Boxing News – June 27, 2019

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net JUNE 27, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 7

WHICH RETIRED BOXER HAD THE MOST

SATISFYING FINAL FIGHT AND WHY?

WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE AFRICAN-BORN

FIGHTER AND WHY?

Wayne

Alexander

My favourite

would have to be

Azumah Nelson.

I liked his style

of fighting which

was all action and

aggression with

some power to

match. Also, the

way he came back

from his early

defeat to the late,

great Salvador

Sanchez in only

his 14th fight to

then dominate

the featherweight

division showed

his character and

warrior spirit.

Declan

Taylor

Certainly not the

most talented,

but I always had

a soft spot for

Corrie Sanders.

When I was a kid,

he seemed to be

chinning someone

every other week

before that win

over Wladimir

Klitschko. One

of the biggest-

punching

heavyweights

of his era and a

southpaw to boot.

What’s not to like?

Mickey

Helliet

My favourite

African fighter is

Azumah Nelson.

He overcame so

much adversity to

become a pound-

for-pound great.

He was seemingly

always the away

fighter and took

on all-comers,

destroying many

of them. His fights

against Jeff Fenech

were works of art.

Gary

Logan

Azumah Nelson,

no doubt. He

established

himself as a

world force

with his superb

but ultimately

unsuccessful

attempt to take

Mexican great

Salvador Sanchez’s

world crown.

Then his near

dominance as a

126lb and 130lb

world champ

made him Africa’s

greatest fighter.

Wayne
Alexander
Ex-European
champion
Joe Calzaghe,
because he went
out as one of
the world’s best
pound-for-pound
fighters, with over
20 world title
victories to his
name, and capped
off his career by
beating one of the
best fighters of the
modern era and
an all-time great
in Roy Jones Jnr.

Declan

Taylor

Boxing

journalist

I’m not sure many

can top Carl Froch

knocking out

George Groves at

Wembley. Froch

had really built up

a hatred of Groves

throughout the

promotion of

their two fights

so drawing a line

under the whole

thing in such

dramatic fashion

on such a huge

occasion makes it

really stand out.

Mickey

Helliet

Promoter/

manager

Rocky Marciano

knocking out

Archie Moore has

to be up there

because he fought

a legend in a

competitive fight

before retiring

undefeated. Also,

Floyd Mayweather

must have felt

extremely satisfied

when picking up a

whopping payday

for his walk in

the park against

Conor McGregor.

Gary

Logan

Respected

trainer

Joe Calzaghe,

particularly as

the man he’d

desperately

wanted to fight

his whole career

was in the

opposite corner

in Roy Jones Jnr.

Overcoming

a first-round

knockdown to

dominate an all-

time great in his

final fight had to

be so satisfying.

CURTAIN CALL

Although most boxers unfortunately continue

fighting longer than they should, these

champions timed their exit just right

1. CARL FROCH
   The night Froch left boxing in 2014, he didn’t just land
   arguably the best punch he had ever thrown on the chin
   of George Groves, he also launched the shot in front of
   80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.


2. CARLOS MONZON
   The fearsome Monzon ended a 13-year unbeaten streak
   and his pro career with a unanimous decision win over
   Rodrigo Valdes in 1977. He retained his WBA/WBC 160lb
   titles and announced his retirement the following month.


3. LENNOX LEWIS
   Though Lewis’ 2003 fight against Vitali Klitschko ended in
   controversial fashion, when the Ukrainian’s cuts left him
   unable to continue, there can be no arguing Lewis retired
   on top. He won his final fight against the heir apparent.


4. ANDRE WARD
   Ward, a world champion at super-middle and light-heavy,
   shocked the boxing world when announcing his retirement
   in 2017 at the age of 33. Still in his prime, Ward had just
   stopped his main rival, Sergey Kovalev, in a rematch.


5. ROCKY MARCIANO
   World heavyweight champion Marciano made it to 49-
   when he knocked out an ageing Archie Moore in the ninth
   round of a title defence in 1955.


6. JOE CALZAGHE
   For a man often criticised for staying in Britain and
   defending his WBO super-middleweight title, it was
   fitting that Calzaghe ended his incredible 46-fight
   unbeaten career with two fights in America. He beat a
   badly faded Roy Jones Jnr at MSG to end it all in 2008.


7. RICARDO LOPEZ
   Mexican legend Lopez retired with a 51-0-1 pro record,
   having never lost a fight, and announced his departure
   from the sport two months after defeating Zolani Petelo in
   a 2001 defence of his IBF light-flyweight title.


8. GENE TUNNEY
   After twice beating Jack Dempsey to become world
   heavyweight champion, Tunney knocked out Tom Heeney
   in 11 rounds to bring an end to his 68-fight career. That
   1928 title defence capped a six-year unbeaten spell.


9. VITALI KLITSCHKO
   Klitschko’s final fight against Manuel Charr in 2012
   wasn’t exactly the most iconic or satisfying of finishes but
   it did put the seal on a run of 13 straight wins and confirm
   his second retirement (his first was in 2004).


10. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
    Klitschko is the anomaly here, given he lost his final fight,
    but the manner of the defeat and the credit he received for
    his performance makes the Ukrainian worthy of a place.
    His 2017 classic against Anthony Joshua was a passing of
    the torch moment for the heavyweight division.

10 COUNT

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