5. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI W PTS 12 ROMAN GONZALZEZ
March 18, 2017
BOXING NEWS said from ringside at the time: “A breathtaking war of attrition, with both boxers tearing into each other at close quarters. The intensity and speed of the strikes was simply spellbinding.” Srisaket, while beating the widely considered pound-for-pound number one, won a majority decision over 12 rounds.
4. CANELO ALVAREZ W PTS 12 GENNADY GOLOVKIN
September 15, 2018
RARELY, particularly in the modern era, have two fighters of such obvious quality stood and traded with barely a backward step for 36 minutes. In this rematch of their 2017 draw, Canelo was a revelation, exhibiting supreme upper body movement as he drew mistakes from Golovkin. But “GGG” was also impressive and at the end of 12 breathless rounds, it could have gone either way.
3. NAOYA INOUE W PTS 12 NONITO DONAIRE
November 17, 2019
ASTONISHING in so many ways, it was the sheer competitiveness that was perhaps the most surprising. Donaire, written off after losing his way in the higher weight classes, returned to form to push the highly fancied Inoue all the way. Quality oozed from each punch, combination and exchange. That Donaire bravely scrambled to his feet after the taking wickedest of body shots in the 11th – and then fought back – said it all about this high-intensity
2. JUAN MANUEL MARQUEZ W KO 6 MANNY PACQUIAO
December 8, 2012
THE fourth instalment of the Marquez-Pacquiao rivalry had everything: Pacquiao went down in round three from a right but levelled the knockdown count in the fifth with a left hand. The Filipino seemed to be getting on top as he busted up his rival before, in round six, walked onto a short right hand that sent him pitching to the face-first to the canvas. With Manny out cold, Marquez celebrated his first victory over his rival.
1. ANTHONY JOSHUA W RSF 11 WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
April 29, 2017
SET on a blustery April evening in the open-air Wembley Stadium, Anthony Joshua, 27, and Wladimir Klitschko, 41, produced a battle of the ages in every sense of the term. Joshua decked Klitschko in the fifth, punched himself out and was knocked violently to the mat himself in the sixth. Joshua remained in a fog for several rounds before waking up in the 10th. With six minutes left, the fight was poised: Joshua’s salvo, sparked by a right uppercut from hell, left the 90,000 fans in attendance breathless and Klitschko forced to rise from two knockdowns. The referee eventually rescued the veteran but both men were exhausted. Joshua’s victory, secured despite having been on the brink of defeat, won Klitschko’s approval just as Klitschko’s heroic last stand won ours.
