Instances in which two fighters split their first two fights but then never fought a third. And which one would've won had they fought a third time?
Example that comes to mind for me is Lewis vs. Rahman. And in that case, Lewis would've been the heavy favorite had they fought a third time.
Leonard-Hearns (yeah we all know the second was technically a draw) Tommy was better suited to the higher weights so would have to be favored in a rubber match but it's no lock.
Galindez-Rossman Rossman fought the fight of his life in the first meeting and beat up a subpar Galindez, but the real Galindez showed up for the rematch and thrashed Rossman.
Charlo and Harrison recently. Right afterward Charlo would have been the solid favorite. If the rubber match ever happens (really doubtful) Charlo is basically a lock.
Klitschko vs Brewster Totally pointless. Both guys avoided each other after the first fight. The rematch only happened because Klitschko had something Brewster wanted and Brewster had nothing left.
The pattern here is the loser of the first fight proves it was a fluke by dominating the rematch, making a third match unattractive to fans.
All Harrison Had to Do was Beat Tim Tszyu and He'd Have Gotten a CONDOM Match w/Charlo... Harrison's SHOT Though...Looked Like Stir Fried SHIT Against Tszyu... REED
Nah, the RE Was Bad Enough….Nobody Wanted to See DIMINISHED Versions of Roy and BHop a 3rd Time… REED
Corrales vs Castillo were on their way to make a third fight happen until Castillo was trying to tip the weight in his favor again. A shame we never got to see a closure to their rivalry before Corrales’ untimely death.
Mike McCallum vs Sumbu Kalambay Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler Juan Francisco Estrada vs Srisaket Sor Rungvisai Edwin Rosario vs Juan Nazario and Frankie Randall Lupe Pintor vs Alberto Davila Hector Camacho vs Greg Haugen Jose Napoles vs Billy Backus
Spoon vs Bonecrusher. Kind of weird that Whiterspoon never tried to prove the ko was a fluke after his dominant win over Smith in their 1st fight. Then again, Whiterspoon career is pretty much one of disappointments and ''what if''. This one is the rarest kind imo as it was a big ko loss for the favorite that ended the serie.
Chico ended up looking pretty sluggish in the 3rd Casamayor fight. Castillo was no spring chicken either, but I think he would have handled Castillo again.
Jones likely pushed that because he still believed ,like he does today, that he's one win away from taking it all back.
Kevin Kelley-Derrick Gainer: I actually never saw the rematch. The first one was a terrific fight. Frankie Liles-Tim Littles: I never saw the first one. The rematch was a great short fight. Pernell Whitaker-Jose Luis Ramirez: officially 1-1 but Whitaker should have won them both. Pea would have won a wide UD in a third match. Sergio Martinez-Paul Williams: Sergio most likely would have won again. The win for Williams was a disputed decision (I had it even). Eleider Álvarez-Sergei Kovalev
Roy NEEDED the 3rd Tarver Fight for His PSYCHE, in REED's Opinion... As MEEKLY as Roy Fought, Admittedly, He Likely WOULDN'T Have Been Able to Live w/Himself Having NOT Gotten Back IN the Ring w/Tarver a 3rd Time...Better to Fight SCARED Than to NOT Fight @ All... REED Even Recalls a Look of SATISFACTION On Roy's Face, When it was Over... REED