Top 10 Legendary Boxing Matches of All Time

Staged in Kinshasa, Zaire on 30 October 1974 and broadcast live to an audience of 1 billion — then the largest ever for a single sporting event — this was Ali, aged 32 and widely written off as a faded champion, taking on George Foreman, the unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable destroyer who had knocked down Joe Frazier six times in two rounds. Ali's "rope-a-dope" strategy — absorbing Foreman's punches against the ropes for seven rounds, sapping his strength, then finishing him with a brilliant eighth-round combination — was as much a tactical masterstroke as an act of physical courage. Norman Mailer immortalised the night in "The Fight"; the documentary "When We Were Kings" won an Academy Award. It remains the most romantically charged comeback in sporting history.

The third instalment of the greatest rivalry in boxing history was fought on 1 October 1975 in Quezon City, Philippines, at 10:45 in the morning in near-100-degree heat — conditions chosen for American prime-time television that left both men on the edge of destruction. Fourteen rounds of mutual savagery left Frazier's left eye almost completely swollen shut; his trainer Eddie Futch stopped the fight before the 15th to save his fighter's sight. Ali himself said it was "the closest thing to dying I know of." Frazier, robbed of the chance to continue, never fully forgave Futch or forgave Ali for the pre-fight taunting. The fight is widely regarded as the most gruelling heavyweight contest ever staged, a test of human endurance that neither man completely recovered from.

Eight minutes and one second of combat at Caesars Palace on 15 April 1985 produced what is almost universally acclaimed as the greatest three rounds in boxing history. Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas "Hitman" Hearns abandoned all defensive instinct from the opening bell, trading headshots at a tempo and ferocity that seemed physically impossible to sustain. Hagler absorbed a barrage that would have stopped most fighters inside the first round, pressed forward relentlessly, opened a deep cut over Hearns's eye, and forced a third-round TKO stoppage. Ring Magazine named it Fight of the Year; ESPN later called it the greatest fight of the 20th century. The fight ran entirely on pure aggression and no strategy whatsoever — and for that reason alone, it is unrepeatable.

The rematch between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran on 25 November 1980 in New Orleans produced one of the most controversial moments in boxing history: Duran, the fearsome Panamanian warrior who had dominated Leonard in their first bout, inexplicably turned his back in the eighth round and told referee Octavio Meyran "No mas" — no more. The decision shocked the sporting world and has been debated ever since: some argued Duran was injured or had been psychologically broken by Leonard's taunting and showboating; Duran himself claimed stomach cramps. Whatever the cause, the moment crystallised Leonard's genius for tactical destruction and established that even the most physically intimidating fighters can be undone by a superior ring intellect.

When Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward met at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on 18 May 2002, nobody predicted they were about to produce the Fight of the Year — and arguably the Fight of the Decade. Ten rounds of non-stop violence produced three knockdowns, a body shot from Ward in the ninth that dropped Gatti and temporarily cost him feeling in his right arm, and a sustained level of mutual punishment that had the crowd on its feet for the final half of the fight. Gatti won by majority decision, but both men received standing ovations leaving the ring. Their trilogy of fights is the most celebrated of the modern era; the first bout alone has been called the greatest lightweight fight in history and a defining argument for the sport's continued existence.

Staged at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on 7 May 2005, the WBC and WBO lightweight unification bout between Diego "Chico" Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo produced a tenth round that many boxing historians consider the single most dramatic round in the sport's history. Castillo dropped Corrales twice in the round; on the second knockdown, Corrales was barely conscious and the fight appeared to be over. He rose, clinched, survived, and then — in the space of a few seconds — landed a right-left combination that sent the previously dominant Castillo crashing to the canvas, where he was counted out. The reversal from the brink of stoppage to a knockout win in the same round has never been equalled. The fight won every major boxing award for 2005.

The heavyweight championship fight between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on 13 November 1992 was voted Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine and is still considered one of the finest heavyweight title fights of the modern era. Holyfield, the reigning undisputed champion, absorbed tremendous punishment from the physically superior Bowe but refused to buckle; the tenth round in particular — in which Bowe dropped Holyfield, who then came back to hurt Bowe — was regarded as one of the best rounds in heavyweight history. Bowe won by unanimous decision to claim all three heavyweight belts, but both men earned the respect of the boxing world in a fight that demonstrated that the heavyweight division still had elite, compelling competitors.

When Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield met for the first time on 13 March 1999, Lewis dominated — and was given a majority draw in a decision so widely condemned as corrupt that the New York State Athletic Commission launched an investigation into two of the three judges. Their rematch on 13 November 1999 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas drew 250 million television viewers worldwide and generated $100 million in revenue, making it the most financially successful rematch in boxing history. Lewis won by unanimous decision in what most observers called a comfortable victory, finally claiming the undisputed heavyweight championship — and, in the process, vindicating one of the sport's most infamous decisions.

The WBC welterweight title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Ike "Bazooka" Quartey at the Thomas & Mack Center on 13 February 1999 produced 12 rounds of high-level boxing that resulted in one of the closest and most debated decisions in recent memory. Quartey, the unbeaten WBA champion and a considerable underdog, dropped De La Hoya in the sixth round and appeared to be ahead on the scorecards entering the final rounds; De La Hoya rallied dramatically, dropping Quartey himself in the twelfth with a perfectly timed left hook. The majority decision for De La Hoya was disputed, but the fight established both men as elite performers and set a standard for welterweight excellence in an era packed with talent at 147 pounds.

