not sure if the last one qualifies. It was a one punch KO and these are easily explained. Zab vs Baldomir is a much better exemple, cause you just can't understand how Zab let someone as limited as baldomir turn the table on him
Context Bruh... Coming into that Fight, People Thought HIGHER of John Tate than Larry Holmes, Believe it or Not... Tate DESTROYED Duane Bobick, Who Beat Holmes in the Amateurs...Dropped Holmes in the 1st and Holmes was Eventually DQ'ed (Deservedly So) in the 3rd for Excessive Holding... Tate Had Just Won the Title vs. Coetzee Also, Who DESTROYED Leon Spinks (When That Actually MEANT Something)...Coetzee was 1 of the BETTER Punchers of that Era, So Tate Had a Good Bit of Positive Momentum and Expectations Coming In... Conversely, Mike Weaver Brought a Journeyman's Record and JUST Enough Wins to Stay Somewhat Relevant as a "Safe" Option...He'd Been Stopped By Holmes Also... The Idea of Tate Demonstrating His Superiority, Being WELL On His Way to Defending his Title, Yet Getting STOPPED w/45 Seconds Remaining in the 15th Round, By Mike Weaver of All People, was Definitely a "How the FUCK Did He Lose to HIM" Moment... IN the Moment, @ Least... REED
Ferguson claimed that mid-fight, Mercer tried to bribe him into taking a dive. So yeah. But it doesn't explain how the hell Mercer lost. A fight with Bowe was on the line.
There's Footage of Mercer Talking to Ferguson, But w/Out the Fighters or Ref Being Mic'ed it's Impossible to Say w/CERTAINTY What Mercer was Mouthing... Definitely Fits the Criteria of Your Thread and Bowe WASTED Ferguson...Roy-Bernard I was the Co-Main if REED's Not Mistaken... REED
The Ring ran a piece of this bout somewhere in the late 90s. The article was about famous boxing conspiracies. It's been a while I read it, but if I recall it correctly, Mercer could be heard saying "that's it...I'll give it to you tomorrow... on my word...fix you up... I swear on my mother" And later on, Ferguson clearly shook his head and said "you should have trained Ray" The ref didn't hear anything apart from regular trash talk, but then again, Ferguson had absolutely no reason to lie about his former sparring partner
WOW!!! Didn't Know That... Not Sure What's Worse; DUCKING a Man Outright OR Literally Begging for Mercy/Offering to Pay the Superior Fighter (That Night) to LET You Win???... Good for Ferguson...Mercer Could've Easily Reneged and Even IF He Followed Thru on Payment, it's DOUBTFUL It'd Have Been as Much as Ferguson Received for the Title Shot @ Bowe... REED
Mike could knock out an elephant he was a pure puncher with a wrecking ball of a left hook. Tate was hurt badly a few rounds before he was put to sleep. One of those kind of guys Gil Clancy referred to as "dangerous falling down".
At the time he did it I was overjoyed I threw the remote control in the air. I was a huge Mike Weaver fan and had telephoned him before the Larry Holmes fight and he was super cool. I knew he could put Tate on ice but time was running out and Tate was holding off for dear life. Mike shoved him against the ropes and hit him with that right hand to the body and left hook to the head and then Tate ate canvas. that was probably the happiest I have ever been at a fight with Foreman KO'ing Moorer second. Time flies and that was one of my best boxing memories.
That's a good one, but didn't Pinkney have a few big upsets? Is the Michael Nunn loss listed? Must be his second loss after Toney I'm thinking of.