The 70s Decade End Awards

[TBooze]

It is January the 1st 1980; so who was your fighter of the decade?

But on top of this, what was the Fight of the decade? What was the round of the decade? Knockout of the decade? Upset of the decade? Comeback of the decade? Or the boxing event of the decade?*















*No I did not just copy this from an issue of The Ring;)

[Vantage_West]

well it must be ali...when you think that ali is ranked no#2 in pound 4 pound lists...then it must be him to be the best fighter in the 70's...surely?

but duran should get a good mention

[TBooze]

well it must be ali...when you think that ali is ranked no#2 in pound 4 pound lists...then it must be him to be the best fighter in the 70's...surely?

but duran should get a good mention

But remember Ali/Clay's 60s work does not count...

[Holmes' Jab]

Tough choices, but:


Fighter: Napoles
Fight: a) Duran -vs- DeJesus II. b) Ali -vs- Frazier I. c) Leonard -vs- Benitez
Round: Holmes -vs- Norton, 15th.
KO: Foreman -vs- Lyle
Upset: Ali -vs- Foreman
Comeback: See above
Event: Thrilla in Manilla

[janitor]

For whatever it is worth Carlos Monzon was the most consistently dominent champion over that decade.

[Vantage_West]

But remember Ali/Clay's 60s work does not count...well thats what im stuck about his work in the 70's is just as strong at 60's...would that be a bold statement :think

he fought very good fighters and was still fightin gon into the 80's and had won the heavywieght crown 3 times(never done before) and had just beaten frazier ,foreman,norton

these guys are known outside of boxing for being scary heaviliy muscled men.foreman and frazier are famed for being tough scary bastards

[enquirer]

Carlos monzon.
He retired undefeated as world middleweight champ,had a then record 14 straight defenses,i think he was also unbeaten during this whole decade and he turned back the challenges of some great middleweights in dominant fashion...
Now if we could include a few months into 1980 and durans unparalleled victory over sugar ray leonard,then roberto gets the nod,but its still close with monzon....

[Luigi1985]

How can Ali have 5 votes? :patsch Napoles or Monzon, that should be clear IMO...

[Pat_Lowe]

Carlos monzon.
He retired undefeated as world middleweight champ,had a then record 14 straight defenses,i think he was also unbeaten during this whole decade and he turned back the challenges of some great middleweights in dominant fashion...
Now if we could include a few months into 1980 and durans unparalleled victory over sugar ray leonard,then roberto gets the nod,but its still close with monzon....

Second that

[TBooze]

well thats what im stuck about his work in the 70's is just as strong at 60's...would that be a bold statement :think



I would go further and say it was better, because he had to reinvent and indeed redeem himself; two qualities he did not have (or did not need to use) in the 60s...

But he still falls slightly short of Duran and Monzon (for the 70s) IMO.

[TBooze]

For whatever it is worth Carlos Monzon was the most consistently dominent champion over that decade.

Duran was his equal in Championship matches IMO. Both had problems with one fighter (Valdez and DeJesus) but both overcame their respective rival in two (Championship) matches.

[TBooze]

How can Ali have 5 votes? :patsch Napoles or Monzon, that should be clear IMO...

I do not intend for this to be condescending, but It is probably going to sound a little anyway...

You are too young to actually understand how big Ali was from 73-74 though to 82. To misquote Lennon; he was bigger that you know who in the time period. I was very young myself but myself and my friends still got dragged into the Ali phenomenom, it was amazing, and perhaps may never happen again in boxing.

That is in part why so many will vote for Ali. And although I would not put Ali #1 myself, those who do, their reasoning is sound.

[Luigi1985]

I do not intend for this to be condescending, but It is probably going to sound a little anyway...

You are too young to actually understand how big Ali was from 73-74 though to 82. To misquote Lennon; he was bigger that you know who in the time period. I was very young myself but myself and my friends still got dragged into the Ali phenomenom it was amazing, and perhaps may never happen again in boxing.

That is in part why so many will vote for Ali. And although I would not put Ali #1 myself, those who do, their reasoning is sound.

I know about his propaganda, and that´s why I sometimes sound a bit harsh about Ali, but we´re here on a good forum in the Classic Section, and we should nominate the best fighter, not the most popular or something like that...

