PHOTOS: A visual history of boxing through the past 100 years

by Kyle Smith
STAFF / AFP / Getty

Few sports are as visceral as boxing.

Two men step into a ring and batter each other with gloved fists until one is declared the victor. It's the kind of violent ballet that creates incredible, captivating moments.

Here are a few of those indelible moments caught on film:

Schmeling floors the Brown Bomber

At 27-0, Joe Louis was well on his way to becoming one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, and was expected to absolutely demolish Max Schmeling, a former world champion thought to be on the decline.

Schmeling flipped the script, though, knocking out Louis in the 12th round on June 19, 1936.

Marciano rocks Jersey Joe

Undefeated heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano bested Jersey Joe Walcott twice in his illustrious career, and few photos represent the brutality of boxing better than the above still of Marciano transforming Walcott's face into jelly.

Phantom Punch

"The Greatest" proved his first victory over Sonny Liston wasn't a fluke, flooring the former heavyweight champion with the now infamous "Phantom Punch" during the first round of their rematch on May 25, 1965. 

(Courtesy: Sports Illustrated)

Ali ropes-a-dope

(Courtesy: Sports Illustrated)

Deploying his famed (and dangerous) rope-a-dope strategy, Muhammad Ali recaptured the heavyweight title with a stunning knockout of George Foreman at "The Rumble in the Jungle" on Oct. 30, 1974.

No Mas

Widely known as the "No Mas Fight," Sugar Ray Leonard dominated Roberto Duran during their second matchup on Nov. 24, 1980, causing "Hands of Stone" to quit at the end of the eighth round. 

(Courtesy: Sports Illustrated)

Upset of the Century

A 42-1 underdog, James "Buster" Douglas crafted the greatest upset in boxing history, knocking out a seemingly bulletproof Mike Tyson on Feb. 10, 1990.

'Fan Man' invasion

"Fan Man" James Miller crash-landed into the ring during Riddick Bowe's heavyweight title fight against Evander Holyfield at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas on Nov. 6, 1993, causing a 21-minute delay. Miller was attacked and beaten unconscious by fans and security. 

McCall weeps

Oliver McCall's victory over Lennox Lewis more than two years earlier made his bizarre behavior in the rematch even more puzzling. After refusing to engage Lewis through three rounds, McCall began straight up walking away from "The Lion" in the fourth and fifth rounds, and eventually burst into tears.

Lewis would go on to regain the WBC title with a fifth-round TKO victory, after McCall refused to fight back.

Just a little nibble on that ear

In one of the most bizarre moments in boxing history, Mike Tyson, who was being thoroughly dominated by Evander Holyfield during the first two rounds of their bout on June 28, 1997, took multiple bites out of Holyfield's ear.

The result of Tyson's dental work:

(Courtesy: Sports Illustrated)

Marquez flattens Manny

In an image Manny Pacquiao no doubt would like to forget, Juan Marquez celebrates after knocking out Pacquiao during the sixth round of their fourth (!) fight, on Dec. 8, 2012. 

The Digest

Everything you need to know about the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

by theScore Staff

The most hyped boxing match in decades is in the books. While the 12-round affair won't go down in history as the "Fight of the Century," Floyd Mayweather came away victorious in a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao, keeping his undefeated record - "Money" is now 48-0 - intact.

Need to Know (Post-Fight)

  • Mayweather won what ended up being a lopsided fight, taking the bout 116-112 on two judges' scorecards, 118-110 on another, and becoming the unified welterweight champion of the world. He'll fight one more time in September before hanging up his gloves. Read more for a round-by-round breakdown of the May 2 fight. 
  • Pacquiao fought with a shoulder injury, he revealed after the fight, and was barred by the Nevada Athletic Commission from taking an anti-inflammatory shot before the bout, even though the NAC knew of his condition. 
  • Twitter reacts to Mayweather's win.
  • Tickets were being sold for $7,500 a seat hours before the May 2 fight.

