This is a list of the fights I watched on HBO over the years.
76. David Tua vs. Hasim Rahman. December 19, 1998. I watched this one from Miami, Florida between two heavyweights, pulling hard for David Tua. I never liked Hasim Rahman, and when David stopped him in the tenth, I was happy. Tua was a fighter that many expected to win a portion of the heavyweight title sooner or later, but he never did.
77. Roy Jones Jr. vs. Richard Frazier. January 9, 1999. This ridiculous bout was one that should have never been made. Frazier was a New York City cop, who had about as much sense being in the ring with Roy Jones as I did. The highlight of this stupid fight was when Jim Lampley said “Down goes Frazer.”, mimicking Howard Cosell’s 1973 call of George Foreman putting Joe Frazier on the canvas. Roy stopped this circus of a bout in the second, and made me wonder what HBO was thinking allowing this crap on their broadcast. An apologetic Larry Merchant called the show ‘Junk’ in his post-fight commentary, and I could only agree.
78. Felix Trinidad vs. Pernell Whitaker. February 20, 1999. I remember that frigid weekend for a few reasons, mostly for the fact that my 72 year old mother was diagnosed with viral meningitis, and came close to death. Thank God, she recovered and made it back to normal, but it was a stressful 3 days, that’s for sure. I had her admitted on Sunday, so the previous night I was on my recliner watching Pernell Whitaker take one last shot at the title against a younger and quicker Felix Trinidad. The bout from Madison Square Garden was sad to watch, with ‘Tito’ winning most every round. Honestly, that whole weekend was one I’d rather forget, the fight included.
79. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Oba Carr. May 22, 1999. This one from the beautiful Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas featured the ‘Golden Boy’ vs. Oba Carr. Oscar didn’t have much trouble with Carr, and stopped him in the eleventh. It was not one of the most memorable fights I saw on HBO over the years, but my mom was healthy and happy again by then, which was far more important to me.
80. Roy Jones Jr. vs. Reggie Johnson. June 5, 1999. Another routine title defense for Roy Jones from Biloxi, Mississippi, this time against a solid boxer Reggie Johnson. The fight was boring though, with Jones refusing to take chances, and happy to land shots from the outside. Roy didn’t knock guys out like he did at super middleweight, and more often than not, I switched channels during his fights. Another snoozer of a twelve round decision went in Roy’s column, and I couldn’t tell you one memorable thing about it.
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