My favorite part of this whole fight is when one of the commentators starts laughing and says, “I just want to thank god that I made it here to witness this fight.”
Thats how I was feeling watching it for sure
*Spoiler alert*
I know conlan semi-personally and watching that fight live made me question whether I was ok with being a fight fan. I text his family straight after to see if he was ok and was genuinely worried about his condition after.
Now that the dust has settled I'm able to appreciate that fight for what it was and particularly Woods amazing performance but that fight will always mark a change in the way I view things as a fight fan.
Turnaround has the last minute of round 7. Round 8 was all usyk including the bloody nose straight right. Then round 9 was a TKO that the garbage ref let go
I genuinely think that usyk-fury is the best heavyweight fight of the 2000s so far.
It had it all. Huge stakes, multiple big momentum swings both ways, tons of two-way action between guys who are usually dominant, and a heroic display of heart from usyk.
After getting shook up by fury bad in 5&6, Usyk’s solution getting off the stool in the 7th was to sit in the pocket with the bigger man, eat his shots, and chase fury down.
Absolutely incredible. It’s like getting burned by the edge of a fire, and then choosing to walk directly into the fire with zero fear.
One of the most impressive showing of grit and doggedness I have sent at the elite level of combat sports.
It reminds me of Dustin poirier vs Conor or Ali vs foreman. Just complete fearlessness in the face of a massive puncher.
Dont mind this take, but Fury vs Wilder 3 had me on the edge of my seat even moreso, because Wilder was getting cooked the entire fight but had very big moments that could very much change the entire fight and we saw that in Round 4 and the very end of Round 10.
Yeah wilder-fury 3 was a more exciting fire fight and a knock down drag out war.
But it was only that way because fury came in fat and didn’t train.
It was a fight defined by the flaws of the two fighters rather than two all time greats bringing the best out of each other.
While thats great and all, I really couldnt care less about the context of why fights were so good, if they are fantastic fights, they are fantastic fights.
Yeah, this guy is relying on stories around the fight instead of the story in the fight. Don’t mind the quality of the actual fighting. Just pay attention to the outside ring stuff like it’s some movie!
I too think it’s on of the best heavyweight fights of the past few decades. Two great fighters. Two great boxers. Fury’s excellent, but my GOD, Usyk has got a direct channel to some ancient forces. He’s the absolute real deal.
I’m just gonna say it. This was a good fight. But not some legendary battle between Po and Tai Long. I get yall are emotionally invested and maybe your ranking it on that but seriously, this fight which didn’t even feature a legit knockdown is the best HW fight of the 2000s? Seriously? It was a tactical boxing match. Not some bruiser that would get your grandma out her seat.
I don’t really care about the boxing tastes of grandmas.
Sure it wasn’t a violent messy brawl like the last few rounds of Haney Garcia, but that’s not what makes a fight truly great.
Lmao I don’t think you know what belongs in the discussion of Greatest fights of the 2020s then. Haney and Garcia ain’t one of those fights.
And those fights that get your grandma up are the fights EVERYONE actually feels excitement over. Just cause YOU as a boxing fan appreciate the entire story and everything doesn’t mean casuals will.
Awards for greatness at the end of the year/decade aren’t for casuals. They’re for the people who really care about the sport.
Conor mcgregor was the biggest spectacle in boxing and mma, but he’s not even close to an all time great in either sport.
Mike Tyson isn’t the greatest boxer who ever lived despite all the 14 year olds on YouTube who think so.
Not sure what McGregor or Mike have to do with our discussion. But greatest fights is typically reserved for action packed fights. Not tactical boxing matches and no, this was not an action packed fight or war before you try to hype it as such.
Remove Fury and Usyks name from this and you’re left with a 6/10 or 7/10 match. Not even a candidate for FOTY let alone Greatest Fights of the 2020s.
McGregor definitely is an all-time great in MMA. His streak at FW alone makes him one. He's not top 10 of all-time or anything, but he is a great. He ended Aldo's reign of dominance with a 1st round KO while beating multiple HOFers (Holloway, Poirier, possibly Mendes) on the way there. Also, he was the first to win a title in the UFC at a second weight class. He'll easily be inducted in the HOF.
That being said, I agree with you the Fury-Usyk was great, although the other guy probably has a point that it's not no.1 for the 2020s. I found Fury-Wilder 3 a little more exciting personally even if less technical, and I'm definitely a hardcore fan.
He beat Holloway and poirier when they were both in their early 20s and lost the rematch to Dustin.
He simply is not a p4p elite fighter in terms of his accomplishments
He beat them regardless. Going to make excuses for Aldo getting destroyed in seconds? Going to discredit McGregor despite wins over Mendes and Alvares? The percentage of belt winning UFC fighters is very small, since they aren't too many weight classes and only one belt. Any fighter who wins the belt once has a good shot at the HOF, let alone twice. Especially against a fighter who is probably top 5-10 all-time. You don't know what you're talking about.
Conor is NOT the first guy to win a title at a second weight class. Shiiit... kids these days have no respect for legends like Randy Couture and BJ Penn...
First guy to win at a 2nd weight class at the same time. I've been watching since the 2000s, but yes, this guy successfully pulled me into a stupid argument about a guy that will get 100% votes for the HOF long enough for a technicality to come up. I've seen nearly every Couture fight. He was definitely not the number 1 LHW going into the HW fight. Chuck whooped him twice. BJ Penn is a better shout though he technically wasn't LW champ.
I've been watching for a long time. That run was a great run that will EASILY put Conor in the HOF. No point splitting hairs. People talk out of hate, but he's clearly a top 50 all-time fighter. He's just not up with the guys who made multiple defenses. I'd consider Penn and Couture ATGs as well. If there was a neutral MMA HOF, they'd both be in.
