BOXING -04/11/2009
Top 5: Heavyweight fights
5. James 'Buster' Douglas v Mike Tyson - February 11, 1990. Tokyo. Result: Douglas KO 10,
Key Quote: "Rocky Lives!" - Sports Illustrated cover story.
This fight in Tokyo was not expected to be anything special; it was seen as a vehicle to show off the seemingly indestructible Tyson to a new audience.
However, journeyman Douglas dominated from the start and when Tyson sat down after the seventh round he said to his corner "I'm going to knock him out this round" because he knew he was losing on points. He almost achieved this by knocking Douglas down with a fierce uppercut at the end of the round but the 42-1 underdog survived before knocking out Tyson in the 10th round.
Much has been made since about Tyson's performance on the night but it has been almost forgotten just how brilliant Douglas was. Fighting just 23 days after his mother's death, he fought with a level of skill, intelligence and passion that he was never able to produce again.
4. George Foreman vs. Ron Lyle - January 24, 1976. Las Vegas. Result: Foreman KO 5.
Key quote: "The ebb and flow of the fight - it's almost unbelievable" - commentator Howard Cosell.
This is the least well-known fight on the list but if you like to watch two brave warriors stand toe-to-toe punching each other mercilessly then this clash between George Foreman and Ron Lyle is the one for you.
The first three rounds were exciting but it was in the fourth that the contest secured its all-time classic status.
In that round, Lyle first knocked Foreman down with a devastating right and then went in for the kill only to then find himself on the deck after a brutal right from Foreman. The two swung furiously at each other for the rest of the round and Foreman was down again after a tremendous left from Lyle.
Early in the fifth Foreman had to survive more intense punishment from Lyle but then ended the fight in an almost cruel manner after manoeuvring Kyle into the ropes. There Foreman unleashed a flurry of shattering punches on his opponent and it is a wonder the referee did not stop the fight before Kyle collapsed to the floor.
It was brutal, it was merciless, and it was exhilarating. The Las Vegas crowd loved it!
3. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I - March 8, 1971. Madison Square Garden, New York. Result: Frazier W 15.
Key Quote: (In the ring) as retold by referee Arthur Mercante:
Ali: "You know, you are in the ring with God"
Frazier: "If you are the God, you are in the wrong place tonight"
One of the most hyped fights off all-time and one of the best - it more than lived up to its billing of 'Fight of the Century'.
Ali's jab helped him dominate the opening few rounds but Frazier soon fought back and as the fight entered its latter stages it was still pretty even. However Frazier took control in the 11th with a crushing left hook that almost floored Ali. 'Smokin' Joe then pounded Ali for the remaining rounds and floored him in the 15th and final round before taking a unanimous decision.
An epic rivalry had written its first chapter.
2. Jack Dempsey vs Luis Firpo - September 24, 1923. Polo Grounds, New York. Result: Dempsey KO 2.
Key Quote: "I didn't even know he had knocked me out of the ring until I came to on my stool between rounds. I thought I had been knocked out." - Jack Dempsey.
In the modern world of the TKO this fight would have been long forgotten as a brutal first-round victory for Dempsey.
The first round of the fight is perhaps the most astonishing in boxing history. Argentine Firpo came out and immediately hit Dempsey but the American soon fought back with such brutal power that by the middle of the round he had already knocked down Firpo five times.
Firpo someone how survived and had Dempsey down for a quick one count before another brutal spell by Dempsey saw Firpo floored two more times.
Amazingly, despite Firpo having being down seven times already, the round's most dramatic moment was still to come. The possessed looking Argentine charged at Dempsey and fired a right hook that sent the American through the ropes and on to ringside journalists.
The press core checked Dempsey's fall and pushed him back into the ring but he still hit his head against a typewriter. Dempsey finally got back into fight pose on the count of nine with some suggesting he would never have made it without the help of the journalists. Dempsey was rattled but he managed to floor Flipo again before the bell finally sounded with both men still pounding each other.
Dempsey learned his lesson between rounds while Flipo continued his kamikaze style. A brutal uppercut from Dempsey early in the second snapped Flipo's head back and sent him to ground. Once more he got up, but Dempsey finally finished the fight with a pulverizing right.
It was all over - the exhilarating slugfest had 11 knockdowns despite lasting just three minutes and 57 seconds.
1. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III - October 1, 1975 Manila, Phillipines. Result: Ali TKO 14.
Key Quote: "It was like death. The closest thing to dying I know. If God ever calls me to a holy war, I want Joe Frazier fighting besides me." - Muhammad Ali
We've already had the first fight of this classic trilogy on our list. The second fight in the series saw Ali get his revenge with relative ease but that left the 'Thrilla in Manila' as the decider.
It was an epic fight in three acts. Ali forgo his usual quick-moving style in the early stages and brutally attacked Frazier from the centre of the ring. Frazier came back in the middle rounds with his trademark hooks that exhausted Ali.
In the intense heat it looked like Frazier might wear down Ali, but the reverse happened as Ali found a second wind in the closing stages and started to dance around the ring to get an advantage.
Frazier was practically blind before the start of the final round. He desperately wanted to come out and finish things but his trainer Eddie Futch wouldn't let him. "I want him boss", were Frazier's words on his stool, but Futch simply said: "It's all over. No one will forget what you did here today."
Nobody has.
No Rumble in the Jungle? Holyfield v Tyson? Holyfield v Bowe? Holmes v Norton? Marciano v Walcott? And where oh where is Audley Harrison? Tell us about your favourite heavyweight fights in the comment box below.