This is my continuing list of the fights I watched on HBO over the years.
66. Roy Jones Jr. vs. Montell Griffin. March 21, 1997. What was expected to be a routine title defense for Roy, turned out to be anything but. Griffin had earned the title shot at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City by defeating James Toney, so he was a capable opponent. He was sort and strong, and was actually boxing well for the first six or seven rounds of the bout. A sluggish Jones finally started to rally, but disaster struck in the ninth round when after dropping Griffin to one knee with a hard blow, knocked him out with a combination a few moments later. It was a blatant illegal shot, and it cost Jones his undefeated record. Despite his complaints after the fight, it was clearly a foul, and Griffin went home with Roy’s championship belts.
67. George Foreman vs. Lou Savarese. April 26, 1997. After watching George win a sloppy title defense against Crawford Grimsley the previous November, I was hoping he would perform much better against Savarese. I had met Lou in Las Vegas the previous November in Vegas, when I went out to see the Holyfield-Tyson fight. We talked for about 15 minutes, and he told me he didn’t like George Foreman, because he had lied about promising to fight him. Something must have happened in the five months after, because they were together in the ring at the Atlantic City Convention Center. My sentiments were certainly with George that night, and the scores were too close for comfort as the fight reached the final rounds. Fortunately, ‘Big George’ finished strong, and took home a split decision victory. I was just happy he won the fight, and I’d see my favorite fighter in the ring again.
68. Oscar De La Hoya vs. David Kamau. June 14, 1997. The ‘Golden Boy’ was the face of boxing at this point, and his trip to the Alamodome in San Antonio was planned to be an easy title defense, especially after the difficult time he had in winning the welterweight belt from Pernell Whitaker in April. I sat in my recliner to catch the action, but it didn’t last long. Oscar smoked Kamau in two, and knocked him out at 2:54 of the second round. He took home $3,000,000 while Kamau earned $200,000, and it left Oscar’s record at 24-0.
69. Lennox Lewis vs. Henry Akinwande. July 12, 1997. Lennox was making the first defense of his WBC heavyweight title, and Henry Akinwande was expected to be a good test for him. Nothing could be further from the bout in Lake Tahoe. Henry grabbed and held from the start, and had points deducted in the second. By the fifth round, referee Mills Lane had seen enough, and after Akinwande clutched onto Lennox for 19 seconds straight, disqualified him. It was a horribly cowardly performance, and I hoped I never saw Akinwande fight again.
70. George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs. November 22, 1997. When both men entered the ring at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, I didn’t know what to expect. What I saw turned out to be better than expected, since George easily out jabbed the younger Briggs, and landed powerful shots as well. As the bout came to a close, I had no doubts that George was the winner. Incredibly, when the scores were read, Briggs was given a gift majority decision by the judges, an awful call. George was gracious in his post fight interview with Larry Merchant, didn’t complain, and announced it would be his last fight, which it actually was. I was proud of my all- time favorite boxer, and it still brings a tear to my eye when I thing of his death in March of 2025.
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