Written by MinhazonSports
As early as the 18th century, Boxing has been an integral part of sports. The most famous combat sport, boxing has produced many amazing moments that left fans bewildered by the sport. Boxing has seen many upsets, new stars and icons on the stage allowing fans to list which moment they see as the greatest. This list of the greatest boxing moments of all time is not ranked, boxing has produced so many unbelievable moments, that it's just hard to rank. With that out of the way, let's see what 5 moments are the greatest boxing moments of all time.
1. Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson
The then heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson was to defend his belt against the underdog James 'Buster' Douglas on February 11, 1990. Fans across the world saw Douglas as the heavy underdog giving Buster Douglas virtually no chance of beating Mike Tyson. Bookies placed Douglas beating Tyson at 42-1. Not only were all the odds stacked against Buster but just 3 weeks before the fight, he'd just learnt that his mother, Lula Douglas, suddenly died from a stroke. Even with all the grief, Douglas still went ahead with the fight.
Mike Tyson and his corner, knowing that they were the clear favourite in this fight, did not even bring packs of ice to reduce swelling. So it came as a shock across the entire world when Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in the 10th round, winning the WBA, WBC, IBF, and The Ring heavyweight titles. Even with Mike dropping Douglas in the 8th round, Douglas saw his punches landing at every move. Tyson was gassed out, not expecting Douglas to go all the way, and could not beat the 10 count after a devastating uppercut followed by a barrage of punches by Douglas. This knockout by Buster Douglas is widely considered the greatest upset in boxing history.
2. The Rumble in the Jungle
Youth vs Experience. Power vs Speed. This is what the 'Rumble in the Jungle' was. On October 30th. 1974, two of the greatest boxers of all time; George Foreman and Muhammad Ali battled it out in a 15 round match for the WBA, WBC and The Ring Heavyweight Titles. This match is considered 'The Greatest Sporting Event in the 20th century' and was indeed a major upset. Yes, it's crazy to think that Muhammad Ali was considered the underdog but against an undefeated George Foreman, there was no choice.
George Foreman, the world heavyweight champion at the time, was in the prime of his career. 25 years old, invincible, and a knockout machine. In 1973, he did what Ali couldn't: he knocked out Smoking Joe Frazier in the second round. Ali, on the other hand, was beginning to show his age. He wasn't in the same physical shape as Foreman, but he was still swift and strong. Ali was forced to retire from boxing after refusing to fight in the Vietnam War and after his return saw himself losing a shock defeat to Joe Frazier. As a result, the boxing world pitted Ali against Big George, claiming that Ali was past his prime. Well, that was not the case.
Ali used sheer tactics and experience to tire out Foreman and by the eighth round, Foreman's punching and defence were almost non-existent After a series of hooks, Ali dropped Foreman, in the eighth round, shocking the world in what was another upset. This was just one of those fights which saw Ali as the Greatest of All Time.
3. George Foreman becomes the Oldest Heavyweight Champion
It came as a shock to the entire Boxing Nation that George Foreman announced his retirement, in his prime years, at the age of 28. He left boxing after what he referred to as a religious epiphany and became an Ordained Christain Minster. Ten years after his retirement, Foreman announced his comeback to boxing. After a series of wins, George Foreman was rewarded with a Boxing Heavyweight Title fight against the then-undefeated champion Michael Moorer. This was, once again, a huge upset in boxing history as Foreman was the heavy underdog coming into this fight.
However, in the tenth round, Foreman clipped Moorer, dropping the champion to the ground with the ref counting to ten. Geroge Foreman becomes the oldest Heavyweight Champion at the old age of 45!! Foreman was behind in the scorecards too which makes this victory even more of an upset. As the arena erupted in cheers, he returned to his corner and knelt in prayer. Foreman set three records with this epic victory: He became the oldest fighter to win a world championship at the age of 45; he broke the record for the fighter with the longest gap between his first and second world championships by 20 years, and the age difference of 19 years between the champion and challenger was the largest in any heavyweight boxing championship fight.
4. Lift-off for AJ!
Now, this is really a great moment in boxing history, there are definitely better moments than this, but I had to put this on here. Anthony Joshua was my favourite boxer at the time and to defeat one of the greatest heavyweights in recent years put the Brit on the map. Not only that but this boxing match was one of the greatest modern boxing matches of all time. Leading up to this fight, no one really knew who would have their hand raised. This was AJ's first real test as a heavyweight champion while Klitschko just came off a devastating loss to Tyson Fury. However, AJ was in the prime of his career while Klitschko was still one of the active greats.
The fight was amazing. A sold-out record of 90,00 fans at Wembley Stadium. Each round went to opposing fighters. Klitschko wad dropped in the fifth round after a barrage of punches. But then he replied in sixth dropping AJ, for the first time in his career, with one of the cleanest rights I've seen. It left both fighters to be cautious and careful which saw AJ winning on points. It seemed like the fight was going to the scorecards until the eleventh round when AJ produced the best boxing of his career. A devastating uppercut drops Klitschko to the canvas, surprisingly he gets up but AJ continued his attack forcing the ref to stop the fight. AJ successfully defended his belts against Klitschko, proving his worth and making me proud to be Brit.
5. Roy Jones Jr win the Heavyweight Title
It's hard to believe that Roy Levesta Jones Jr started off his boxing career as a light-middleweight. He is the only boxer in history to start as a light middleweight and win the heavyweight title. This feat is literally unthinkable but on March 1st 2003, Jones did exactly that. From 1989-2018, 'Captain Hook' held multiple world championships in four different weight classes including Middleweight, Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight. He won the fight in convincing fashion too with Jones winning in UD to claim the Heavyweight Championships. One of the greatest to ever do it, Jones defied the odds, placing his name in Boxing Hall of Fame.
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