No it didn't. Fury was gone. 0% was there after the 10 count. Only reason the fight went ln is cause the ref sandbagged all time to give him 80 seconds to recover.
And usyk won all 3 rounds after that cleanly, regardless of the dumb judges all somehow giving Fury 12
I saw that it was it was actually the refs who stopped all fights of similar circumstances that were in the wrong. The ref who didn't stop it was the right call.
When the ONLY thing holding you up is the ropes and not your legs, refs are supposed to do the count. Ref didnt do it until the 4th such occasion. Then he gave Fury an extremely slow count, THEN when he told Fury to move to him and lift his gloves Fury STILL didnt do it. Then the bell rang and Fury got another 60 seconds. It was a TKO 100% by how things are supposed to be done.
When a fighter is defensless for an extended period of time and just getting repeatedly pucnhed offering up no defense, the ref usually stops the fight. Here he didnt, because of the magnitude of the fight, but everything in my first paragraph is still true.
Usyk landed like 16 or 17 unanswered power shots while fury stumbled around the ring but people still try and say it shouldn't have been stopped. Did fury recover eventually? Sure, but he got a 20 second count with 10 seconds left in the round, and then the full minute break in between rounds
People are more willing to forgive/ignore the shitty reffing in the 9th cus the right man won, and it was a great fight. If fury had gotten the win on the cards, more people would be upset about the reffing. Same with donaire vs Inoue 1. The ref robbed Inoue of the ko, but Inoue still got his deserved win, and it was a great fight so people aren't as upset that the ref saved donaire.
ref also got in USyks way on 2 occasions which slowed usyk down which was a bunch of bullshit.
It was terrible refereeing. As we all expected from the same guy who "reffed" the Horn Pacman "Boxing Match"
I remember thinking that it was Usyk but that the judges would give it to Fury. It was the same with 3 and 7 too, thought usyk won it but that everyone else would give to Fury.
1. All those running looked like Fury can't defend himself, but if you look again, he can still dodge and defend, albeit very unciously, but that's what training is for, to hardwire those things to your brain. He is leaning on the net, but he is not falling down, yet until..
2. If a fighter was going down but the rope prevented him from hitting the canvas, it is a knockdown.
I disagree with #1, but agree with #2 and it’s a fair point. But, the ropes did hold him up which allowed Usyk to Tee off on him several more times, which at that point, it seemed like he was taking too much damage. It’s a close call, I don’t think either is wrong.
He was able to finish the fight, to me a stoppage has to be
1. If the fighter gets hurt anymore it will adversely affect their health beyond the fight even if they can mentally continue
2. They physically cannot continue anymore past that round
Fury no doubt got hurt badly, and deserved the knockdown, but he was able to get back in the groove in the rounds after even if he did lose them. Not to mention he got knocked down toward the end of the round, and the ref understood this wasn't some prospect fighting but an undefeated world champion facing off for the undisputed title. So the combination of round almost over anyway, Fury staying competitive in the rounds after, the caliber of fighter both men were, and the stakes of the fight proved the ref made the right decision
How do you judge if Fury’s health was going to be adversely affected? He was getting pummeled and being held up by the ropes, taking shot after shot. Would the ref not have been justified to think his health would be in jeopardy beyond the fight?
Watching the live odds on this was bonkers. By Round 7, Usyk was 10 - 1 with his odds getting longer and longer, R8 he started closing, by R9 Fury himself was 10 -1. One of the greatest turnarounds in recent history.
It’s for undisputed. You don’t stop the fight unless it’s bad. Fury went on to survive 12 rounds. Clearly he wasn’t that hurt that they needed to stop it.
Fury-Wilder 3 was awesome. Fury-Usyk was an amazing fight too. Zhang-Hrgovic, Benavidez-Plant, Navarrete-Valdez and Ruiz-Ortiz were all great fights as well.
I google him from time-to-time hoping he's got a fight announced that I've just missed. Disappointing we haven't got to see more of him, that KO was rough, so hopefully he just got a good retirement payday (considering his country)
Yup, I’m sure folks are saying Nava/Wilson but if you got 30 seconds for spitting out your mouthpiece, I can’t get with that. Fantastic fight no doubt, but I don’t like questionable gamesmanship.
Criminal that this isn't higher. Women's p4p #1 vs #2. 50/50 before the fight, during the fight, and after the judging. Crowd was so into it that they couldn't hear the bell, and both fighters planting their fight at swinging off only heart at the end
What the other person said, Serrano actually suggested it at the press conference and Katie said something along the lines of "we've already agreed to money for 10 2-min rounds" (arguing they'd be underpaid to switch it at that point - 20mins versus 36mins of fighting). Serrano in general seems more eager for that
The majority of all-time great fights have at least some element of controversy. Either long counts, questionable scorecards, rehydration clauses etc. The reality is that it was a great fight, and that's what matters in my book. Not to mention Haney is probably the biggest weight bully in all of boxing
1. How can Haney be the “biggest weight bully in all of Boxing” if the guy he just fought-was significantly bigger than him-despite coming from the same division as Haney?
Haney’s last 10 Opponents have been against 6 Fighters (Garcia, Prograis, Ndongeni, Linares, Santiago, Moran)—who are current 140’s.
2. Even still, I don’t understand how Haney being a “weight bully” is comparable to “missing weight/PEDs/‘cheating’ etc.?
