Boxing
Top Rank is gone, but 45 years of ESPN classics remain
On Thursday, October 30, Top Rank offered US viewers a free show on the promoter’s streaming channel, Top Rank Classics. This reminded me that it’s been three months since Top Rank’s streaming deal with ESPN expired.
Top Rank ESPN broadcasts began in 1980. Many of us thought the Top Rank/ESPN partnership would never end. But it happened. Now we are left with memories. Here are some of my fights – 10 fights out of many that have been watched over the years.
Roger Stafford
Hotel Hacienda, Las Vegas, November 7, 1981
The powerful Mexican Cuevas, former WBA welterweight champion, has been selected to fight Sugar Ray Leonard. Philadelphia’s Stafford tore up the script, winning an upset 10-round unanimous decision.
Stafford, a pointed boxer with a 17-2-1 record, defeated Cuevas in the second round. Cuevas got up, survived, and came back to hit Stafford with substantial left hooks in the fourth round. Stafford survived the round and Cuevas appeared to punch himself.
In the later rounds, it was all about Stafford. Cuevas was cut in the left eye and Stafford was attacking him and making pristine shots. In the last round, Cuevas was injured and almost knocked to his feet.
Donald Curry WON PTS 15 against Hwang Jun-suk
Fort Worth, Texas, February 13, 1983
Curry had to come off the canvas to win this battle between undefeated fighters for the vacant WBA welter title. Hwang, brutal but robust, dropped Curry to one knee in the seventh round with a right hand.
Curry quickly got back to his feet and came back to dominate the proceedings, bloodying the nose of the South Korean slugger with pointed jabs. The hometown crowd roared for Curry to keep going, but the shorter, stockier Hwang kept swinging.
In the later rounds, Hwang’s white shorts turned a crimson shade as blood flowed from his nose, but he was brave and defiant until the end. It was Curry’s 16th straight victory, and he seemed destined for greatness. But although he later unified the world title by knocking out WBC champion Milton McCrory in two rounds, it felt like Curry never quite lived up to his potential.
Tyrone Crawley WON Robin Blake in PTS 10
Levelland, Texas, October 8, 1983
Top Rank was building Blake up as a future star. And the towering, slender, clean-cut Southerner appeared to be on his way to a lightweight title shot when he faced Crawley of Philadelphia.
It was Saturday’s hometown fight in Levelland, with undefeated Blake (22-0, 16 KO) the favorite. But the skillful, speedy “Butterfly” Crawley outwitted the local fighter.
As I reported for Boxing News, while the crowd of 5,000 “watched the fight in stunned silence,” Blake was considered the puncher in the fight. Crawley has only stopped three opponents in its 13-1 record. But when Crawley knocked out Blake with a right hand in the third round, you knew “Rockin’ Robin” was in for a coarse night.
Crawley switched between orthodox and southpaw stance, causing Blake to disappear and look dazed. Blake, just 21 years aged, exceeded his expectations. Crawley won a deserved unanimous decision, although one Texas judge scored the fight only one point.
Terrence Alli and 12 John Meekins
Trump Castle, Atlantic City, January 20, 1991
Alli, born in Guyana but based in Brooklyn, was a regular on ESPN. One of his best wins was a 12-round unanimous decision over the talented John Meekins on ESPN’s Sunday show.
Meekins, who was also an ESPN mainstay, defended his NABF 140-pound title. (Ring analyst Al Bernstein called Alli and Meekins the “poster boys” of ESPN boxing.)
Alli was quick and pointed, throwing punches, disrupting Meekins with his quick movement and at times almost jumping into the action with his punches.
Alli landed occasional right hands, but his jab basically won the fight. Meekins landed good body shots, but Bernstein commented that Alli “used his left hand like a surgeon.”
Tommy Morrison KO 2 Art Tucker
Harrah’s Marina Casino, Atlantic City, May 14, 1992
Heavyweight contender Morrison was struggling to return to form after a loss to Ray Mercer seven months earlier. Tucker, a 40-year-old 6-foot-6 ex-con from Newark, Novel Jersey, had a decent record (20-3-1, 15 KOs) but didn’t take the punch very well.
It seemed that this duel would be “a matter of time”. But the scheduled 10-round match was lively while it lasted.
Tucker landed several right hands and a right uppercut in the first round, but Morrison drove him into the ropes with a left hook.
It all ended in the second. A left hook sent Tucker to the ropes, and referee Rudy Battle counted him to eight, and almost immediately after the “on” signal, the left hook ended the show 72 seconds into the round.
Roger Mayweather DQ 5 Livingstone Bramble
“Aladdin”, Las Vegas, March 14, 1993
Mayweather’s DQ victory against Bramble in a clash of former champions was an unsatisfying ending – it really should have been a TKO victory for the “Black Mamba”.
Bramble competed for two rounds in the scheduled 10-round super lightweight contest, but then Mayweather nailed his timing and dominated with his unerring jab and pointed shots.
Mayweather dropped Bramble with a right hand in the fourth round. Bramble was cut and swollen around his right eye and had blood in his mouth.
The fifth puck was more of a target practice for Mayweather, and Bramble’s trainer, Janks Morton, stood up on the ring apron and told referee Joe Cortez that he wanted the fight stopped.
Cortez, however, believed that Morton violated the rules by entering the ring area, and the result was recorded as a disqualification, not a TKO.
James Toney by TKO 7 Anthony Hembrick
Fernwood Resort, Bushkill, Pennsylvania, January 16, 1994
Toney was one of many standout players featured on ESPN. IBF 168-pound champion Toney was moving up to lightweight ahead of the Hembrick fight.
This was considered a good test for Toney, as Hembrick had fought for the lightweight title twice. But Toney picked apart his Michigan teammate and made it look effortless.
