Legendary Nights

In the summer of 1981, only two boxers mattered in America: WBA welterweight champion Thomas Hearns, and WBC welterweight champion Sugar Ray Leonard. Since the previous fall, when both men won huge fights – Hearns knocking out the dangerous Pipino Cuevas; Leonard forcing the great Roberto Duran to quit — this was the biggest match boxing could offer, the contest the whole world wanted to see. Lear...

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, billed as the "Fight of the Century", was the boxing match between WBC/WBA heavyweight champion Joe Frazier (26–0, 23 KOs) and The Ring/lineal heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (31–0, 25 KOs), held on Monday, March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Fight is widely regarded as the biggest boxing match in history and arguably the most anticipated a...

The world championship bout held on March 17, 1990 between WBC world champion Julio César Chávez of Mexico and IBF world champion Meldrick Taylor of the United States, both at light welterweight, was a historic event in boxing. It was titled "Thunder Meets Lightning" as an allusion to the punching power of Chávez and fast hand speed of Taylor. The fight was expected to be a rousing and exciting on...

Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield was a series of two bouts in 1996 & 1997 for the WBA world heavyweight championship which resulted in two of the most shocking nights in boxing history Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko was a professional boxing match contested between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko. The event took place on 29 April 2017 at Wembley Stadium in London, England, with Joshua's IBF and the vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles on the line Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A brief introduction for series two of Legendary Nights Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean & Johnston look back on the origins of the series and how it came to be what you hear today. Also, the joys of research and editing are discussed to explain what it takes to put an episode together. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is arguably the greatest heavyweight championship fight ever staged in Las Vegas. Larry Holmes fought Ken Norton at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the WBC heavyweight title on June 9, 1978. Holmes had beaten big bad Earnie Shavers three months earlier in a title eliminator, and Norton, who was 40-4 going in, looked to give the 27-0 Holmes a run for his money and boy did he ever! Learn more abo...

The rivalry between Israel Vázquez and Rafael Márquez was a series of four boxing matches that took place between 2007 and 2010, which has been described as "the most entertaining fight series in recent boxing history", and has been compared with two other notable series of fights in the decade: Arturo Gatti vs Micky Ward and Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera. The second fight in the series wa...

Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match that took place on November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was contested for the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which consisted of the WBA, WBC, IBF, and Lineal championships. After much anticipation from the result of the first fight, Bowe and Holyfield would meet twice more in what turned in to one of the gr...

Joe Calzaghe vs. Jeff Lacy was a boxing match that took place on March 4, 2006 in Manchester, England for the WBO, IBF, & The Ring titles. Dubbed "Judgement day", it pitted long-time WBO champion Calzaghe against up and coming IBF champion, American Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Kostya Tszyu vs. Ricky Hatton was a professional boxing match contested on 4 June 2005 for the IBF Light Welterweight championship. The 22,000 who attended the bout at the Manchester Arena witnessed one of the biggest upsets in British Boxing History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Gatti-Ward trilogy, fought from May of 2002 to June of the following year, really did have everything: broken bones, a busted eardrum, a “Round of The Century,” relentless trading and constantly switching momentums, blood and plenty of guts and, after it was all over, respect – with respect between the two fighters being huge and respect from the entire boxing world dutifully pouring in. Learn...

The Rumble in the Jungle was a historic boxing event in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) on October 30, 1974. Held on the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël), pitted the undefeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman against challenger Muhammad Ali, the former heavyweight champion. The event had an attendance of 60,000 people Learn more about your ad ch...

Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns (originally billed as "The Fight", referred to afterward as "The War"[citation needed]), was a world middleweight championship boxing match between undisputed champion Marvin Hagler and challenger Thomas Hearns, the world junior middleweight champion, who had gone up in weight for the bout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

It’s November 1982 and the sport of boxing is bigger than ever. Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns are all mainstream stars and fight fans enjoy championship matches on free cable TV almost every weekend. Rocky III is a huge hit in theaters and just a few months previous, one of the richest fights of all-time had taken place, Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney. The Battl...

Of all the great rivalries in boxing, that between Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta stands apart. First, these were two all-time greats. Even early in their careers, fight fans regarded both as rare talents, destined for championship status. Second, their personalities and ring styles were perfect contrasts to one another: LaMotta the brutish”Bronx Bull,” Robinson the stylish “Prince of Harlem....

The Louis-Schmeling second bout is one of the most iconic and important rematches in boxing history. It came on June 22, 1938 – one year from the day Louis had won the world Heavyweight title. The fighters met once again in a sold-out Yankee Stadium in New York City. Among the more than 70,000 fans in attendance were Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks, Gary Cooper, Gregory Peck, and J. Edgar Hoover. L...

On June 8, 1985, amid astonishing scenes, Ireland's Barry McGuigan challenged for the WBA featherweight championship against legendary Panamanian Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road in London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hasim Rahman vs. Lennox Lewis II, billed as "Final Judgment", was a professional boxing match contested on November 17, 2001 for the WBC, IBF, IBO and Lineal Heavyweight Championships. It was a rematch after Lennox Lewis vs. Hasim Rahman, where Rahman scored a major upset Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An epic all British showdown between two fellow lightweight prospect and title contenders as John Murray, then undefeated as a professional, took on Kevin Mitchell on the 16 July 2011. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Márquez IV, billed as Fight of the Decade, was a professional boxing match. It was also billed unofficially as deciding the World Boxing Organization's "Champion of the Decade." This was the fourth and final meeting between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. The bout was held on December 8, 2012, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada and drew 1.15 million pay-pe...

Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito II was a boxing match for the WBA (Super) super welterweight title. The bout was held on December 3, 2011 at the Madison Square Garden, in New York City, United States. When Cotto and Margarito met in 2008, they waged their memorable welterweight title bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nigel Benn vs. Gerald McClellan, billed as Sudden Impact, was a professional boxing match contested on 25 February 1995 for the WBC super middleweight championship. Benn was victorious when McClellan was counted out in the 10th round while dropped on one knee. Shortly after the match ended, McClellan collapsed and fell into a coma for two weeks. As a result of the injuries endured during the fight...

The fight, promoted as "The Super Fight" and "The King of the Ring", was scheduled for April 6, 1987, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Leonard was guaranteed $11 million, and Hagler was guaranteed $12 million. Hagler was a heavy favorite. The odds started at 4–1, then settled at 3–1. A paying crowd 12,379 generated a live gate of $6.2 million Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...