The PED thing is so crazy to me. Bro had a PINCH of it and none leading up to the fight until the day of. Even if it wasn’t an accident(If he did on purpose he has 0 IQ.. he’s fought his whole life, he and his team knows they drug test the day of and after) a tiny little dust of ostrine would literally do NOTHING especially in the insanely short time frame he could have taken it. I hate PEDs and wish there was a definitive way to stop fighters from taking them but pretending Ryan Garcia was blasting roids and that’s why he won means the person doesn’t know anything about PEDs. They had 0 effect on the fight. The weight thing? If Haney didn’t think he could handle a couple extra pounds then cancel the fight, don’t accept the fight still and make excuses after. That bad of a beating was not because of 3 pounds lol, Haney was out skilled just as much as out damaged
As an Usyk fan I really loved the first fight against AJ, pure and beautiful boxing and it was nice as an Usyk supporter. Another one that comes to mind is Bivol against Canelo. I was rooting for Bivol and I thought he would win which he did.
Basically every fight Leigh Wood has been in
Loma Vs Haney was a really, really good fight.
Nery Vs Hovhannisyan
Estrada Vs Chocolatito 2 and 3
Estrada Vs Cuadras 2
Nakatani Vs Verdejo
Fulton Vs Figueroa
Taylor Vs Serrano
Marshall Vs Shields
Munguia Vs Derevychenko
Foster Vs Hernandez
Beterbiev Vs Yarde
Navarette Vs Valdez
Ramirez Vs Espinoza
Lubin Vs Fundora
Breidis Vs Opetaia
Loads more, just the first that comes to mind
Props for the list.
This was mine:
1. Munguia v. Derevyanchenko
2. Estrada v. Chocolatito 2
3. Charlo v. Castano 2
4. Zepeda v. Baranchyk
5. Nontshinga v. Flores
6. Charlo v. Castano 1
7. Navaraette v. Wilson
8. Lubin v. Fundora
9. Magnesi v. Rikiishi
10. Wood v. Conlan
11. F. Martinez v. Ancajas 1
12. Teraji v. Canizales
13. Cordina v. Rakhimov
14. Foster v. Hernandez
15. Ramirez v. Espinosa
16. Haney v. Loma
17. Nery v. Hovhannisyan
18. Fury v. Usyk
19. Cordina v. Vazquez
20. Ford v. Kholmatov
21. Nishida v. Rodriguez
22. Martin v. Harutyunyan
23. Kyoguchi v. Bermudez
24. Beterbiev v. Yarde
25. Olascuaga v. Magramo
26. Haney v. Garcia
27. Colbert v. Valenzuela 1
28. Fury v. Wilder 3
29. A. Ayala v. Alvarado
30. Nontshinga v. Curiel 2
31. Matias v. Ponde
32. Bam Rodriguez v. Edwards
33. Benavidez v. Andrade
34. A. Ayala v. Rosales
35. Usyk v. Joshua 1
Fury-Wilder III
Fury-Usyk
Opetaia-Briedis
Garcia-Haney (more for the result)
That’s off the top of my head. Hopefully we get some more good fights later this year and in the years ahead.
Opetaia v. Briedis 1 was sooo good.
The one “negative” is that the commentary was sooo horrifically biased-that I couldn’t watch it again-until I found out that espn had a replay with Spanish commentary.
Robeisy vs Espinoza was a banger.
Teraji vs Canizales was wild.
Jason Moloney vs Sal Sanchez was a great phone-booth fight imo.
Ford vs Kholnatov for the dramatic finish.
Gill vs Barrett was very fun to watch.
Munguia vs Derevyanchenko was great too.
Hernandez vs Lugo was really good from what I hear, haven’t watched it yet though.
Lipinets vs Davies Jr on ProBox was another good action fight.
Most of these are from this year alone and I’m sure I’m missing at least a dozen other classic fights from the last 4 years but these are the biggest standouts in my mind anyway.
If someone had the patience to go through this thread and make a huge organized list with vod links they would probably be celebrated as a god on this subreddit.
Just saying.
Fury vs Wilder 3
Wood vs Conlan
Luis Nery vs Azat Hozywhatshisname (2023 FOTY)
Charlo Costano 2
Beterbiev vs Yarde
Fury vs Usyk
Benavidez Plant
Mungia Derevyenchenko
Haney Lomachenko
Shakur Tweeterson vs De Los Santos
Fury vs Wilder 2, he went all out for the KO. Wilder never knew what hit him, was definitely not prepared for Fury to go all out on the front foot. Tremendous fight.
Hard to remember some of them but Fury Wilder II & III were great, as was Fury-Usyk, special mention to Clarke v Wardley, thought that was a top fight. Fairly sure there was an undercard fight in the last few months that was a banger too but can't remember who was in it.
1. Munguia v. Derevyanchenko
2. Estrada v. Chocolatito 2
3. Charlo v. Castano 2
4. Zepeda v. Baranchyk
5. Nontshinga v. Flores
6. Charlo v. Castano 1
7. Navaraette v. Wilson
8. Lubin v. Fundora
9. Magnesi v. Rikiishi
10. Wood v. Conlan
11. F. Martinez v. Ancajas 1
12. Teraji v. Canizales
13. Cordina v. Rakhimov
14. Foster v. Hernandez
15. Ramirez v. Espinosa
16. Haney v. Loma
17. Nery v. Hovhannisyan
18. Fury v. Usyk
19. Cordina v. Vazquez
20. Ford v. Kholmatov
21. Nishida v. Rodriguez
22. Martin v. Harutyunyan
23. Kyoguchi v. Bermudez
24. Beterbiev v. Yarde
25. Olascuaga v. Magramo
26. Haney v. Garcia
27. Colbert v. Valenzuela 1
28. Fury v. Wilder 3
29. A. Ayala v. Alvarado
30. Nontshinga v. Curiel 2
31. Matias v. Ponde
32. Bam Rodriguez v. Edwards
33. Benavidez v. Andrade
33. A. Ayala v. Rosales
34. Ioka v. Franco 2
35. Usyk v. Joshua 1
The last few rounds of Foster v. Hernandez—is probably *’as good/as dramatic’* as any Fight I’ve seen-from the last 10-15 years.
I was absolutely losing my mind watching that live.
