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The Other Four Kings
“During the1980s,” wrote TSS editor Arne Lang in a recent article, “Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, and Roberto Duran enlivened the sport, fighting each other in what amounted to a round-robin, nine fights in all fought across four weight divisions. Looking back 20-odd years later, the late Boston Herald (and TSS) columnist George Kimball dubbed them the Four Kings, a name that would stick.”
Arne went on to state: “It seems inevitable that [Devin] Haney, [Teofimo] Lopez, [Ryan] Garcia, and [Gervonta] Davis will cross paths with each other before their careers are finished. More than one writer has dubbed the quartet the new Four Kings.”
Maybe so, but let’s slow this down a bit before the memory of four other kings fades away. These particular four traveled on the U.K. Expressway, a uniquely fast, ferocious, and furious pathway. They were Chris Eubank, Carl Thompson, Nigel Benn, and Michael Watson and they, too, had lots in common.
This writer has always had a special affinity for fighters from the United Kingdom. Maybe it has to do with their grit or maybe the drama that seems to unfold in many of the top fights. It might have started when Alan Minter dismantled Sugar Ray Seales in 1976. However, watching the likes of Carl Thompson, Chris Eubank, Michael Watson and Nigel Benn has provided special thrills.
First and foremost, these four were warriors in the true sense of the word. They would risk their own well-being to render havoc on an opponent, and in too many instances, the price paid was terribly high.
Like their U.S. counterparts, they often fought each other. Watson lost to Eubank twice, but beat Benn by shocking TKO in 1989. Benn went 0-1-1 with Eubank with their second fight before 42,000 rabid fans in 1993 called Britain’s version of Hagler-Leonard. Thompson beat Eubank twice during his exciting chill-or-be-chilled career. But it wasn’t so much that they compiled great records or were world champions at one time or another as it was the way in which they fought.
Benn
Nigel “The Dark Destroyer” Benn was and is a complex, emotional and extremely soulful man who fought the best of UK competition at a time when that competition was as keen as any in the world. A middleweight and super middleweight boxing champion with a 42-5-1 record (three of his defeats came at the end of his career), Benn’s life in and out of the ring is the grist for a movie or Netflix series
When you think of Benn, words like fury, rage, and ferocity come to mind. These were his trademarks in the ring and they provided uncommon excitement and entertainment for fight fans, but sadly his career-defining fight with the great bomber Gerald McClellan ended with tragic results for McClellan and detracts from his entire body of work.
As Boxing Monthly contributor Ian McNeilly poignantly said, “One man’s finest hour was the end of another man’s life as he knew it…the fight with Gerald was one of the best and worst to ever take place. A triumphant and tragic microcosm of boxing.” It would change Nigel’s life forever, and according to his trainer, the tragic results of that fight took away his fighting spirit. “
Quoting McNeilly again, “The story of Gerald McClellan is a painful one, one that fighters, boxing writers and fans seem to find it easy not to discuss……This is because he is a living embodiment of the risks fighters take every time they step through the ropes, a reminder of the dangers that are ignored at peril. To dwell on cases like Gerald McClellan would destroy the sport. To ignore him is to debase ourselves.”
While Nigel Benn was a one of a kind and will not soon be forgotten, no boxing fan will ever forget Gerald MeClellan.
Eubank
A match with a James Toney or Michael Nunn would be a game of chess. A fight with Benn is another matter, because he punches like no other man. It took me 10 months to recover from that fight, (and) 10 months to recover from the Watson II fight, too. – Chris Eubank
No one was more eccentric than Chris “Simply the Best” Eubank, but this is not about his cane, bowler hat, jodhpurs, monocles, lisp, etc, etc. The cocky and flamboyant Eubank, who went undefeated in his first 43 bouts, was the antithesis of Benn and a great rivalry developed between the two culminating in two historic fights. Few can forget the manner in which Eubank seemed to get under Benn’s skin and drive him to distraction. It was high camp and it was hilarious.
The first fight between Eubank and Benn was termed “Grand Prix stuff” by BBC commentator Dave Brenner as both men went at each other with malice aforethought and evil intent. The fight was a classic with Eubank finally stopping Benn with 5 seconds to go in the 9th round, but not before being decked twice himself. Their second bout was a grueling and fierce affair after which each warrior paid the other their due respect.
