Not a glamorous division, but it's my favourite. There's been lots of underrated fights here over the years, and i wanna know what your top tens would be. I imagine Saad-Lopez II and Moore-Durrele I will be atop most lists, but there's been lots of other great fights there.
Andries-Harding 1 has gotta be up there. Top 5 imo. Overall though, yeah, Saad-Lopez 2 is probably the GOAT light heavyweight fight. I just rewatched it bout a month ago.
#20. Andries vs Harding II #19. Muriqi vs Ahmad #18. Moore vs Johnson V #17. Williams vs Sosa II #16. Pops vs Williams #15. Adamek vs Briggs II #14. Andries vs Harding III #13. Michalczewski vs Hall II #12. Pops vs Emebe #11. Adamek vs Briggs I #10. Torres vs Cotton #09. Galindez vs Kates I #08. Muhammad vs Pops II #07. Andries vs Harding I #06. Muhammad vs Kates #05. Gonzalez vs Letterlough #04. Moore vs Durrelle #03. Williams vs Sosa I #02. Muhammad vs Pops I #01. Muhammad vs Lopez II
I had it just outside the top five, but it is an incredible fight. Shows how entertaining Saad was. He has four fights in my top ten
Here's a hot take one, and no, I'm not saying it's top 10, but it was a fun light heavy fight.... Jones-Hall. Totally one sided ass whuppin, but action packed because Hall kept trying and Roy kept lighting him up for trying.
I had it on there, but remembered Muriqi vs Ahmed and it pushed it off. Although I might be misremembering, as I thought it was all Williams after a great third round.
Mike Spinks vs Jim McDonald is the exact same as Jones-Hall - one sided ass whuppin, but action packed because McDonald kept trying, despite Spinks giving him a savage beating.
Spinks-Davis and Spinks-Lopez were his most entertaining outings IMO. Spinks-Pops was good too, but short.
Yeah, Spinks-Lopez was a great scrap. Shout out to the long-gone Kid Dynamite - he sent me a VHS of Spinks versus Lopez, Pops, and EMM some 16-17 years ago.
I see your 4 fights for Saad in the top 10 and raise you 5! To be fair, Saad-Lopez 1 could have been replaced with any number of other fights. 1. Matthew Saad Muhammad-Yaqui Lopez 2 (1980) 2. Archie Moore-Yvonne Durelle 1 (1958) 3. Victor Galindez-Richie Kates 1 (1976) 4. Jeff Harding-Dennis Andries 1 (1989) 5. Matthew Saad Muhammad-Marvin Johnson 1 (1977) 6. Matthew Saad Muhammad-Marvin Johnson 2 (1979) 7. Julio Cesar Gonzalez v Julian Letterlough (2001) 8. Matthew Saad Muhammad-Ritchie Kates (1978) 9. Prince Charles Williams-Merqui Sosa 1 (1995) 10. Matthew Saad Muhammad-Yaqui Lopez 1 (1978)
I enjoyed Saad-Conteh 1 and yeah, I take your point. Round 8 of Saad-Lopez 1 was tremendous, though (ok, not as tremendous of the same round of Saad-Lopez 2, obviously). I dunno, it's much of a muchness. I still prefer the Lopez fight.
@Jel, can you please give me your reasoning behind placing Saad-Lopez I above Adamek-Briggs/DM-Hall II etc; (or other fights which if had in the 10-15 area) I'm not trying to obtuse or condescending, just wondering. I thought it was a decent fight with a top eighth round but nothing crazy. Maybe I can see it on the big list, but not at ten.
You know, I thought Harding-Andries 3, for example, was just as good as Saad-Lopez 1 but I just enjoyed watching one more than the other. I think it's because I love both fighters' styles and they meshed really well. I can't honestly justify it objectively above other fights and I haven't seen Adamek-Briggs either so it could just be ignorance! For me, when you get two fighters whose styles mesh, it's a great thing to see and aesthetically, I find both Lopez and Saad really pleasing, so that's part of the enjoyment as well as the action. I can't objectively justify it, I don't think. Bit of a cop-out answer perhaps but that's how I see it. The one disappointing thing about their first fight was the ending - that wasn't satisfying. EDIT: I'm now watching Adamek-Briggs 2 by the way. I'll tell you at the end whether I still feel the same way.
It was at a Mexican restaurant called La Casita, or Las Palmas; it has been a biker bar for 20 years now. Good fights, some beers. That was also the night Michael Nunn fought Darnell Knox. My friend was being trained by Alberto at the time and thought that he was going to get called out in public for eating enchiladas and drinking beer. I watched Spinks v Cooney with them at the same place, same table.