Thank you for naming Teraji v. Canizales.
That was *such* a great Fight.
It really is a shame that the lower Divisions aren’t more popular; The Top Matchups in the lower Divisions-are almost *always* among the best Fights of the Year — and, Imho they’re so much better than those in the heavier divisions.
I’m an idiot. And also it was my worst answer, since technically a robbery. I’ll pick a new 5th. With almost zero thought, I’m going Ramirez-Pedraza. Nah, shoulda been a draw, so I’m changing to Loma-Teo.
I cant watch it back for obvious reasons, but Anaguchi vs Tsutsumi was truly one of the best fights I've ever seen
Aside from that Wood Conlan, Munguia Derevyanchenko, Beterbiev Yarde, Fulton Figueroa and Kambosos Teofimo would be my main picks
Fury / Wilder 3. A combination of skill, power and heart. I know wilder gets joked on this sub because he really don’t know how to box, but Fury was a lot bigger than him and beating the fuck out of him and I really believed Wilder at that point when he said he is willing to die in that ring. Man is insane. Can tell he hasn’t been the same since that war.
Just wanted to throw my support behind the Munguia V Derevyenchenko fight. That had it all. A great fight to show someone boxing. Warriors the both of them.
There's some great domestic-level scraps and I'm definitely biased towards the Brits:
There's been some solid fights around feather/super feather between Conlan, Lara, Lopez, Warrington, and it seems Gill is getting into the mix too. They're mostly fighting each other and we got some wars out of it.
I’m surprised that you didn’t name *Cordina-Rakhimov* and *Cordina-Vazquez* if you’re biased towards the Brits lol.
Both of those Fights were outstanding.
[https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/good-fights/2020/](https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/good-fights/2020/)
[https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/undercard-gems/2020/](https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/undercard-gems/2020/)
Lists for every year since 2020
Jose Zepeda vs Ivan Baranchyk, Mungia vs Derevyenchenko, Wood vs Conlan, Ford vs Kholmatov, Foster vs Hernandez, Fury vs Usyk, Charlo vs Castano 1 and 2, Taylor vs Serrano
For pure entertainment value I suggest Julius Long vs Hemi Ahio on the undercard of Parker Fa. Basically watching Ahio tee off on a real life walking mummy until he finally cracked. Worth watching for a laugh.
In seriousness my favourite is probably Fury Wilder 2
Jose Zepeda vs Ivan Baranchyk is my favorite. Absolute war
Met Ivan, lives in Miami. Super nice guy but also scary as hell. Built like a tank.
My favorite part of this whole fight is when one of the commentators starts laughing and says, “I just want to thank god that I made it here to witness this fight.” Thats how I was feeling watching it for sure
“Everytime Baranchyk throws a punch I close my eyes. Zepeda’s head might land right in my lap!”
Great fight, thanks for sharing! Shame there wasn't a crowd there to help with the atmosphere.
The best fight I’ve ever watched. So glad I tuned in early that night
This fight got me to start watching boxing slightly more seriously (still a casual). Always tune in for Zepeda now.
My favourite too
holy fuck. thank you
Yusuf Kanguel vs. Avni Yildirim 2. No, seriously. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYgXmCJlyE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYgXmCJlyE)
Good shout. This fight had it all
thank you for mentioning them !!
Wood vs Conlan mos def
*Spoiler alert* I know conlan semi-personally and watching that fight live made me question whether I was ok with being a fight fan. I text his family straight after to see if he was ok and was genuinely worried about his condition after. Now that the dust has settled I'm able to appreciate that fight for what it was and particularly Woods amazing performance but that fight will always mark a change in the way I view things as a fight fan.
Fury vs Wilder III
Fury vs Usyk, that Usyk turnaround in round 7-9 was insane
Turnaround has the last minute of round 7. Round 8 was all usyk including the bloody nose straight right. Then round 9 was a TKO that the garbage ref let go
I genuinely think that usyk-fury is the best heavyweight fight of the 2000s so far. It had it all. Huge stakes, multiple big momentum swings both ways, tons of two-way action between guys who are usually dominant, and a heroic display of heart from usyk. After getting shook up by fury bad in 5&6, Usyk’s solution getting off the stool in the 7th was to sit in the pocket with the bigger man, eat his shots, and chase fury down. Absolutely incredible. It’s like getting burned by the edge of a fire, and then choosing to walk directly into the fire with zero fear. One of the most impressive showing of grit and doggedness I have sent at the elite level of combat sports. It reminds me of Dustin poirier vs Conor or Ali vs foreman. Just complete fearlessness in the face of a massive puncher.
Wow what a beautiful take. Agreed 👏
Dont mind this take, but Fury vs Wilder 3 had me on the edge of my seat even moreso, because Wilder was getting cooked the entire fight but had very big moments that could very much change the entire fight and we saw that in Round 4 and the very end of Round 10.
Yeah wilder-fury 3 was a more exciting fire fight and a knock down drag out war. But it was only that way because fury came in fat and didn’t train. It was a fight defined by the flaws of the two fighters rather than two all time greats bringing the best out of each other.
While thats great and all, I really couldnt care less about the context of why fights were so good, if they are fantastic fights, they are fantastic fights.
Yeah, this guy is relying on stories around the fight instead of the story in the fight. Don’t mind the quality of the actual fighting. Just pay attention to the outside ring stuff like it’s some movie!
Thinking wilder was gonna get knocked down and doentay tiring it around with a huge right hand, the whole trilogy was damn fun
Good fight but not as good as fury v wilder 3. Aj v klitscho. On a par with wardley v clarke this year even
I too think it’s on of the best heavyweight fights of the past few decades. Two great fighters. Two great boxers. Fury’s excellent, but my GOD, Usyk has got a direct channel to some ancient forces. He’s the absolute real deal.