[TBooze]

I know about his propaganda, and that´s why I sometimes sound a bit harsh about Ali, but we´re here on a good forum in the Classic Section, and we should nominate the best fighter, not the most popular or something like that...

Personality is always going to attract. But Ali's record in boxing stands up with or without his personality. Which is truly well... phenomenal!;)

[Luigi1985]

But personality is always going to attract. But Ali's record in boxing stands up with or without his personality. Which is truly well... phenomenal!;)


Of course, without a question.

[mr. magoo]

You left the most important name off the list.

Chuck Wepner.

[The Kurgan]

Carlos Monzon, although Duran is a contender.

Monzon ruled over a very underrated middleweight division. Emphasis must go on the fact that he RULED the division, in a way that neither Duran nor Ali did.

[The Kurgan]

You left the most important name off the list.

Chuck Wepner.

That's because it's unfair to have the fighter of the century also being the fighter of the decade. Other boxers have to win awards now and again, in spite of Wepner's obvious superiority.

[Thread Stealer]

Roberto Duran, followed by Carlos Monzon.

Performance in the ring is WWAAAYYY more important, IMO, than how popular you are and what impact you have.

While Ali had some great wins in the 1970s, he also had some awful performances and was basically a shot fighter by 1976 or 1977 or so.

[Thread Stealer]

It is January the 1st 1980; so who was your fighter of the decade?

But on top of this, what was the Fight of the decade? What was the round of the decade? Knockout of the decade? Upset of the decade? Comeback of the decade? Or the boxing event of the decade?*


Fight of the decade is Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier 3, followed by Matthew Franklin-Marvin Johnson 1.

Knockout of the decade....Bob Foster-Mike Quarry comes to mind.

Round of the decade: George Foreman-Ron Lyle Round 4

[My dinner with Conteh]

Fighter of the decade: Monzon. Duran comes a very close second and if Montreal had been six months sooner, probably first. Monzon deserves to be rated ahead of Duran based on the fact that he was undefeated in the decade, had more world title defences and fought away from home in most of them (only 3 in home country out of 14, by KO or UD).

[TBooze]

Fighter of the decade: Monzon. Duran comes a very close second and if Montreal had been six months sooner, probably first. Monzon deserves to be rated ahead of Duran based on the fact that he was undefeated in the decade, had more world title defences and fought away from home in most of them (only 3 in home country out of 14, by KO or UD).

Duran did not have too many defences in Panama either... 4 in 13 matches. Indeed looking at it many in the list did not mind fighting abroad, even Ali had to be the most travelled American (or is it Columbian;)) Heavyweight Champion of the World.

[My dinner with Conteh]

Some KO's of the decade:


Bob Foster-Mike Quarry
Yoshiaki Numata-Raul Rojas
Jerry Quarry-Jack Bodell
Earnie Shavers-Jimmy Ellis



Some Injustices of the decade:

Two judges that scored Ali wide winner over Jimmy Young (he didn't deserve to 'win' never mind by that margin). Watch Round 1 on youtube and when you realise these judges scored it even you might just puke.


John Conteh-Saad Muhammad I. Although the fight was close (due to the late knockdowns after an almost-shot Conteh had outclassed Saad) the decision could've went either way. That's not the injustice however, which was the banned 'cement' used to stop Saad's cuts numerous times during the fight and, especially, the scene where the ring doctor examined Saad and said he might stop the fight next time- a few rounds later the ring doctor examined and let the fight go on...only this time it was a different doctor. :huh

[My dinner with Conteh]

Duran did not have too many defences in Panama either... 4 in 13 matches.



Well, 5 out of 12. A higher average than 3 out of 14. :good

[Thread Stealer]

Some Injustices of the decade:

Two judges that scored Ali wide winner over Jimmy Young (he didn't deserve to 'win' never mind by that margin). Watch Round 1 on youtube and when you realise these judges scored it even you might just puke.