Need to Know (Pre-Fight)

  • Conflicting reports surface after Mayweather's camp reportedly blocks the credentials of two reporters. (Read More)
  • Both Mayweather and Pacquiao made weight prior to the bout, with the two fighters tipping the scales at 146 and 145 lbs. respectively. More than 11,500 fans were on hand to watch the weigh-in even though the event required paid admission.
  • A reported 28 million pay-per-views have been sold over the course of Mayweather and Pacquiao's careers, generating $1.6 billion in revenue. More than 500,000 PPV buys had been made of the mega-fight as of Saturday morning. 
  • Bettors are banking on the fight ending in a draw. Odds have gone from 22-1 in February to 8-1 currently at the MGM sportsbook. 
  • Ticket prices on the re-sale market are dropping ahead of the fight, with the average ticket going for $3,899 the day before the bout.
  • Watching the fight from home also won't come cheap. The PPV will cost a record $89.95 for a standard version with high definition expected to add another $10 surcharge.
  • An electrical company in Palawan province in the Philippines is urging citizens to turn off major appliances during the fight. The province has been dealing with power outages recently, and Palawan Electric Company wants to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to watch the bout, which will air Sunday morning local time. 
  • Kenny Bayless has been appointed the fight's referee and he's no stranger to either Mayweather or Pacquiao. Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman will serve as the fight's judges and will have all eyes on them should the bout end in a decision.
  • Mayweather took his cockiness to a new level in a conversation with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, suggesting he's better than Muhammad Ali while criticizing the boxing legend for using the rope-a-dope to beat George Foreman in the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle. Ali, 73 and suffering from Parkinson's disease, punched right back: "Don't you forget, I am the greatest!" Mike Tyson also lashed out.
  • Pacquiao brought plenty of confidence with him to Las Vegas. "I know I'm going to win the fight in the ring," Pacquiao said. "So relax."

  • The two storied pugilists held only one joint press conference prior to the fight. It was a little dull, but it did feature an epic stare down.
  • A historic fight deserves a historic belt. World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman says a commemorative belt embroidered with either emeralds or platinum is being made for the winner. Apparently the fight also requires a $25,000 mouthguard

Features

Further Reading

  • We got the fight we deserved, writes Will Leitch: "This is what we had coming all along. We ignore a decade of cruelty toward women from Mayweather, the overall repulsiveness of the human beings who surround the world of boxing, the shocking price tag, the sport's inherent disorganization and grift, all of it, we ignore it because we hope that at the end, we get to see someone's sentience smashed into gristle for our amusement. We gather and thirst for carnage, and then we grouse that we didn't get our money's worth. You paid $100 expecting to see a pile of bloody mush in the middle of the ring, and now stomp your feet that you didn't get it. It didn't happen, because Mayweather is brilliant at his sport, and because he sees us for the animals we are. We can say we won't do it again. But we will. Because maybe next time someone will land a killer shot, and we will spill our drinks and howl. Last night we were played for suckers. But it's our own faults. We deserve every bit of it. We probably deserve worse." [GQ]
  • The fight may not have lived up to the hype, but it was far from boring, writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel, because Mayweather is unlike anyone else in the ring: "But this wasn't so much a boring fight as a Floyd Mayweather fight, and you can label it dull if you wish, rail that he just doesn't excite the masses with the offense everyone craves, but this is exactly what was likely to happen. There is a wizard-like quality to what the man has accomplished in the ring." [Yahoo]
  • Mayweather remains undefeated, and one of the best boxers in history, but there's one battle he'll never be able to win, writes Greg Bishop: "This is how it goes with Mayweather, how it always is with Mayweather. He may have made upwards of $180 million Saturday, and he further cemented his status as the best boxer of his generation. But there is one fight—that of public perception; to be known as a world-class fighter, not a serial batterer—that he cannot win. [SI]
  • ESPN's Tim Keown delves into Mayweather's character: " He is ... a man whose eagerness to proclaim his own talent -- he calls himself TBE for The Best Ever -- and flaunt his extreme lifestyle have caused a good percentage of those who pay attention to boxing to revile him. Those who hate Mayweather don't want to see him lose; they want to see him buried." [ESPN]
  • Sports Illustrated breaks down five years of negotiations leading up to Saturday's epic contest, taking a comprehensive look at talks that had been going on since the fall of 2009. [SI]
  • Days before the mega event, Grantland's Louisa Thomas writes: "Floyd Mayweather Jr. has bobbed, weaved, and danced through domestic violence accusations for much of his career. On the verge of the biggest fight in recent history, can we separate the athlete from the alleged abuser? [Grantland]
  • Rolling Stone spent a day with Pacquiao at the Wild Card Boxing Club: "There is a peculiar blend of savvy and naivete to the way Pacquiao interacts with the world. For someone so radically famous among his people, he still possesses a wide-eyed sincerity that affords even his low-grade karaoke singing an aura of crude authenticity." [Rolling Stone]

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