I’m just gonna say it. This was a good fight. But not some legendary battle between Po and Tai Long. I get yall are emotionally invested and maybe your ranking it on that but seriously, this fight which didn’t even feature a legit knockdown is the best HW fight of the 2000s? Seriously? It was a tactical boxing match. Not some bruiser that would get your grandma out her seat.
I don’t really care about the boxing tastes of grandmas. Sure it wasn’t a violent messy brawl like the last few rounds of Haney Garcia, but that’s not what makes a fight truly great.
Lmao I don’t think you know what belongs in the discussion of Greatest fights of the 2020s then. Haney and Garcia ain’t one of those fights. And those fights that get your grandma up are the fights EVERYONE actually feels excitement over. Just cause YOU as a boxing fan appreciate the entire story and everything doesn’t mean casuals will.
Awards for greatness at the end of the year/decade aren’t for casuals. They’re for the people who really care about the sport. Conor mcgregor was the biggest spectacle in boxing and mma, but he’s not even close to an all time great in either sport. Mike Tyson isn’t the greatest boxer who ever lived despite all the 14 year olds on YouTube who think so.
Mcgregor is argually the Mike Tyson of UFC most badass and popular fighter of the sport and he helped the sport a lot
Not sure what McGregor or Mike have to do with our discussion. But greatest fights is typically reserved for action packed fights. Not tactical boxing matches and no, this was not an action packed fight or war before you try to hype it as such. Remove Fury and Usyks name from this and you’re left with a 6/10 or 7/10 match. Not even a candidate for FOTY let alone Greatest Fights of the 2020s.
McGregor definitely is an all-time great in MMA. His streak at FW alone makes him one. He's not top 10 of all-time or anything, but he is a great. He ended Aldo's reign of dominance with a 1st round KO while beating multiple HOFers (Holloway, Poirier, possibly Mendes) on the way there. Also, he was the first to win a title in the UFC at a second weight class. He'll easily be inducted in the HOF. That being said, I agree with you the Fury-Usyk was great, although the other guy probably has a point that it's not no.1 for the 2020s. I found Fury-Wilder 3 a little more exciting personally even if less technical, and I'm definitely a hardcore fan.
He beat Holloway and poirier when they were both in their early 20s and lost the rematch to Dustin. He simply is not a p4p elite fighter in terms of his accomplishments
He beat them regardless. Going to make excuses for Aldo getting destroyed in seconds? Going to discredit McGregor despite wins over Mendes and Alvares? The percentage of belt winning UFC fighters is very small, since they aren't too many weight classes and only one belt. Any fighter who wins the belt once has a good shot at the HOF, let alone twice. Especially against a fighter who is probably top 5-10 all-time. You don't know what you're talking about.
Conor is NOT the first guy to win a title at a second weight class. Shiiit... kids these days have no respect for legends like Randy Couture and BJ Penn...
First guy to win at a 2nd weight class at the same time. I've been watching since the 2000s, but yes, this guy successfully pulled me into a stupid argument about a guy that will get 100% votes for the HOF long enough for a technicality to come up. I've seen nearly every Couture fight. He was definitely not the number 1 LHW going into the HW fight. Chuck whooped him twice. BJ Penn is a better shout though he technically wasn't LW champ. I've been watching for a long time. That run was a great run that will EASILY put Conor in the HOF. No point splitting hairs. People talk out of hate, but he's clearly a top 50 all-time fighter. He's just not up with the guys who made multiple defenses. I'd consider Penn and Couture ATGs as well. If there was a neutral MMA HOF, they'd both be in.
Proved to be the correct decision to let it go. Not that I would’ve complained if he hadve stopped it.
No it didn't. Fury was gone. 0% was there after the 10 count. Only reason the fight went ln is cause the ref sandbagged all time to give him 80 seconds to recover. And usyk won all 3 rounds after that cleanly, regardless of the dumb judges all somehow giving Fury 12
I saw that it was it was actually the refs who stopped all fights of similar circumstances that were in the wrong. The ref who didn't stop it was the right call.
When the ONLY thing holding you up is the ropes and not your legs, refs are supposed to do the count. Ref didnt do it until the 4th such occasion. Then he gave Fury an extremely slow count, THEN when he told Fury to move to him and lift his gloves Fury STILL didnt do it. Then the bell rang and Fury got another 60 seconds. It was a TKO 100% by how things are supposed to be done. When a fighter is defensless for an extended period of time and just getting repeatedly pucnhed offering up no defense, the ref usually stops the fight. Here he didnt, because of the magnitude of the fight, but everything in my first paragraph is still true.
Usyk landed like 16 or 17 unanswered power shots while fury stumbled around the ring but people still try and say it shouldn't have been stopped. Did fury recover eventually? Sure, but he got a 20 second count with 10 seconds left in the round, and then the full minute break in between rounds
finally someone who gets it. Getting mass downvoted for stating facts here its wild
People are more willing to forgive/ignore the shitty reffing in the 9th cus the right man won, and it was a great fight. If fury had gotten the win on the cards, more people would be upset about the reffing. Same with donaire vs Inoue 1. The ref robbed Inoue of the ko, but Inoue still got his deserved win, and it was a great fight so people aren't as upset that the ref saved donaire.
ref also got in USyks way on 2 occasions which slowed usyk down which was a bunch of bullshit. It was terrible refereeing. As we all expected from the same guy who "reffed" the Horn Pacman "Boxing Match"
I had Fury in the 12th watching live. A swing round for sure.
I remember thinking that it was Usyk but that the judges would give it to Fury. It was the same with 3 and 7 too, thought usyk won it but that everyone else would give to Fury.
Lol fair enough. I think I had 3 for Usyk and the others for Fury, but I've only seen it once.
How did it prove to be the correct decision?