John Conteh-Saad Muhammad I. Although the fight was close (due to the late knockdowns after an almost-shot Conteh had outclassed Saad) the decision could've went either way. That's not the injustice however, which was the banned 'cement' used to stop Saad's cuts numerous times during the fight and, especially, the scene where the ring doctor examined Saad and said he might stop the fight next time- a few rounds later the ring doctor examined and let the fight go on...only this time it was a different doctor. :huh

Alfredo Escalera vs. Tyrone Everett

I know others might disagree but I have no idea how you can score Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers in favor of Ali. Ali threw these quick b.s. flurries that mostly caught glove. I gave Shavers 9 rounds and I thought I was a tad generous to Ali. Shavers landed the harder, cleaner blows and did the better work.

[My dinner with Conteh]

Alfredo Escalera vs. Tyrone Everett

I know others might disagree but I have no idea how you can score Muhammad Ali vs. Earnie Shavers in favor of Ali. Ali threw these quick b.s. flurries that mostly caught glove. I gave Shavers 9 rounds and I thought I was a tad generous to Ali. Shavers landed the harder, cleaner blows and did the better work.



I know the Everett fight is the logical choice but i've never seen it (nor Pintor-Zarate). :good

[ChrisPontius]

Two judges that scored Ali wide winner over Jimmy Young (he didn't deserve to 'win' never mind by that margin). Watch Round 1 on youtube and when you realise these judges scored it even you might just puke.
:huh

You know, i love Ali but some of the treatement he got really tends to put me off him. Not his fault that he got those decisions of course. Cosell was one of the worst, by the way. Not only do i resent his grandpa style of speaking in formal writing language, i just rewatched the Young-Foreman fight, and after Foreman had done fuck all during first six rounds, Cosell goes all "Well a Young fight is hard to score, but i might just give a slight edge to him right now".

[redrooster]

I voted for Ali. He carried the sport and all other champions were over shadowed by him.

[Manassa]

Best newcomer - Marvin Hagler!

[My dinner with Conteh]

You know, i love Ali but some of the treatement he got really tends to put me off him. Not his fault that he got those decisions of course. Cosell was one of the worst, by the way. Not only do i resent his grandpa style of speaking in formal writing language, i just rewatched the Young-Foreman fight, and after Foreman had done fuck all during first six rounds, Cosell goes all "Well a Young fight is hard to score, but i might just give a slight edge to him right now".



Cosell was a dick. The fact that he thought Ali lost to Young (I think?) just shows what a bad decision it was. Youtube Round 9, possibly Young's best- two of the judges scored it 5-4 for Ali. Fuckin' disgraceful. Thinking of the thread 'who was hardest to outpoint' and there's your answer. :-(

[ChrisPontius]

Cosell was a dick. The fact that he thought Ali lost to Young (I think?) just shows what a bad decision it was. Youtube Round 9, possibly Young's best- two of the judges scored it 5-4 for Ali. Fuckin' disgraceful. Thinking of the thread 'who was hardest to outpoint' and there's your answer. :-(

This is also why i wanted Frazier in that list: He decisioned Ali. If you can't knock him out, he's gonna be very hard to deal with over 15.


By the way, could you post the judges' scorecards in the Young-Ali fight?

[My dinner with Conteh]

This is also why i wanted Frazier in that list: He decisioned Ali. If you can't knock him out, he's gonna be very hard to deal with over 15.


By the way, could you post the judges' scorecards in the Young-Ali fight?



I will when I'm home tonight mate. :good

[True Writer]

1: Duran
2: Monzon
3: Ali

Duran was amazing in the 70's - the best fighter p4p, the most enjoyable to watch and at the end was making his mark at Welter I think he was 74-1 buy the end of the 70's. Monzon & Ali where good but not as good as Duran.

[My dinner with Conteh]

Ali-Young robbery. Cards for Chris:


Tom Kelley:

A: 555 555 555 545 445 72
Y: 544 444 444 454 555 65


Terry Moore:

A: 455 555 555 545 544 71
Y: 544 444 444 454 455 64


Larry Barett:

A: 545 555 555 545 444 70
Y: 555 444 444 554 555 68

[My dinner with Conteh]

How?



How not?

[My dinner with Conteh]

Ali: Quarry X2, Bonavena, Frazier X2, Ellis, Chuvalo, Foster, Norton, Foreman, Lyle, Young, Shaver, etc.

That easily beats what Napoles did. Monzon is a bit closer.

