This week in boxing history, PBC rewinds to a pair of classic middleweight title clashes, two historic heavyweight championship showdowns and an epic war between lightweight legends that one magazine crowned the best fight of the 1980s.
November 7, 1970 – Carlos Monzon knocked out Nino Benvenuti in the 12th round of a scheduled 15-rounder in Rome to win the world middleweight championship in The Ring's Fight of the Year.
Monzon, a 3-to-1 underdog, proved the victory wasn't a fluke, as he beat Benvenuti again six months later by third-round TKO. He went on to make a division-record 14 title defenses, which was later surpassed by Bernard Hopkins.
November 9, 1996 – Evander Holyfield upset Mike Tyson with an 11th-round knockout in Las Vegas to regain the WBA heavyweight title in the first of their two storied showdowns.
Holyfield, who opened as a 25-to-1 underdog, floored Tyson in the sixth round before finishing him off late to become just the second boxer, after Muhammad Ali, to win a heavyweight championship three times. The Ring selected the bout as Fight of the Year.
November 10, 1983 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler retained his world middleweight titles with a 15-round unanimous decision over Roberto Duran at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
After 13 rounds, Duran was ahead by one point on two scorecards and even on the third, but Hagler finished strong to eke out the victory. It was the first time Hagler, who entered the bout with an eight-fight stoppage streak, was taken the distance as champion.
November 12, 1982 – Aaron Pryor knocked out Alexis Arguello in the 14th round in Miami to retain his WBA super lightweight title in the first of two meetings between the Hall of Famers.
Arguello, a 12-to-5 favorite, was attempting to become the first boxer to win world titles in four weight divisions, but Pryor overwhelmed him late in The Ring’s Fight of the Decade.
November 13, 1992 – Riddick Bowe won the undisputed heavyweight championship with a unanimous decision over Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas in the first of their three meetings.
Round 10 is considered one of the greatest in heavyweight history and was named Round of the Year by The Ring, which also named the bout Fight of the Year. All three bouts between Bowe and Holyfield took place in November (1992, 1993, 1995) in Las Vegas.
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