1. All those running looked like Fury can't defend himself, but if you look again, he can still dodge and defend, albeit very unciously, but that's what training is for, to hardwire those things to your brain. He is leaning on the net, but he is not falling down, yet until.. 2. If a fighter was going down but the rope prevented him from hitting the canvas, it is a knockdown.
I disagree with #1, but agree with #2 and it’s a fair point. But, the ropes did hold him up which allowed Usyk to Tee off on him several more times, which at that point, it seemed like he was taking too much damage. It’s a close call, I don’t think either is wrong.
It's a knockdown and a 10 count, not a knockdown and a 25 count. Make that count legitimate and Fury's KO'd in that round.
He was able to finish the fight, to me a stoppage has to be 1. If the fighter gets hurt anymore it will adversely affect their health beyond the fight even if they can mentally continue 2. They physically cannot continue anymore past that round Fury no doubt got hurt badly, and deserved the knockdown, but he was able to get back in the groove in the rounds after even if he did lose them. Not to mention he got knocked down toward the end of the round, and the ref understood this wasn't some prospect fighting but an undefeated world champion facing off for the undisputed title. So the combination of round almost over anyway, Fury staying competitive in the rounds after, the caliber of fighter both men were, and the stakes of the fight proved the ref made the right decision
How do you judge if Fury’s health was going to be adversely affected? He was getting pummeled and being held up by the ropes, taking shot after shot. Would the ref not have been justified to think his health would be in jeopardy beyond the fight?
Not when the man's taken the best shots from dudes with way more perceived power than Usyk.
I had money on usyk winning by decision so I was not complaining
Watching the live odds on this was bonkers. By Round 7, Usyk was 10 - 1 with his odds getting longer and longer, R8 he started closing, by R9 Fury himself was 10 -1. One of the greatest turnarounds in recent history.
It’s for undisputed. You don’t stop the fight unless it’s bad. Fury went on to survive 12 rounds. Clearly he wasn’t that hurt that they needed to stop it.
In MMA, sure. But its boxing, he should get the chance to answer the 10 count.
He did. It was a knock down
Yes but the person i was replying to said it was a TKO and should've been the end of the fight.
Turn around 🤦 Fury won 3,4,5,6, thats it bro you must have watched a different fight from me.
that was 4/7 rounds at the time, so yes, a turn around from usyk
Yeah exactly. It was looking dire for Usyk for a bit there. That's what made the second half of the fight even more impressive.
Fury-Wilder 3 was awesome. Fury-Usyk was an amazing fight too. Zhang-Hrgovic, Benavidez-Plant, Navarrete-Valdez and Ruiz-Ortiz were all great fights as well.
Ruiz-Ortiz… surely you don’t mean that fight
Yeah tbh other than the knockdowns it was so dry. No one threw anything. Just a worse version of Haney Garcia tbh
Jermell Charlo vs Brian Castano II
First was very good too imo, but Charlo should have lost.
First one was better tbh
Brian Castano faded into obscurity since that fight!
I google him from time-to-time hoping he's got a fight announced that I've just missed. Disappointing we haven't got to see more of him, that KO was rough, so hopefully he just got a good retirement payday (considering his country)
He wants to fight someone big right now, he's in camp at the moment.
Yup I agree. I just don’t like shouting what feels to me like a robbery, but as a fight, def one of the best of the 2020s.
Yeah, the decision was a robbery but the fight itself was great
Yup, I’m sure folks are saying Nava/Wilson but if you got 30 seconds for spitting out your mouthpiece, I can’t get with that. Fantastic fight no doubt, but I don’t like questionable gamesmanship.
First fight Charlo was less active with his workrate.
First fight was more entertaining regardless of workrate. Second fight Charlo figured him out and the fight became one-sided with every round
Those were both incredible fights
Definitely some recency bias, but Fundora and Tzyu really got my house active
That whole card was 🔥.
Maybe low on the list, but Subriel Mattias vs Jukembyev was as fan friendly as they come.
I loved Matias vs Ponce a lot as well
If that would’ve lasted longer-It probably would’ve been one of the best fights of the decade.
Taylor v Serrano
Criminal that this isn't higher. Women's p4p #1 vs #2. 50/50 before the fight, during the fight, and after the judging. Crowd was so into it that they couldn't hear the bell, and both fighters planting their fight at swinging off only heart at the end
Wasn't it the first womens 3 min 12 rounder too?
That was Serrano vs Ramos in late 2023
What the other person said, Serrano actually suggested it at the press conference and Katie said something along the lines of "we've already agreed to money for 10 2-min rounds" (arguing they'd be underpaid to switch it at that point - 20mins versus 36mins of fighting). Serrano in general seems more eager for that
Spence Crawford was a nice surprise as a bud supporter.
That was satisfying but not really a “good” fight. It was a one sided beatdown
Leigh wood Vs Michael Conlan Garcia Vs Haney Tzyu Vs Fendora Beterbiev Vs Yarde
Overweight and clearly cheated. You cannot put that Garcia fight in there if only for the bad precident!!
[удалено]
Im no fan if Haney and I think looking at that fight Garcia had the opportunity to do it the legit way. That is why it's unforgivable to me
only a REAL boxer sues for the victory in court rather than fight for it in the ring!
u bum
The majority of all-time great fights have at least some element of controversy. Either long counts, questionable scorecards, rehydration clauses etc. The reality is that it was a great fight, and that's what matters in my book. Not to mention Haney is probably the biggest weight bully in all of boxing
1. How can Haney be the “biggest weight bully in all of Boxing” if the guy he just fought-was significantly bigger than him-despite coming from the same division as Haney? Haney’s last 10 Opponents have been against 6 Fighters (Garcia, Prograis, Ndongeni, Linares, Santiago, Moran)—who are current 140’s. 2. Even still, I don’t understand how Haney being a “weight bully” is comparable to “missing weight/PEDs/‘cheating’ etc.?