Staged in Kinshasa, Zaire on 30 October 1974 and broadcast live to an audience of 1 billion — then the largest ever for a single sporting event — this was Ali, aged 32 and widely written off as a faded champion, taking on George Foreman, the unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable destroyer who had knocked down Joe Frazier six times in two rounds. Ali's "rope-a-dope" strategy — absorbing Foreman's punches against the ropes for seven rounds, sapping his strength, then finishing him with a brilliant eighth-round combination — was as much a tactical masterstroke as an act of physical courage. Norman Mailer immortalised the night in "The Fight"; the documentary "When We Were Kings" won an Academy Award. It remains the most romantically charged comeback in sporting history.

The third instalment of the greatest rivalry in boxing history was fought on 1 October 1975 in Quezon City, Philippines, at 10:45 in the morning in near-100-degree heat — conditions chosen for American prime-time television that left both men on the edge of destruction. Fourteen rounds of mutual savagery left Frazier's left eye almost completely swollen shut; his trainer Eddie Futch stopped the fight before the 15th to save his fighter's sight. Ali himself said it was "the closest thing to dying I know of." Frazier, robbed of the chance to continue, never fully forgave Futch or forgave Ali for the pre-fight taunting. The fight is widely regarded as the most gruelling heavyweight contest ever staged, a test of human endurance that neither man completely recovered from.

Eight minutes and one second of combat at Caesars Palace on 15 April 1985 produced what is almost universally acclaimed as the greatest three rounds in boxing history. Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas "Hitman" Hearns abandoned all defensive instinct from the opening bell, trading headshots at a tempo and ferocity that seemed physically impossible to sustain. Hagler absorbed a barrage that would have stopped most fighters inside the first round, pressed forward relentlessly, opened a deep cut over Hearns's eye, and forced a third-round TKO stoppage. Ring Magazine named it Fight of the Year; ESPN later called it the greatest fight of the 20th century. The fight ran entirely on pure aggression and no strategy whatsoever — and for that reason alone, it is unrepeatable.

The rematch between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran on 25 November 1980 in New Orleans produced one of the most controversial moments in boxing history: Duran, the fearsome Panamanian warrior who had dominated Leonard in their first bout, inexplicably turned his back in the eighth round and told referee Octavio Meyran "No mas" — no more. The decision shocked the sporting world and has been debated ever since: some argued Duran was injured or had been psychologically broken by Leonard's taunting and showboating; Duran himself claimed stomach cramps. Whatever the cause, the moment crystallised Leonard's genius for tactical destruction and established that even the most physically intimidating fighters can be undone by a superior ring intellect.

When Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward met at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on 18 May 2002, nobody predicted they were about to produce the Fight of the Year — and arguably the Fight of the Decade. Ten rounds of non-stop violence produced three knockdowns, a body shot from Ward in the ninth that dropped Gatti and temporarily cost him feeling in his right arm, and a sustained level of mutual punishment that had the crowd on its feet for the final half of the fight. Gatti won by majority decision, but both men received standing ovations leaving the ring. Their trilogy of fights is the most celebrated of the modern era; the first bout alone has been called the greatest lightweight fight in history and a defining argument for the sport's continued existence.

Staged at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on 7 May 2005, the WBC and WBO lightweight unification bout between Diego "Chico" Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo produced a tenth round that many boxing historians consider the single most dramatic round in the sport's history. Castillo dropped Corrales twice in the round; on the second knockdown, Corrales was barely conscious and the fight appeared to be over. He rose, clinched, survived, and then — in the space of a few seconds — landed a right-left combination that sent the previously dominant Castillo crashing to the canvas, where he was counted out. The reversal from the brink of stoppage to a knockout win in the same round has never been equalled. The fight won every major boxing award for 2005.

The heavyweight championship fight between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on 13 November 1992 was voted Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine and is still considered one of the finest heavyweight title fights of the modern era. Holyfield, the reigning undisputed champion, absorbed tremendous punishment from the physically superior Bowe but refused to buckle; the tenth round in particular — in which Bowe dropped Holyfield, who then came back to hurt Bowe — was regarded as one of the best rounds in heavyweight history. Bowe won by unanimous decision to claim all three heavyweight belts, but both men earned the respect of the boxing world in a fight that demonstrated that the heavyweight division still had elite, compelling competitors.

When Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield met for the first time on 13 March 1999, Lewis dominated — and was given a majority draw in a decision so widely condemned as corrupt that the New York State Athletic Commission launched an investigation into two of the three judges. Their rematch on 13 November 1999 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas drew 250 million television viewers worldwide and generated $100 million in revenue, making it the most financially successful rematch in boxing history. Lewis won by unanimous decision in what most observers called a comfortable victory, finally claiming the undisputed heavyweight championship — and, in the process, vindicating one of the sport's most infamous decisions.

The WBC welterweight title fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Ike "Bazooka" Quartey at the Thomas & Mack Center on 13 February 1999 produced 12 rounds of high-level boxing that resulted in one of the closest and most debated decisions in recent memory. Quartey, the unbeaten WBA champion and a considerable underdog, dropped De La Hoya in the sixth round and appeared to be ahead on the scorecards entering the final rounds; De La Hoya rallied dramatically, dropping Quartey himself in the twelfth with a perfectly timed left hook. The majority decision for De La Hoya was disputed, but the fight established both men as elite performers and set a standard for welterweight excellence in an era packed with talent at 147 pounds.