Toney countered beautifully as he leaned against the ropes, bloodied Hembrick’s nose, and seemed to be able to punch and hurt his man whenever he felt like it. He dropped Hembrick in the third round and again in the sixth round; Hembrick’s corner threw in the towel in the seventh.
Kevin Kelley via TKO 9 Ricardo Rivera
Mountaineer Race Track, Chester, West Virginia, March 31, 1995
It was one of those fights in which the clear favorite found himself in a fight to the death.
Kelley fought his first fight after losing the WBC featherweight title to Alejandro Gonzalez. Rivera, a skinny Puerto Rican boxer with a shaved skull, didn’t have Kelley’s experience, but he almost won.
Rivera knocked down Kelley with a right hand in the second round. By the fourth, Kelley’s nose was bloody and his left eye was swollen and closing. In the sixth round, Kelley came close to being stopped.
Rivera slammed him into the ropes and the referee stood up and counted the count to eight. However, Kelley began to fight his way back in the seventh set, rocking Rivera with his left hand from the southpaw position.
“If he knocks out Ricardo Rivera, it will be the most dramatic comeback in a fight I have ever seen,” Al Bernstein noted. And Kelley did it! In the ninth round, he dropped his tormentor with a huge left hand and the fight was stopped, with Rivera back on his feet, but out of the fight.
Erik Morales via TKO 11 Rudy Bradley
Arizona Charlie’s, Las Vegas, February 25, 1996
Morales was a 19-year-old rising star (20-0, 16 KO) when he faced Phoenix southpaw Bradley in a scheduled 12-round fight for the NABF super bantamweight title defended by the Mexican fighter.
Morales looked much bigger than Bradley, who made some clever moves but was ruthlessly exhausted. From long range, Morales’ right hand snapped Bradley’s head back. Bradley, 28, tried to pin Morales to the ropes, but even then he had the worst luck.
Bradley was cut in the left eye and was wilting when referee Richard Steele called a break.
Floyd Mayweather Jr WON PTS 10 to Tony Pep
Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, June 14, 1998
Mayweather fought beautifully against the long and lanky Canadian boxer, winning each round on two judges’ cards, while the third judge found the round and gave it to Pep (real name Pipke).
It was Mayweather’s 17th straight victory, and Pretty Boy (as he was known at the time) treated the fight like a gym session: “I’m hitting you, you miss me.”
Pep didn’t give up, but he looked dazed and after the seventh round he told his corner: “I can’t hit this guy.”
The Matchroom promoter believes this approach prevents reporters from pressing White on more complex topics related to the business side of combat sports.
“I listen to these guys asking questions and no one is pushing him,” Hearn said. “Nobody’s really asking any solemn questions. Nobody’s really asking any of the right questions. It’s a huge machine that you can’t get close to and ask real questions.”
Hearn suggested that reporters covering White should challenge him on issues such as fighter compensation and revenue sharing in the UFC.
“When I’m in the middle of a media row, I ask the question: if Tom Aspinall is generating more money into the pot than Conor Benn, why is he making 10 times less money?” Hearn said. “Can you answer that?”
The comparison between Aspinall and Benn highlights one of the arguments Hearn has repeatedly made when discussing the financial differences between boxing and mixed martial arts. In boxing, fighters typically negotiate individual amounts for events, television rights and commercial deals. The UFC, on the other hand, operates on the basis of long-term promotional contracts that determine the remuneration of fighters.
Hearn’s comments come amid growing friction between the British promoter and White following the launch of Zuffa Boxing. The first major events under the modern venture, backed by TKO Group Holdings and Saudi investment, are expected to take place later this year as White moves beyond MMA.
White has already publicly fired Hearn, describing him as just another manager entering the MMA space. Meanwhile, Hearn questioned the initial direction of the project and the quality of the events produced so far.
The exchange quickly turned into one of the more high-profile rivalries surrounding efforts to build a modern boxing league.
Hearn’s criticism of interview restrictions also touches on a broader issue in combat sports media: how much reporters can challenge promoters and management when access to fighters and events often depends on maintaining professional relationships. These questions need to continue to be asked, according to Hearn.
Undisputed lithe heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol could pursue a rematch with Canelo Alvarez or a fight with David Benavidez once he finishes his current duties in the division.
Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, outlined the champion’s preferred path in comments provided by Dan Rafael, explaining that Bivol intends to first pursue a mandatory IBF defense and then return to competing with Artur Beterbiev.
He is expected to have a mandatory defense against Michael Eifert this spring. The fight was scheduled for May 23 at a gala headlined by unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
After fulfilling this obligation, Bivol’s team wants to immediately start the third fight with Beterbiev. Their rivalry produced two closely watched fights, leaving unfinished business between two fighters who have dominated the lithe heavyweight division for the past several years and built one of the most respected rivalries in the sport.
More intriguing possibilities emerge after this trilogy. Rafael reported that Bivola’s camp sees a second fight with Canelo as one of the main options still available to the champion. Bivol defeated Alvarez by unanimous decision in 2022, handing the Mexican star one of the clearest defeats of his career.
Another potential opponent in question is Benavidez, who has moved up to lithe heavyweight and has been seeking a chance to fight the top fighters in the division. The fight between Bivol and Benavidez will pit the undefeated Mexican-American challenger against a champion who currently holds four major division titles.
Kornilov also suggested that Bivol could eventually prove himself at cruiserweight, although such an idea appears to be more of a long-term possibility than an immediate plan for the undefeated champion.
For now, the plan of action remains straightforward: fulfill the IBF mandate against Eifert, complete the trilogy with Beterbiev, and then fight one of the most crucial fights that could decide the final stage of Bivol’s career.
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