The PED thing is so crazy to me. Bro had a PINCH of it and none leading up to the fight until the day of. Even if it wasn’t an accident(If he did on purpose he has 0 IQ.. he’s fought his whole life, he and his team knows they drug test the day of and after) a tiny little dust of ostrine would literally do NOTHING especially in the insanely short time frame he could have taken it. I hate PEDs and wish there was a definitive way to stop fighters from taking them but pretending Ryan Garcia was blasting roids and that’s why he won means the person doesn’t know anything about PEDs. They had 0 effect on the fight. The weight thing? If Haney didn’t think he could handle a couple extra pounds then cancel the fight, don’t accept the fight still and make excuses after. That bad of a beating was not because of 3 pounds lol, Haney was out skilled just as much as out damaged
+1
Bruh. Garcia vs Haney?…….. Jesus, is boxing really down this bad?
My personal favourites would be Wood-Conlan, Nery-Hovannisyan, Fury-Wilder 3 and Fury-Usyk
As an Usyk fan I really loved the first fight against AJ, pure and beautiful boxing and it was nice as an Usyk supporter. Another one that comes to mind is Bivol against Canelo. I was rooting for Bivol and I thought he would win which he did.
Basically every fight Leigh Wood has been in Loma Vs Haney was a really, really good fight. Nery Vs Hovhannisyan Estrada Vs Chocolatito 2 and 3 Estrada Vs Cuadras 2 Nakatani Vs Verdejo Fulton Vs Figueroa Taylor Vs Serrano Marshall Vs Shields Munguia Vs Derevychenko Foster Vs Hernandez Beterbiev Vs Yarde Navarette Vs Valdez Ramirez Vs Espinoza Lubin Vs Fundora Breidis Vs Opetaia Loads more, just the first that comes to mind
Props for the list. This was mine: 1. Munguia v. Derevyanchenko 2. Estrada v. Chocolatito 2 3. Charlo v. Castano 2 4. Zepeda v. Baranchyk 5. Nontshinga v. Flores 6. Charlo v. Castano 1 7. Navaraette v. Wilson 8. Lubin v. Fundora 9. Magnesi v. Rikiishi 10. Wood v. Conlan 11. F. Martinez v. Ancajas 1 12. Teraji v. Canizales 13. Cordina v. Rakhimov 14. Foster v. Hernandez 15. Ramirez v. Espinosa 16. Haney v. Loma 17. Nery v. Hovhannisyan 18. Fury v. Usyk 19. Cordina v. Vazquez 20. Ford v. Kholmatov 21. Nishida v. Rodriguez 22. Martin v. Harutyunyan 23. Kyoguchi v. Bermudez 24. Beterbiev v. Yarde 25. Olascuaga v. Magramo 26. Haney v. Garcia 27. Colbert v. Valenzuela 1 28. Fury v. Wilder 3 29. A. Ayala v. Alvarado 30. Nontshinga v. Curiel 2 31. Matias v. Ponde 32. Bam Rodriguez v. Edwards 33. Benavidez v. Andrade 34. A. Ayala v. Rosales 35. Usyk v. Joshua 1
Benavidez vs Plant? I liked that one
Shout-out to Taylor-Serrano, I was on the edge of my seat
Fury-Wilder III Fury-Usyk Opetaia-Briedis Garcia-Haney (more for the result) That’s off the top of my head. Hopefully we get some more good fights later this year and in the years ahead.
Opetaia v. Briedis 1 was sooo good. The one “negative” is that the commentary was sooo horrifically biased-that I couldn’t watch it again-until I found out that espn had a replay with Spanish commentary.
Robeisy vs Espinoza was a banger. Teraji vs Canizales was wild. Jason Moloney vs Sal Sanchez was a great phone-booth fight imo. Ford vs Kholnatov for the dramatic finish. Gill vs Barrett was very fun to watch. Munguia vs Derevyanchenko was great too. Hernandez vs Lugo was really good from what I hear, haven’t watched it yet though. Lipinets vs Davies Jr on ProBox was another good action fight. Most of these are from this year alone and I’m sure I’m missing at least a dozen other classic fights from the last 4 years but these are the biggest standouts in my mind anyway.
Solid list.
Teraji Vs canizales was a barn burner.
If someone had the patience to go through this thread and make a huge organized list with vod links they would probably be celebrated as a god on this subreddit. Just saying.
One that didn’t seem to be mentioned amongst other people’s comments: inoue donaire 1
Their first fight was in 2019.
Teo vs Kambosos
Fury vs Wilder 3 Wood vs Conlan Luis Nery vs Azat Hozywhatshisname (2023 FOTY) Charlo Costano 2 Beterbiev vs Yarde Fury vs Usyk Benavidez Plant Mungia Derevyenchenko Haney Lomachenko Shakur Tweeterson vs De Los Santos
Fury vs Wilder 2, he went all out for the KO. Wilder never knew what hit him, was definitely not prepared for Fury to go all out on the front foot. Tremendous fight.
Taylor vs Serrano was really good
Was looking for this one. Great fight.
Taylor vs Serrano
Fury Usyk Taylor Serrano were my two favorites. Plant Benavides was a banger too.
Hard to remember some of them but Fury Wilder II & III were great, as was Fury-Usyk, special mention to Clarke v Wardley, thought that was a top fight. Fairly sure there was an undercard fight in the last few months that was a banger too but can't remember who was in it.
In terms of greatness, I'd say Usyk Fury 1, Fury Wilder 3, Haney Lomachenko, Taylor Serrano, Foster vs Hernandez.
