Looking for a fight? Here are Matthew Aguilar’s personal favorite 1990s boxing battles
Life without sports is tough. Life without boxing for a boxing fan may be tougher than that. Maybe Canelo Alvarez was on to something with his boxing brand name, “No Boxing, No Life.”
But networks like FS1 have come to the rescue, replaying recent Premier Boxing Champions fights. And Showtime will replay the 1999 fight on this list, the original Paulie Ayala vs. Johnny Tapia brawl (8 p.m., Friday, April 17, Showtime).
Other than that, we’ll have to rely on the Sweet Science’s classic past. Here then is the second installment of a series looking at some personal favorites over the past 40 years, with a focus on the 1990s.
1990: Tony Lopez W 12 John John Molina, regains IBF junior lightweight title, Reno, Nevada: Over the course of two previous fights in Lopez’s Sacramento, Molina had exhibited an undeniable dominance. The first was a questionable Lopez decision, and the second was a 10th-round beatdown by Molina. A rubber match on neutral territory seemed a foregone conclusion, but the relentless “Tiger” roared, dropping Molina in the 11th round for an exhilarating win.
1991: Jorge Paez W 10 Tracy Spann, lightweights, Sacramento: Powerful, undefeated southpaw Spann was considered one of the premier punchers in boxing. And his lightning struck in round three when he dropped the iron-chinned former featherweight champ Paez on his back. But “Maromero” bounced up and bounced back, going toe-to-toe to earn a thrilling win in one of the last major victories of his illustrious career.
1992: Tommy "The Duke" Morrison TKO 9 Joe Hipp, heavyweights, Reno: There are a couple of other heavyweight fights from 1992 that are considered better. But these two throwback brawlers put on quite a show themselves, as the heavily favored Morrison suffered a broken jaw, and Hipp a shattered cheekbone and was dropped twice, including in the final round. “The Duke” certainly proved his rawhide toughness in this rugged back-alley brawl.
1993: Michael Carbajal TKO 7 Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez, unifies WBC and IBF junior flyweight titles, Las Vegas: In a highly-anticipated showdown and the biggest junior flyweight fight in boxing history, Chiquita takes control early, dropping Carbajal twice with a blistering boxing display. But Carbajal survives and storms back, catching his rival against the ropes and dropping him with a flurry in the fight of the year.
1994: Vinny Pazienza W 12 Roberto Duran, super middleweights, Atlantic City: In one of the last great stands of Duran’s peerless career, “Manos de Piedra” gives as good as he gets against former two-division champ Pazienza — 12 years the great Panamanian’s junior. Duran even drops Paz in the fifth with a classic right hand that makes the crowd erupt. But Paz’s youth helps him prevail down the stretch in a comfortable but hotly contested decision win.
1995: Vincent Pettway KO 6 Simon Brown, retains IBF junior middleweight title, Landover, Maryland: Former two-division champ Brown was looking to regain a 154-pound crown, and was met head-on by Pettway. The “Ambassador” was knocked down and on spaghetti legs in round one before dropping Brown with a beautiful counter right in round three. From there, the two engaged in a thrilling, unpredictable and often dirty brawl. It finally ended abruptly in the sixth, when Pettway’s sweeping counter left caught Brown flush and left him eerily punching at ghosts while lying on the canvas.
1996: Darroll Wilson KO 3 Shannon Briggs, heavyweights, Atlantic City: In the “Night of the Young Heavyweights” prior to the Mike Tyson-Frank Bruno rematch, the undefeated Shannon “The Cannon” is supposed to be the best of the lot, and he comes out like a house on fire. But the undefeated Wilson weathers the storm and begins to counter effectively. When Briggs is cut in the third round, he panics, and “Doin’ Damage” drops him with a left. Referee Tony Orlando stops the fight midway through the count in a big upset.
1997: Arturo Gatti W 12 Tracy Patterson, retains IBF junior lightweight title, Atlantic City: This was a relatively comfortable win by the peaking Gatti. However, at the end of the first round of this rematch of Gatti’s thrilling 1995 decision win, Patterson sinks a picture-perfect left hook into Gatti’s liver and drops him. Referee Rudy Battle inexplicably rules it a low blow and allows Gatti time to recover. Replays show the punch being perfectly legal, leaving experts to wonder if the Gatti legend would’ve survived a first-round KO.
1998: Ivan Robinson W 10 Arturo Gatti, junior welterweights, Atlantic City: Gatti, coming off a loss to Angel Manfredy and a seven-month layoff after suffering cuts, tries to get back in the win column against supposedly safe Robinson. Instead, “Mighty” Ivan steps up his game and rises from a fourth-round knockdown — and the two engage in a grueling, unrelenting battle of wills. The pair just trade and trade, round after round, until the final bell rings. Robinson gets the upset win in the fight of the year and upset of the year.
1999: Paulie Ayala W 12 Johnny Tapia, wins WBA bantamweight title, Las Vegas: You knew this one would be good when Albuquerque’s Tapia angrily shoved Ayala before the fight even started. And good it was. The New Mexican and the Texan waged an unforgettable toe-to-toe battle, ripping into one another with a stunning ferocity. But it was the beginning of the end for “Mi Vida Loca,” who lost for the first time in his outstanding career. Voted fight of the year.
Matthew Aguilar may be reached at maguilarnew@yahoo.com and on Twitter at @MatthewAguilar5.