televised by HBO Pay-Per-View
live from MGM GRAND in Las Vegas, NV, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m.
PT.
Tickets for NeXt in Line, priced at $75, $150, $250, $450, and $650, not
including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now at the
MGM Grand Garden Arena box office. Tickets also will be sold at all Las
Vegas Ticketmaster locations (Tower Records/WOW!, Smith’s Food and Drug
Centers, Robinsons-May stores and Ritmo Latino) and ticket sales are
limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit
card, call MGM GRAND Reservations at 800-929-1111/702-891-7777 or
Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000. Tickets also are available for purchase at
www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