Monzon: Benvenuti X2, Griffith X2, Moyer, Bouttier, Briscoe, Valdez X2, Napoles, Mundine, Licata, etc.

You could make a case for Monzon having reviewed a bit.



I agree on Napoles by the way, whose best wins came in the late 60s but not Monzon, who was more dominant than Ali and none of his decision wins were debatable. 14 defences in a row, no defeats in decade, while Ali had 3.

[My dinner with Conteh]

My 1970s ratings would be something like:


Monzon. Duran. Ali. Napoles. Arguello. Gomez. Canto. Foster. Zarate.



Ali, Napoles and Foster better in the 1960s.

[ThinBlack]

Carlos Monzon over Muhammad Ali and Roberto Duran.Ruled over the division without losing and re-unified the belts with a win over Valdez.

[red cobra]

For whatever it is worth Carlos Monzon was the most consistently dominent champion over that decade.
That's right.

[Stevie G]

Fighter of the decade

1/ Monzon or Duran (Can't split them at present)
2/ As above
3/ Ali.


Comeback of the decade

Muhammad Ali (No contest)


Fight of the decade

FOTC 1971


Event of the decade

The Rumble In The Jungle/FOTC


Most irritatingly nasal voice of the decade

Howard Cossell.

[Bill Butcher]

Muhammad Ali or Roberto Duran for fighter of the decade.....
Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier III for best fight of the decade....
Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman for upset & event of the decade....

[lora]

I wouldn't say Monzon was a more dominant champ than Duran, though i think he was a slightly better overall one, in large part due to much less comfy home country advantages.

[THE EXPERT]

Ok, i think there is a difference between fighter of the decade and BEST fighter of the decade. The best from a performance standpoint, I agree, would be Monzon (or maybe Duran), but the FIGHTER of the decade should take under account, not popularity but impact on the sport as a whole. Ali arguably can claim to be a participant in the fight of the decade (fotc or thrilla) , comback fighter of the decade (jungle), event of the decade (fotc or jungle or thrilla) as well as having the biggest wins of the decade. Can any other fighter make those claims? The decade was dominated by Ali, and not just because he was popular. He also performed well. I agree that he flopped off after "thrilla" with horrible performances and lacked the consistancy of the other two mentioned but one cannot argue with the fact that Ali was the dominant FORCE in the sport. Also remember that in team sports (and I know boxing is not one of them) the player of the year or MVP is often not the BEST player. (check out Kobe Bryants career) Ali was not the best fighter necessarily, but he was the FIGHER OF THE DECADE!!!

[Stevie G]

Ok, i think there is a difference between fighter of the decade and BEST fighter of the decade. The best from a performance standpoint, I agree, would be Monzon (or maybe Duran), but the FIGHTER of the decade should take under account, not popularity but impact on the sport as a whole. Ali arguably can claim to be a participant in the fight of the decade (fotc or thrilla) , comback fighter of the decade (jungle), event of the decade (fotc or jungle or thrilla) as well as having the biggest wins of the decade. Can any other fighter make those claims? The decade was dominated by Ali, and not just because he was popular. He also performed well. I agree that he flopped off after "thrilla" with horrible performances and lacked the consistancy of the other two mentioned but one cannot argue with the fact that Ali was the dominant FORCE in the sport. Also remember that in team sports (and I know boxing is not one of them) the player of the year or MVP is often not the BEST player. (check out Kobe Bryants career) Ali was not the best fighter necessarily, but he was the FIGHER OF THE DECADE!!!


As far as being the most ICONIC fighter of the decade,and the one most responsible for bringing boxing onto the front page as often as the back page,then it was Ali. No contest.

As far as consistency as a dominant fighter goes,Muhammad takes third place to Duran or Monzon. He was n't quite as dominant over as long a period of time in that decade. Muhammad was n't the force he was after '75.

Now,everyone on here knows how big a fan I was/am of Ali. He's my favourite boxer of all time. And if we sliced the seventies up into two halves,I'd give the 1970-74 segmnent to Ali,definitely. It would be -

1/ Ali
2/ Monzon
3/ Duran.

[red cobra]

1. Monzon
2. Duran
3. Ali
This is not a popularity contest...it's about the most dominant champion..and that was Monzon...crowning it all by retiring an undefeated champion.

