After bringing the championship back home to Massachusetts, Marvin prepared for his first title defense in the new year of 1981. It came against Fulgencio Obelmejias on January 17th in Boston and ended in an 8th round TKO. That set up his much wanted rematch against Vito Antuofermo in his next fight in June at […]

After his controversial split decision draw with Vito Antuofermo in November of 1979, Marvin Hagler went back to work. He won 3  consecutive fights, 2 by knockout, and earned a shot at Alan Minter’s WBC middleweight championship, the one he took from Antuofermo on March 16, 1980. The defense was set for London at Wembley

After the difficult time he had with Earnie Shavers, Muhammad Ali wanted an easy title defense. His pick was 1976 Olympic gold medalist Leon Spinks, a novice pro at best with a 7-0 record. The bout was set for February 15th at the Hilton in Las Vegas. Ali trimmed down to a fairly fit 224

Muhammad Ali’s last fight in 1977 had been a lackluster win over the limited Alfredo Evangelista in May. It was obvious the two-time champ had slowed down a great deal, and at 35, was nearing the end. He signed to fight the hard punching Earnie Shavers in September at Madison Square Garden,and I don’t think

The third and final fight of the trilogy between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier took place on October 1, 1975 in Manila, the Philippines. This time the fight took place with Ali as the champ after his upset of George Foreman a year earlier. In the pre-fight talk, Ali was mean and vicious, referring to

After his colossal upset of George Foreman in October of 1974, Ali was on top of the sports world. In January he turned 33 and was looking for an easy first defense of his newly won championship. His promoter Don King found the easy mark in Chuck ‘The Bayonne Bleeder’ Wepner. The bout was set

Joe Frazier retired after his second knockout loss to George Foreman in June of 1976, and instead pursued his singing career. But eventually as most boxers do, the thrill of the ring brings them back, and the limelight that accompanies it. Seeing Ali’s return in 1980 and 1981 further motivated Joe, and he signed to

After their first fight in January of 1973, the careers of both fighters took different paths. Foreman defended the belt he took from Frazier twice before losing it to Muhammad Ali in October of 1974. He only fought once in 1975, a much criticized exhibition in Toronto, Canada in which he knocked out 5 limited

After his loss to Muhammad Ali in their second bout in September of 1973, his career didn’t miss a beat. George Foreman had become the heavyweight champion in January of 1973 by destroying Joe Frazier. His one title defense over Joe ‘King’ Roman was in September of that same year, an easy one round knockout

By the time both fighters met again 3 years after their September 1973 bout, much had changed. Ali had recaptured the title with his famous upset win of George Foreman in October of 1974, and had kept it for nearly two years. He had defeated a string of challengers. and beaten Joe Frazier in the