‘Twas the fight before Christmas… Boxing’s most memorable festive bouts featuring Muhammad Ali, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Floyd Mayweather Jr

December has not always been the most popular month in boxing, with fans often reluctant to part with their cash and fighters, promoters and broadcasters preferring the summer months for the biggest events so they can make use of some of the world’s biggest outdoor venues and stadiums.

That is not to say, however, that the festive period has not delivered in terms of boxing, with December setting the stage for some of the sport’s greatest fighters to ever enter the ring, as well as hosting some of the most notorious bouts of all time.

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So, if you’re sitting comfortably, then talkSPORT will begin: ‘Twas the fight before Christmas…

Fights for the ages

Dec. 11^th 1982: Bobby Chacon vs Rafael Limon IV

Named Ring Magazine ‘fight of the year’, Chacon vs Limon IV marked the end of years of rivalry between the two men, who had previously fought to a draw and one victory each.

The rivalry also had the undertones of Mexican (Limon) vs Mexican-American (Chacon) rivalry, or as they are known, Tejanos and Chicanos.

Their fourth encounter was the only fight between the two men that was for a world title, and it seemed to provide the extra incentive needed to motivate the fighters, as the contest was fought at a furious pace from the off.

After dominating the early exchanges, Limon scored a knockdown in the third round, but this only stoked the fire in Chacon, as he came back well, but he was floored once again in the tenth round.

However, with ten seconds left in the final round and with the fight evenly matched, Chacon landed on the chin of Limon to send him to the canvas and take a 10-8 round, which meant he won the fight by a single point on two of the judge’s scorecards.

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While the bout wrote both men into the history books, it also took a toll on them as neither man fought with the same fervour again, with Limon losing the majority of his fights in the lead up to retirement, while Chacon failed in his next attempt at a world title and subsequently struggled with alcoholism.

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Dec. 10^th 1958: Archie Moore vs Yvon Durelle

Archie Moore had a remarkable career with over 200 professional bouts to his name, fighting well into his forties and taking on the likes of Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali (who he also trained for a brief period), while overcoming the fact that he fought at a time in the 1940’s when black boxers were denied world title opportunities no matter how much they deserved them.

You could write a whole book about his career, but for the sake of this article we are going to focus on one of his most notable victories over Canadian, Yvon Durelle, to win the light heavyweight world title.

Moore struggled in the first half of the fight against the younger Durelle, as he was knocked down four times in the first five rounds, but he recovered well utilising his unorthodox defensive technique of crossing his arms that earned him the nickname ‘Old Mongoose.’

In the second half of the fight, Moore’s experience began to shine through as he knocked Durelle down in the seventh, tenth and then in the eleventh round, before finally putting Durelle away later in the round with a left hook, right hand combination.

The pair met for a rematch eight months later, but this time it was far more one sided, with Moore dominating Durelle and knocking him down four times in the third round, before knocking him out.

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Dec. 11^th 1967: Lionel Rose vs Rocky Gattellari

If you haven’t heard of Lionel Rose, I would strongly advise finding out more about him after you’ve read this article, as he has one of the most inspiring stories that boxing has to offer, and if you know boxing that is quite a claim to make.

As a young Aboriginal man growing up in a poor area in Victoria, Australia, life was not easy for Lionel, as at the time Aboriginals were discriminated against and treated as second class citizens, but as is the case with so many, boxing provided him with a route towards prosperity.

Rose’s clash with Gattellari came with his record at 26 – 2 and it was a fight that transcended race or ethnicity, as the fight pitted rival cities, Melbourne and Sydney against each other, as Rose outclassed Gattellari and knocked him out in the thirteenth round to become the Australian bantamweight champion.

While it was not the most incredible fight to ever take place, what came from the fight had a profound affect outside of the ring and it elevated Rose to an elite level, so much so that he went on to become the undisputed bantamweight world champion, beating the likes of Fighting Harada, Takao Sakurai and Chucho Castillo.

