AKTV ?SUPER FIGHTS? FEATURES THREE MEMORABLE RING CLASSICS
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 05 Mar 2012
The popular weekly boxing show AKTV ? SUPER FIGHTS? telecast on Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. over IBC 13 will feature three classic fights featuring WBO middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank and heavyweight battles between Rocky Marciano and the ?Brown Bomber? Joe Louis and Lennox Lewis vs ?Iron Mike? Tyson.
Calzaghe who was regarded as the ?Pride of Wales? won the WBO, IBF, WBC and WBA super middleweight titles and was also Ring Magazine?s super middleweight and light heavyweight champion.
The longest reigning world champion in recent years, Calzaghe held the WBO title for over ten years and made 21 successful defenses..
On October 11, 2007 Calzaghe fought British boxing legend and two-time WBO champion Chris Eubank for the vacant WBO title at the Sheffield Arena in Yorkshire, England .
Calzaghe who was not one of the biggest punchers at his weight stunned Eubank who was known for his granite chin in the opening seconds of the fight and again in round 10 to win a unanimous decision.
Judge Paul Thomas scored the fight for Calzaghe 116-110, Roy Francis 118-110 and Dave Parris 118-109. Referee for the bout was Joe Cortez.
When an ageing Joe Louis faced rising heavyweight star Rocky Marciano, the renowned boxing writer Murray Rose of the Associated Press wrote, ?At 2:36 of the 8th round in Madison Square Garden, the old ?Brown Bomber? was stretched on his back on the apron of the ring in a pathetic finish to one of the most fabulous stories in all sports? adding that 27 year old Rocky Marciano, a one-time soldier, show-worker and ditch digger with little more than three years of professional fighting behind him was the toast of the town, the man of the hour.?
When WBC/IBF and IBO heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis defended his title against Mike Tyson at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee against former champion Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao defended his IBF super bantamweight title against Jorge Eliecer Juilio on the undercard, winning by a sensational 2nd round TKO..
Lewis won by an 8th round knockout in a fight where HBO and Showtime collaborated on the pay-per-view telecast in the US and on Sky Box Office in Britain.
It turned out to be the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history, generating US$106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the USA, until it was surpassed by the numbers for the Oscar De La Hoya vs Floyd Mayweather Jr title fight in 2007. It remains, however, the highest-grossing heavyweight pay-per-view event in boxing history.
But ticket sales were slow because they were priced at what was regarded as a ridiculously high $2,400. Despite this a crowd of 15,327 turned up to see the biggest sporting event ever in the city ofMemphis, Tennessee.
Among the celebrities in attendance were Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise, Britney Spears, Clint Eastwood, Ben Affleck, Hugh Hefner, Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Vince McMahon, The Undertaker, LL Cool J, Wesley Snipes,Donald Trump, Kevin Bacon, Chris Webber and fellow heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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