Chris participated in two more such fights against Michael Watson and they are discussed below. Eubank finished his great career with two losses to Carl “The Cat” Thompson and one to Joe Calzaghe, but his 45-5-2 record came against the very best opposition possible and if a tally were made of his won-loss record, the finding would be astounding.
Michael “The Force” Watson
September 21st, 1991, was the night that Michael Watson should have died. –Chris Baldwin
Getting angry won’t correct the past.— Watson
If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain’t that significant. —Vernon Forrest
Watson and Eubank fought one of the most savage fights in British boxing history. Indeed, it was Britain’s Hagler-Hearns.
Both Watson and Eubank had agility, skill, and power. They were classy and smart fighters who could adapt well for differing opponents and circumstances. After a grueling 10 rounds of action when they finally met in the ring, things came to a boil in round 11. It was an incredible three minutes with Eubank tiring badly, but then suddenly rallying and taking it to Watson, hurting him with several hard shots. But the rally almost gassed Chris, allowing Watson to return the punishment and finally knocking Eubank down with a crunching right to the head. Then, with Watson ahead on points and seemingly on the verge of a stoppage victory, Eubank — who had struggled to his feet– immediately connected with a devastating uppercut which caused Watson to crash backward and strike the back of his head against the ropes. His eyes glazed over as the bell rang and he staggered back to his corner. Soon after Round 12 began, a helpless Watson was trapped in a corner and Referee Roy Francis wisely stopped the fight. Watson then collapsed in the ring.
Michael’s life was at great risk. A total of 28 minutes elapsed before he received treatment in a hospital. He spent over a month in a coma, had six brain operations to remove a blood clot, and then languished over a year in intensive care and rehabilitation before facing six more grueling years in a wheelchair while he ever so gradually recovered some movements as well as the ability to speak and write.
No one really expected Watson to live, much less talk or write. Yet, against all odds, he finished the London Marathon in 2003, capturing the hearts and minds of an entire nation. As people wept in joy and urged him on, Watson walked for six days. He reached his goal after 12 long years, way too many operations and hospitals, and far too many years in a wheelchair. But he trained for months and walked the entire 26 miles and 385 yards, finishing with Eubank and his neurosurgeon Peter Hamlyn at his side.
I was completely inspired. I felt tears falling from my eyes. It has lived with me forever. How do you expect that to make a man feel when you are called ‘The People’s Champion?’ That’s the one label they will never take away from me. — Watson
On 4 February 2004, Michael was awarded the MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II.
Carl Thompson
Manchester-born Carl Thompson won the IBO cruiserweight title by beating Sebastian Rothmann in a closet classic and then turned right around and stopped contender and future champion David Haye in still another great fight in which Haye was winning but gassed out, allowing the cunning “Cat” to catch and claw him out. In 2001, The Cat lost his title to American Ezra Sellers in a fantastic slugfest in which both warriors were down multiple times. Thompson finished his career with six straight wins and will forever be adored by his fans as a humble but fierce warrior who participated in a number of true classics.
Reminiscent of the Norkus-Nardico classic, the Cat’s all-out Pier 6 with Sellers in 2001 produced six knockdowns (Thompson was knocked down four times, Sellers twice)! Sellers finally halted “The Cat” in the fourth round and ended a winning streak that had started after Thompson lost to Johnny Nelson in 1999. Thompson had been decked many times before, but he had always gotten up. Against Ezra, he was separated from his senses and sent to Feline Dreamland. This fight reliably demonstrated what can happen when two chill-or-be-chilled types face off.
It was truly a shame that Carl flew under the radar of American boxing writers and fans. In many ways, his exploits were just as noteworthy as those of Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank (whom he beat twice in 1998), or Michael Watson. Maybe it was because he fought as a cruiserweight (a lower profile weight division) but more likely it’s because he never fought outside of Europe.
Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More
Those lightweights.
Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.
Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.
Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.
Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.
“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.
Even in Las Vegas.
Verona, New York
Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.
Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.
“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.
Foster disagrees.
“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.
Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).
Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.
“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.
Muratalla likes challenges too.
“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.
Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship
WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.
Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.
But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.
“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.
In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.
Bad choice for Mucino.
Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.
Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.
Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.
Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.
“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.
It should be exciting.
Fights to Watch
Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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Bakhram Murtalaziev was the Fighter of the Month in October
As we close the book on October, let’s look back at the month’s stellar performances. Kenshiro Teraji added another exclamation point to his brilliant career with an 11th-round stoppage of Cristofer Rosales. England’s Jack Catterall, considered no more than a decent domestic-level talent for most of his career, showed that he had been underrated with a comprehensive 12-round decision over declining Regis Prograis. But the top performance, by a landslide, was delivered by Bakhram Murtalaziev who annihilated Tim Tszyu on Oct. 19 in Orlando, Florida.
Murtalaziev was undefeated (22-0, 16 KOs) and the reigning IBF junior middleweight champion, but he was the underdog and the “B” side. As champions go, and there are roughly five dozen across the 17 weight divisions, the California-based Russian ranked among the least well-known. He had won his title in Berlin with an 11th-round stoppage of an unexceptional 38-year-old German-Ecuadorian campaigner, Jack Culcay, and he would be making his first defense.
Managed by Egis Klimas who also handles Oleksandr Usyk and Vasiliy Lomachenko, among others, Bakhram Murtalaziev came from a good barn in the vernacular of a horseplayer, but on paper that alone was insufficient to get him over the hump against Tim Tszyu who a few short months earlier was widely considered the best 154-pound boxer in the world.
That was before he met up with Sebastian Fundora who blemished his record, but that setback could have been written off as a fluke.
As we recall, Tszyu was scheduled to fight Keith Thurman in the initial PBC offering on Amazon Prime Video, but Thurman suffered a biceps injury in training and Fundora was bumped up from the undercard to fill the breach. With only 12 days’ notice, Tim Tszyu went from fighting a five-foot-seven fighter who fights out of an orthodox stance to fighting a southpaw who stood almost a full foot taller. The “Towering Inferno” has his limitations, but poses a special problem to anyone, let alone an opponent with little time to formulate a good game plan.
Tszyu was hampered in the Fundora fight by a gash on his hairline that hampered his vision. The injury happened in the second round when he ducked under Fundora and walked into an elbow. The gash bled copiously throughout the fight and yet the best that Fundora could do was win a split (albeit fair) decision.
To say that Tszyu failed to rebound from the Fundora misadventure would be putting it mildly. Murtalaziev steamrolled him, knocking him to the canvas four times in all before Tszyu’s corner tossed in the towel at the 1:55 mark of the third stanza. It was painful to watch. Referee Chris Young was faulted for allowing the match to continue as long as it did. Compounding Tszyu’s misery, his celebrated father, a first ballot Hall of Famer, was ringside. Kostya Tszyu hadn’t seen his oldest son fight in the flesh since Tim’s pro debut in 2016.
Although the dichotomy is imperfect, Tim Tszyu, who turns 30 on Saturday, is more of a puncher than a boxer. That may work against him so far as clawing his way back to a position of prominence. The noted boxing coach Stephen “Breadman” Edwards, a keen student of the history of boxing in the modern era, expressed this sentiment in a Q and A story for Boxing Scene. “Destructive fighters usually don’t come back to full capacity after bad KO losses,” he said, citing John Mugabi, Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, and Naseem Hamed to illustrate his point. Moreover, added Edwards, “No one will ever be afraid of him again.”
But there were two stories that emerged from the Murtalaziev-Tszyu fight. Tim Tszyu crashed, but Bakhram Murtalaziev emerged from obscurity, announcing his presence (pardon the cliché) as a force to be reckoned with. As for his next assignment, the best guess is that it will come against Sebastian Fundora or Errol Spence Jr. who are expected to meet early next year. And based on Murtalaziev’s stunning performance in Orlando, it will be impossible to bet against him.
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Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
Foreman-Moorer: 30 Years Later
By TSS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JAMIE REBNER — In sports, middle-aged athletes are not supposed to beat opponents who are half their age and in their athletic primes. Only the greatest ones can use guile, technique, and experience to compensate for the dulling of speed, reflexes, and athleticism that have unavoidably eroded with time.
