During REED's Lifetime, THE BEST Pre-Fight Build-Up he's EVER Seen was for Leonard-Hearns I...Leonard had Already REDEEMED the Loss to Duran & Brought a Record of 30-1, 21 KO's to the Build-Up...Hearns was Carving an INTIMIDATING, DESTRUCTIVE Path Thru the Welterweight Division & had a Record of 32-0, 30 KO's!!!... There were Only 2 Champions Per Division, Back Then...Leonard was the WBC Champ, Hearns was the WBA Champ...No WBO's, IBF's, WBZ's, WHO's or Any of that Shit...Leonard was "America's Sweetheart", the PERFECT Replacement to Muhammad Ali, Whereas Hearns had the Respect of the HARDCORE Fans & Had Many Thinking he was THE BEST Welterweight they'd Seen Since Ray Robinson... The MAINSTREAM PUBLIC was Salivating @ the Notion of this Fight, but they were Both Featured on the Same Closed Circuit Broadcast 1st, in Opposite Fights...Leonard Fought & Beat Ayub Kalule (WHOthefuck Fights a 36-0, DEFENDING Champion in a "Tune-Up" Fight:laugh11:) in a Jr. Middle Fight & Hearns MASSACRED Pablo Baez...REED'll NEVER Forget this Particular Night, Because it was On his 10th Birthday & THE LAST Closed Circuit he Ever Saw (PPV Became the Norm)... REED VIVIDLY Recalls Old WHITE Women Having LEGITIMATE Conversations Over WHO they Thought would Win...EVERYBODY had an Opinion & a Prediction, 1 Way or the Other...REED's Heard that the Build-Up to Ali-Frazier I Surpasses them All, but REED Wasn't Around Until about 3 Months AFTER that... The Best Build Up of REED's Lifetime is Leonard-Hearns I... REED:bears:
delahoya vargas had a good buildup. obviously it wouldve been better had they fought prior to trinidad vargas, but still it was good simply because vargas went on the radio and tv and was talking shit about the guy for years prior to their bout.
Hamed - Barrera Two of the biggest stars in boxing in their primes facing off against each other in their primes. There was a lot of ethnic chauvinism involved (Muslims / Arabs for Naz, Latinos for Barrera), and bad blood since Barrera felt Hamed (ever the shit-talker) was "disrespecting" him and not taking him seriously. Hamed was a showman, a walking talking promotion unto himself, and everything about him demanded attention. Barrera and Naz both had reputations as brawlers. People thought Barrera was picked for that reason, that he would try to trade with Naz and get KTFO for his efforts. It had all the ingredients for an exciting fight. Then the fight happened, and a patient and cautious Barrera stayed behind the jab and frustrated Naz the whole fight. And I was sad, and considerably poorer for it (I lived in California at the time and had a lot of Mexican/South American friends).
DLH/Trinidad was a lot bigger imo. Epic ethnic rivalry between two undefeated marquee fighters, both at the top of their games and both considered among the best in the sport.
I absolutely loved the build-up to Hopkins-Trinidad. It was huge, & I simply couldnt wait. An excitedwteenager. Thank you to REED for painting a picture on a fight before my time, as well. I enjoyed the read.