Upon returning home after winning his world title, Rose was greeted by thousands at the airport and he was named ‘Australian of the year,’ becoming the first indigenous Australian to do so, which did wonders for race relations in Australia at a time when Aboriginals had only just been given the right to vote.

Fall of giants

Dec. 11^th 1981: Muhammad Ali vs Trevor Berbick

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The end of the year has often brought the end of careers for a number of legends, most notably, that of ‘The Greatest’, Muhammad Ali, as Trevor Berbick claimed an unanimous decision victory over Ali in a fight that was billed the ‘Drama in Bahama.’

Ultimately, this was an underwhelming climax to such a stellar career that Ali had enjoyed, as the fight was consigned to the Bahamas after no American state would grant Ali a boxing license due to his fitness and it showed in the fight as he tired well before the final bell.

The event organisation was as shambolic as the action in the ring, as fewer than 7,500 people watched the fight, with ticket sales slow and no American network even made a bid for the television rights.

Dec. 12^th 2015: Roy Jones Jr. vs Enzo Macarinelli

While this was not the final fight of Roy Jones Jr career, it might as well have been, as Macarinelli presented his first proper challenge in over four years and he was consequently knocked out in emphatic style in the fourth round from a heavy uppercut.

Jones Jr. went on to have four more fights and he even won the WBF cruiserweight title in his penultimate bout (although the fact that you have never heard of the WBF should tell you all you need to know about its level of prestige) and most recently he took on Mike Tyson in an exhibition.

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Dec. 17^th 2016: Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Smith Jr.

While Bernard Hopkins is well known for his age defying feats during his boxing career, such as winning the IBF light heavyweight world title at 48 and then following that up by winning the WBA light heavyweight world title at 49, eventually age even caught up with him.

After losing a one-sided unification battle with Sergey Kovalev, Hopkins decided that he would have one last fight before retirement, but that might have been a mistake looking back, as he was knocked out of the ring following a five-punch flurry from Smith Jr. in the eighth round and he failed to make it back into the ring before Referee Jack Reiss had completed a 20 count.

Comebacks

Dec. 7^th 2019: Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua II

In one of the greatest upsets in boxing history, on Anthony Joshua’s U.S debut in June 2019, Andy Ruiz Jr, who had been brought in as a late replacement for Jarrell Miller, stopped Joshua, having knocked him down four times previously throughout the course of the fight, to take the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world titles.

This could have been a potentially devastating defeat for Joshua who had been pushing for a unification fight with Wilder, and given the physical stature of Ruiz, on first glance this was quite an embarrassing defeat for the 6ft 6in, chiselled Joshua.

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However, like a true champion, Joshua composed himself, made no excuses and regained his titles in the rematch in December, with a disciplined performance in which he refused to be dragged into the same style of fight that had caused him trouble last time out.

Dec. 1^st 2018: Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder I

It has been well documented that after Tyson Fury ended Wladimir Klitschko’s reign over the heavyweight division in 2015 to become heavyweight world champion, he went off the rails, struggling severely with mental health problems that saw him balloon in size and lose his love for boxing.

In June 2018, he made his comeback, easing his way back in with comfortable victories over Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta, before deciding to take on one of the hardest hitting heavyweights in boxing history, Deontay Wilder.

In the past we have seen boxers trying to return to the ring after a few years out without much success, like Ricky Hatton or David Haye, and many thought Fury was destined for the same fate.

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However, ‘The Gypsy King’ looked as sharp as ever, boxing brilliantly over twelve rounds and if it hadn’t been for some questionable judge’s scorecards, he would’ve pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in boxing history, but instead he was made to settle for a draw, before eventually going on to knock Wilder out twice in their next two fights.

Modern classics

Dec. 8^th 2012: Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 4

The number of honours that this fight has received should be proof enough of the prestige this contest holds in modern boxing history, as it was awarded the Ring Magazine ‘fight of the year,’ ‘knockout of the year’ and round five won ‘round of the year,’ as well as the fact that it has been billed as fight of the decade.

