By Cliff Rold - Magnitude matters.
There are times a fight occurs a little off the radar and it�s so good that it doesn�t matter what happened among bigger stars or on bigger stages. 2001 was a little like that, Mickey Ward-Emmanuel Augustus beating out a Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad because it was just that good.
There are other times when an inferior action fight is just so big that it doesn�t matter what happened in the ring elsewhere. 1996 is a great example, Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson I getting the nod over Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez. The Heavyweight fight was plenty good; the other two were better in the ring.
But it was Holyfield, and Tyson, and it was huge.
In a 2012 with multiple high quality fights, the question of the very best of them came down to just two. Those two aren�t like the examples in 2001 or 1996. This was a choice between two fights that, on their own, were action classics. One was clearly bigger. The other, second for second, may have had a bit more violence.
This year, a fitting analogy might come from 1982.
In that year, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I and Bobby Chacon-Bazooka Limon IV stood out from the crowd. The latter took the nod at Ring Magazine only for the former to later be named that publication�s �Fight of the Decade.? Both were fantastic fights (and, admittedly, either would have won out over the choices this year). Chacon-Limon IV, blow for blow, may have been more violent. Pryor-Arguello I featured the higher quality pedigree.
The implication in the �Decade?selection was about a test of time. [Click Here To Read More]
There are times a fight occurs a little off the radar and it�s so good that it doesn�t matter what happened among bigger stars or on bigger stages. 2001 was a little like that, Mickey Ward-Emmanuel Augustus beating out a Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad because it was just that good.
There are other times when an inferior action fight is just so big that it doesn�t matter what happened in the ring elsewhere. 1996 is a great example, Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson I getting the nod over Marco Antonio Barrera-Kennedy McKinney and Arturo Gatti-Wilson Rodriguez. The Heavyweight fight was plenty good; the other two were better in the ring.
But it was Holyfield, and Tyson, and it was huge.
In a 2012 with multiple high quality fights, the question of the very best of them came down to just two. Those two aren�t like the examples in 2001 or 1996. This was a choice between two fights that, on their own, were action classics. One was clearly bigger. The other, second for second, may have had a bit more violence.
This year, a fitting analogy might come from 1982.
In that year, Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello I and Bobby Chacon-Bazooka Limon IV stood out from the crowd. The latter took the nod at Ring Magazine only for the former to later be named that publication�s �Fight of the Decade.? Both were fantastic fights (and, admittedly, either would have won out over the choices this year). Chacon-Limon IV, blow for blow, may have been more violent. Pryor-Arguello I featured the higher quality pedigree.
The implication in the �Decade?selection was about a test of time. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment