Sugar Ray Robinson W 15 Kid Gavilan
This showdown between future Hall-of-Famers took place July 11, 1948 at Philadelphia's Municipal Stadium. Robinson asserted his dominance over the second half of the bout as Gavilan painfully realized his tenure as champion would have to wait until Robinson left for the middleweight division. Gavilan fought well early in the bout and managed to stagger Robinson in round eight. The championship rounds, though, belonged to Sugar Ray, who captured a unanimous decision.
Carmen Basilio KO 12, Tony DeMarco
This matchup pitted two of the division's best punchers and anticipation clearly lived up to the hype as it was named Fight of the Year for 1955 by Ring magazine. The bout took place on June 10th at Syracuse's War Memorial Auditorium, a fitting venue for a fight of such action. The pace was frenetic and by the eighth round, DeMarco was cut above the left eye and Basilio was bleeding from above both eyes and his upper lip. But it was DeMarco who began to tire first. Basilio scored knockdowns in the 10th and 12th rounds and was awarded the crown when the referee halted the action in the 12th.
Robert Duran W 15 Sugar Ray Leonard
"The Brawl in Montreal" was one of those few fights that transcended boxing. It was a welterweight version of Ali vs. Frazier. The matchup between Leonard, the welterweight champ and Olympic hero, and Duran, the savage lightweight king, captured the imagination of even the most casual sports fan. Leonard played the role of the smooth boxer while Duran carried the reputation as a devastating puncher. They clashed on June 20, 1980 before 46,317 fans at Montreal's Olympic Stadium. Duran took control of the action early and drew Leonard into a slugfest. The fighter's often battled toe-to-toe, which clearly benefited the Panamanian challenger. When it ended, Duran won the title with a close (146-144, 145-144 and 148-147) unanimous decision. Leonard wouldn't make the same mistake again. When they met in a rematch later that year, Leonard's slick boxing ability and a comfortable 24-foot ring frustrated Duran into submission. The proud champion uttered the words "No Mas" in round eight.
Leonard TKO 14 Thomas Hearns
Perhaps the glory days of the welterweight division came in the early '80s when the 147-pound ranks included the likes of Leonard, Hearns, Duran, Wilfred Benitez and Pipino Cuevas. The showdown between Leonard (WBC champ) and Hearns (WBA) took place on September 16, 1981 and would determine the first undisputed welterweight king since Jose Napoles. Again, Leonard was matched against a hard-hitting foe and again Leonard opted to brawl. After a slow start, Leonard wobbled Hearns in rounds six and seven and was consumed with scoring a knockout. Meanwhile, Hearns utilized his long left jab and was building a steady lead on the scorecards. In round 13, Leonard fought his way past Hearns' jab and scored a knockdown. The following round, a furious flurry left Hearns draped along the ropes and referee Davey Pearl stopped the contest. The rematch took place eight years and 21 pounds later. Although floored twice, Leonard retained his WBC super middleweight title with a controversial draw against Hearns in 1989.
Pernell Whitaker D 12 Julio Cesar Chavez
This was the fight that would confirm Whitaker's greatness or place Chavez in the elite company of only three other men to have won titles in four divisions. The fight ended in a disappointing draw, but one thing was certain at the conclusion -- Whitaker put on one of the finest boxing exhibitions of his era. The two champions squared off before 57,000 (mostly Mexican) fans on September 10, 1993 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Whitaker was the WBC's welterweight champion while Chavez held the WBC super lightweight crown. The southpaw Whitaker relied on a sharp right jab and quick right-left combinations to score. More telling, though, was the way he sidestepped Chavez' attack. The gifted Whitaker remained an elusive target and played the perfect matador to Chavez' bullish attack. The majority draw was on of the most controversial decisions of the decade. The official scoring was 115-115, 115-115 and 115-113, Whitaker. At least 14 members of the ringside press scored the bout for Whitaker.