[Stevie G]

1. Monzon
2. Duran
3. Ali
This is not a popularity contest...it's about the most dominant champion..and that was Monzon...crowning it all by retiring an undefeated champion.


I fully agree,Cobra. Hence my post. I'm still struggling over who would be my number one out of Duran and Monzon.

[TBooze]

I fully agree,Cobra. Hence my post. I'm still struggling over who would be my number one out of Duran and Monzon.

Cervantes and Ali are the only other two with solid resumes 'throughout' the decade.

[red cobra]

I fully agree,Cobra. Hence my post. I'm still struggling over who would be my number one out of Duran and Monzon.
:deali'm in accord with you Stevie G..that means I'm good company!:thumbsup

[Stevie G]

:deali'm in accord with you Stevie G..that means I'm good company!:thumbsup


Likewise Cobra :thumbsup

[Stevie G]

Cervantes and Ali are the only other two with solid resumes 'throughout' the decade.


Definitely. Ali especially.

[Hands of Iron]

1. Monzon
2. Duran
3. Ali
This is not a popularity contest...it's about the most dominant champion..and that was Monzon...crowning it all by retiring an undefeated champion.

Why the hell do you always compel me to re-evaluate this after I've already tried to hold firm on my position that Duran's wins against Marcel, Palomino, Kobayashi and Mamby in addition to his 135 reign put him over?! :twisted: :D

Monzon's run at 160 in the 1970s is one of the better title reigns in any division of any time IMO. He did everything you could expect from a champion within his era. A 3-1 underdog when he took the title from Nino, Monzon made literally almost every title defense against no less than top five rated opposition within the division, beat a few ATGs, five world champs. Minor flak over Valdez not coming to fruition sooner, but Monzon was on the slide himself and Napoles was bigger $. There was never a question who the man was. I rate him as either the #2 or #3 Middleweight of all-time depending on the day (mind you I'm an SRR fanboy :oops:) and at least as high H2H. As strictly a Champion he could be #1. Incredible physical attributes, subtle and deceptive skills, Ice Cold demeanor. Top 20 P4P.

So even if he falls short here, he gets his respect.

[fists of fury]

...Wish I could retract my vote for Ali now...

[Stevie G]

...Wish I could retract my vote for Ali now...

No worries. Ali's still way up there,even if not in first place.

[Hands of Iron]

...Wish I could retract my vote for Ali now...

Why did you vote for him? :lol:

[fists of fury]

Why did you vote for him? :lol:

Snap decision. In hindsight, not a good one. He did make the greatest impact though, just not the best fighter of the 70's.

[TBooze]

...Wish I could retract my vote for Ali now...

I wished I made it a public vote, to find out who voted for Benitez, and ask; why?

[Hands of Iron]

Well, you did make him an option. :tong

No, it wasn't me.

[TBooze]

Well, you did make him an option. :tong

No, it wasn't me.:blood you sure?;)

[Hands of Iron]

Yup, see: Monzon has 11 votes.

I'll give him a 12th within two minutes to make it closer.

[red cobra]

Why the hell do you always compel me to re-evaluate this after I've already tried to hold firm on my position that Duran's wins against Marcel, Palomino, Kobayashi and Mamby in addition to his 135 reign put him over?! :twisted: :D

Monzon's run at 160 in the 1970s is one of the better title reigns in any division of any time IMO. He did everything you could expect from a champion within his era. A 3-1 underdog when he took the title from Nino, Monzon made literally almost every title defense against no less than top five rated opposition within the division, beat a few ATGs, five world champs. Minor flak over Valdez not coming to fruition sooner, but Monzon was on the slide himself and Napoles was bigger $. There was never a question who the man was. I rate him as either the #2 or #3 Middleweight of all-time depending on the day (mind you I'm an SRR fanboy :oops:) and at least as high H2H. As strictly a Champion he could be #1. Incredible physical attributes, subtle and deceptive skills, Ice Cold demeanor. Top 20 P4P.

So even if he falls short here, he gets his respect.
Just grist for the mill my good Mr Hands of Iron, lol..i hold the contrary opinion that Monzon, as agreed upon by most writers in the sport, and boxing mags back then (and they were quality) adhered to.:D