In their previous three encounters, Pacquiao had come out on top with two wins, although both men shared the spoils in their first fight, but this bout was the most decisive…

After being knocked down in the fifth round and breaking his nose courtesy of a hard Pacquaio right hand, Marquez somehow managed to pull a stunning one punch knockout from nowhere with one second to go in the sixth round.

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Dec. 8^th 2007: Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Ricky Hatton

While it is probably a bit of a stretch to describe the action inside the ring as a ‘modern classic,’ it was more the event as a whole that has etched this contest into the lasting memory of boxing fans, with Hatton bringing over 30,000 British fans with him to Las Vegas, making for some lively press conferences and an incredible atmosphere on fight night.

There were even a number of celebrities in attendance sat at ringside, including the likes of Denzel Washington, David Beckham and Angelina Jolie, but ultimately none of that support mattered for Hatton, as his corner threw in the towel in the 11^th round to earn Mayweather a deserved stoppage victory.

Dec. 14^th 2013: Adrien Broner vs Marcos Maidana

During his come up, Adrien Broner was billed as the next ‘Floyd Mayweather,’ being mentored by the man himself, and coming off the back of a split decision victory over Paulie Malignaggi, a fight with Marcos Maidana was supposed to be a stepping stone for the young prodigy.

However, despite incessant trash talk from Broner, he was unable to back up his words as he fell to an unanimous decision defeat, taking a heavy beating throughout the twelve rounds and being knocked down twice in the process.

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This marked the beginning of the end for Broner, as he never fully recovered and most recently, he is 3-3-1 in his last seven fights, losing to the likes of Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Manny Pacquiao.

Dec. 11^th 2010: Amir Khan vs Marcos Maidana

His victory over Adrien Broner was not Maidana’s only foray in the festive period, as he also took on Amir Khan in what was personally one of my favourite fights of all time, as it wonderfully interweaved the blinding hand speed of Khan with the devastating power of Maidana.

The back-and-forth affair was awarded the ‘fight of the year’ prize by the Boxing Writers Association of America, as Khan dominated the early exchanges, scoring a knockdown in round one, but Maidana recovered and almost got Khan out of there in the championship rounds, but Khan was able to stay on his feet and claim victory.

Dec. 10^th 2016 & Dec. 22^nd 2018: Dillian Whyte vs Derek Chisora

Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora made Christmas come early for boxing fans twice in their terrific duo of December fights in 2016 and 2018.

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The first fight was billed as a grudge match, with tensions bubbling over in the pre-fight build up and the action in the ring lived up to expectations, as the two heavyweights slugged it out over twelve rounds, with Whyte winning a tight split decision victory.

The second fight was more tentative with both men relying on their boxing skills and it seemed as if Chisora might pull off an impressive upset victory, before Dillian Whyte landed his signature left hook in the 11^th round to put Chisora on the canvas without any chance of rising before the end of the referee’s count.

Other notable fights in the festive period

Dec. 6^th 2008: Manny Pacquiao vs Oscar De La Hoya (Pacquaio won by TKO in the 8^th round)

Dec. 19^th 1997: Naseem Hamed vs Kevin Kelley (Hamed won by KO in the 4^th round)

Dec. 3^rd 1982: Wilfredo Gomez vs Lupe Pintor (Gomez won by TKO in the 14^th round)

Dec. 2^nd 1992: Kennedy Mckinney vs Welcome Ncita I (McKinney won by KO in the 11^th round)

Dec. 10^th 1994: Jorge Castro vs John David Jackson (Castro won by KO in the 9^th round)

Dec. 5^th 1947: Joe Louis vs Jersey Joe Walcott (Louis won by split decision)

Dec. 16^th 2000: Joe Calzaghe vs Richie Woodhall (Calzaghe won by TKO in the 10^th round)

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So, without further ado and keeping with the festive theme… “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”