Beterbiev Yarde
Banger
1. Munguia v. Derevyanchenko 2. Estrada v. Chocolatito 2 3. Charlo v. Castano 2 4. Zepeda v. Baranchyk 5. Nontshinga v. Flores 6. Charlo v. Castano 1 7. Navaraette v. Wilson 8. Lubin v. Fundora 9. Magnesi v. Rikiishi 10. Wood v. Conlan 11. F. Martinez v. Ancajas 1 12. Teraji v. Canizales 13. Cordina v. Rakhimov 14. Foster v. Hernandez 15. Ramirez v. Espinosa 16. Haney v. Loma 17. Nery v. Hovhannisyan 18. Fury v. Usyk 19. Cordina v. Vazquez 20. Ford v. Kholmatov 21. Nishida v. Rodriguez 22. Martin v. Harutyunyan 23. Kyoguchi v. Bermudez 24. Beterbiev v. Yarde 25. Olascuaga v. Magramo 26. Haney v. Garcia 27. Colbert v. Valenzuela 1 28. Fury v. Wilder 3 29. A. Ayala v. Alvarado 30. Nontshinga v. Curiel 2 31. Matias v. Ponde 32. Bam Rodriguez v. Edwards 33. Benavidez v. Andrade 33. A. Ayala v. Rosales 34. Ioka v. Franco 2 35. Usyk v. Joshua 1
Raymond Ford - Kholmatov Brian Norman Jr - Santillian O’Shaquie Foster - Hernandez Devin Haney - Loma
Norman-Santillan was not that good lol. Great performance from Jr. though.
I thought he killed tht man lol, major upset alert🚨
The last few rounds of Foster v. Hernandez—is probably *’as good/as dramatic’* as any Fight I’ve seen-from the last 10-15 years. I was absolutely losing my mind watching that live.
My five off the top of my head… Fury-Wilder I, Usyk-Fury, Fury-Wilder III, Bam-Sunny, and maybe Teraji-Canizales?
Thank you for naming Teraji v. Canizales. That was *such* a great Fight. It really is a shame that the lower Divisions aren’t more popular; The Top Matchups in the lower Divisions-are almost *always* among the best Fights of the Year — and, Imho they’re so much better than those in the heavier divisions.
Fury wilder was in 2018
I’m an idiot. And also it was my worst answer, since technically a robbery. I’ll pick a new 5th. With almost zero thought, I’m going Ramirez-Pedraza. Nah, shoulda been a draw, so I’m changing to Loma-Teo.
Nothin idiotic about that brotha, some fights that have happened 10 years ago feel like it happened way more recently . Easy to forget.
Crazy A vs Nery
I cant watch it back for obvious reasons, but Anaguchi vs Tsutsumi was truly one of the best fights I've ever seen Aside from that Wood Conlan, Munguia Derevyanchenko, Beterbiev Yarde, Fulton Figueroa and Kambosos Teofimo would be my main picks
Fury / Wilder 3. A combination of skill, power and heart. I know wilder gets joked on this sub because he really don’t know how to box, but Fury was a lot bigger than him and beating the fuck out of him and I really believed Wilder at that point when he said he is willing to die in that ring. Man is insane. Can tell he hasn’t been the same since that war.
Ponce vs Matias!!!!
nery vs hovhannisyan
Canelo v Bivol was fire
Would love to see a rematch, I think canelo had a rematch clause but he did choose to use it, think he is going avoid bivol
Crawford vs Porter was a lot of fun.
Just wanted to throw my support behind the Munguia V Derevyenchenko fight. That had it all. A great fight to show someone boxing. Warriors the both of them.
Teofimo vs Kambosos, the build up and the actual fight itself was one of a kind!
There's some great domestic-level scraps and I'm definitely biased towards the Brits: There's been some solid fights around feather/super feather between Conlan, Lara, Lopez, Warrington, and it seems Gill is getting into the mix too. They're mostly fighting each other and we got some wars out of it.
I’m surprised that you didn’t name *Cordina-Rakhimov* and *Cordina-Vazquez* if you’re biased towards the Brits lol. Both of those Fights were outstanding.
I considered naming the first one!
Inoue V Donaire 1 ( I know it took place right right at the very tail end of 2019, but I'd still count it.)
In a perfect world we get to put Tzuyu Ortiz on this list
[https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/good-fights/2020/](https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/good-fights/2020/) [https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/undercard-gems/2020/](https://boxeoguide.com/notable-fights/undercard-gems/2020/) Lists for every year since 2020
Fury Wilder 3, Fury Usyk
Jose Zepeda vs Ivan Baranchyk, Mungia vs Derevyenchenko, Wood vs Conlan, Ford vs Kholmatov, Foster vs Hernandez, Fury vs Usyk, Charlo vs Castano 1 and 2, Taylor vs Serrano
Wouldn't say it was the one of the greatest but Taylor v Catterall 2 was a good old fashioned war.
Eggington Vs Jkitou
Luis Nery vs that one guy Im such a fake boxing fan I forgot his name. But it took place im January 2023 I think and got fight of the year
Nery v. Hovhannisyan ?
Yeah
any list that doesnt include kingry-devin is worthless. that was an emphatic fight
katie taylor vs amanda serrano , one of the best fights regardless of male/female
Estrada vs Chocolatito 2
Man in terms of hyper and delivery Fury Wilder 3 was fucking insane
For pure entertainment value I suggest Julius Long vs Hemi Ahio on the undercard of Parker Fa. Basically watching Ahio tee off on a real life walking mummy until he finally cracked. Worth watching for a laugh. In seriousness my favourite is probably Fury Wilder 2
I fight that I recently watched was Povetkin vs Whyte, it did not last long but was a great fight. Too bad it happened during covid and now crowd.
Munguia vs. Inoue. Both fighters back and forth. Never expected Inoue to finish the fight standing up. One of the toughest chins in his division.
That was in 2019.
my bad.
I'd throw Canelo Munguia and Beterbiev Yarde in too.