That is why George Foreman’s feat of reclaiming the heavyweight title at 45 is so impressive. It was thirty years ago this coming Tuesday, Nov 5, 1994, that Foreman scored a monumental upset in knocking out Michael Moorer to win back the title he had lost twenty years prior against Muhammad Ali in The Rumble in the Jungle. In doing so, Big George became the oldest heavyweight champion, breaking the record previously held by Jersey Joe Walcott, who had won the title at 38.
When Foreman beat Moorer, he was in the twilight of his second career, a comeback that began in 1987. George had retired in 1977 after losing to Jimmy Young and experiencing a spiritual awakening in his locker room. That led him to become a minister and devote himself to his family and congregation. During his retirement, he opened a youth center in Houston, which required much financial support, prompting him to return to the ring.
After winning 24 straight fights from 1987-1990, Foreman lost his first title shot by decision to Evander Holyfield in 1991. He rebounded from that loss with three more wins before getting a crack at the WBO title against Tommy Morrison in 1993. But his performance against Morrison was disappointing and he lost another decision. After that, Foreman was out of the ring for 17 months before he was gifted another title shot against Moorer.
Foreman got that gift because Moorer, due to his sullen demeanor and curtness with the media, was not a draw with the fans. He was also an unproven champion, having beaten Holyfield for two belts only seven months prior. So. Moorer needed a name opponent who could bring in the crowds for his first title defense. And the other top heavyweights like Oliver McCall (WBC champ), Lennox Lewis, and Riddick Bowe didn’t have close to Foreman’s drawing power. So. deserving or not, Foreman was chosen as the challenger to make a fight that would be worth the public’s attention and pockets.
Even Foreman was surprised by getting selected to fight Moorer. “I never in my wildest imagination thought I’d get a title shot again,” he told Associated Press sports columnist Tim Dahlberg. Still, George was determined to make his third time a charm.
But as motivated as George was, there was an irrefutable gap in speed between himself and the much younger champion. From the opening bell, Moorer used his superior quickness and reflexes to make Foreman look stiff and slow. And although George landed punches early on, he fired them one at a time while Moorer countered with multiple shots. But despite Moorer’s advantage in connects, his trainer Teddy Atlas advised him from the get-go not to stand in front of Foreman and make himself a stationary target for a right-hand bomb.
But Moorer failed to heed that advice as he continued to outwork Foreman in the middle rounds. Although he was winning, Moorer’s overconfidence kept him at close quarters, and he continued to circle unwisely to his left and into Foreman’s dangerous right hand. And despite absorbing many quality shots, Foreman never appeared hurt or discouraged thanks to his granite chin and unyielding resolve. He was determined to win and he was willing to walk through as many flush shots as he needed to do so.
With Moorer content to stay in range, Foreman gladly returned his firepower and he landed some telling right crosses, uppercuts, and plenty of thudding body blows during the battle. And while Moorer continued to pile up points and rounds, as long as George was marching forward and throwing shots, he had a puncher’s chance.
And with a minute to go in round ten, that punch came. After missing a three-punch combination, Foreman scored with a one-two, with the right hand landing on the forehead. He immediately repeated that combination but this time aimed the right hand lower on Moorer’s jaw. That slight adjustment caused his bulldozer right to collide perfectly with Moorer’s chin, sending the champion crashing to the canvas and sprawled onto his back. The champion couldn’t beat the count, and just like that, the fight was over, Moorer’s short-lived title run ending before it ever truly began.
With a single, shattering blow, Foreman etched his name into boxing history. Wearing the same trunks from Zaire 20 years before, he was now heavyweight champion of the world once again. It was a shocking result that defied conventional wisdom since seldom do 45-year-old boxers score knockouts over champions in their athletic primes. But Foreman reminded us that he was anything but your typical quadragenarian. He was special, and he had two distinct heavyweight championship reigns to prove it.
—
About the author:
Jamie Rebner lives in Toronto, Canada. He has been a freelance boxing writer since 2016 and his writing has appeared in The Fight City, Boxing News Online, The Ring, and Ringside Seat magazine. His Substack blog is Fight Fundamental, and he is currently writing a book about George Foreman’s comeback. He is also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow him on Twitter @J_NReb.
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