Boxing
The most decisive first world heavyweight title
THE CROWNING of a up-to-date heavyweight champion has long excited boxing fans around the world. A change in boxing’s glamour division offers heavyweight contenders the crowning jewel of the sport: the heavyweight title of world champion.
The nature of uncertainty is always present when the Goliaths of the sport clash. The ever-changing structure of heavyweight supremacy over the past few years is a perfect example of that.
Anything can happen in heavyweight boxing. When two massive men collide, both the fight and the landscape of the division can change in the blink of an eye, generating further intrigue surrounding the fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois for the recently vacated IBF title.
Joshua will be looking to join an elite group of fighters led by the greatest heavyweight in history, three-time world champion Muhammad Ali.
Still, the in-form Daniel Dubois will look to thwart his opponent and utilize his strength, power and newfound grit to win his first heavyweight title.
Joshua presents a challenge that many thought Dubois would have trouble with. However, Joshua himself was upset by an unpopular contender longing for his crowning moment, Andy Ruiz.
Although the winner of this fight, the contender for the title of king of the division, remains in the shadow of the undisputed superiority of Oleksandr Usyk, the victory in the fight for the first-ever world heavyweight title has always been the most shocking event in the history of this sport.
Joshua has lost two fights in a row to Oleksandr Usyk. (Getty Images)
The decisive and brutal manner in which some competitors won their first title shocked the world and changed the face of the sport forever.
Despite previously being the WBA and then the IBF interim champion, Dubois will be looking to emulate the most devastating champions in history who won their titles in ruthless fashion if he is to achieve his greatest success at the world level to date.
Here are the most emphatic and devastating first victories in world title history:
4) Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson in one round
Liston’s massacre of the first two-time heavyweight champion in history, Floyd Patterson, was executed with the brutality, coldness and efficiency of a killer. After defeating every fighter on an impressive list of top 10 contenders, something no fighter had done before or since, Liston finally got his shot at Patterson.
Wasting no time, before the first verse was over Liston crushed Floyd in a gruesome scene reminiscent of a bear tearing at its prey. A battered, shot Patterson found himself trapped on the ropes, overwhelmed by the ominous presence of the up-to-date heavyweight terror.
With Floyd defenseless against the ropes, Sonny crushed him with left hooks, knocking the champion down. The way Liston dealt with Patterson, who had been heavyweight champion for all six years prior, was terrifying.
Amazingly, he repeated the beating in an immediate rematch. Two consecutive first-round knockouts of the heavyweight champion, after demolishing an entire list of top-10 contenders, cemented Liston’s reputation as the most feared boxer in the world.
His brief reign overshadowed the way he won heavyweight honors. But after crushing everyone in his path, it was no wonder Muhammad Ali entered the Liston fight as an underdog.
July 22, 1963, Las Vegas, NV: Floyd Patterson is knocked down during a heavyweight title fight with Sonny Liston
3) Mike Tyson knocks out Trevor Berbick in the second round
In the behind schedule 80s, Iron Mike Tyson captivated audiences like no other fighter in history. A terrifying presence and a freakish fighting machine, fans were drawn to the screens, eagerly awaiting the live execution every time he entered the ring.
Tyson’s combination of explosive power, speed and ferocity was matched by extreme discipline instilled in him by one of the greatest boxing teachers in history, Cus D’Amato.
Opponents were aware of Tyson’s physical abilities, but it was the malicious intent with which he entered the ring that made it all that much more terrifying. Mike embodied the mindset of history’s greatest conquerors, and he studied so diligently, wanting to conquer and destroy all that stood before him.
Iron Mike’s attitude and brutal knockout streak got the better of most before the first bell. With a perfect record of 27 fights, 15 of which ended in first-round knockouts, Trevor Berbick was on his way to making heavyweight history.
Tyson demolished Trevor Berbick in just two rounds, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of the sport. Powerful hooks sent the champion flying across the ring. The outnumbered Berbick was seriously hurt in the second round.
Upon rising, the lingering effects of the injections sent him straight to the ground. The mind was willing, but the body could take no more, and in just one and a half rounds, a up-to-date heavyweight champion of the world emerged. The spark for the most stimulating title reign in history had ignited!
2) George Foreman knocks out Joe Frazier in the second round
Joe Frazier reigned impressively as heavyweight champion in the early 1970s and put in one of the greatest performances in the history of the weight class, defeating Muhammad Ali in the Fight of the Century.
He had proven to be a tenacious, unwavering opponent, capable of taking on the strongest and outmatching the most skillful opponents – but when he faced “Substantial George,” he found himself up against an unstoppable force.
Foreman obliterated Frazier in a way that no one has ever equaled. Howard Cosell’s legendary reaction after the first knockdown perfectly captured the shock that echoed around the world as the legendary commentator shouted, “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!”
But that was just the beginning of the demolition. Over the course of about two gruesome rounds, Foreman took down one of the division’s most eminent and talented tough guys, knocking down Smokin’ Joe six times. The manner in which those knockdowns came added to the incredible nature of it, lifting him off his feet multiple times.
Though Frazier’s body was battered, his heart kept him on his feet every time, but in an act of mercy to prevent further injury, the fight was stopped.
Foreman continued his explosive streak by catapulting Ken Norton across the ring in two rounds, setting up the biggest fight in heavyweight boxing – the Rumble in the Jungle. Once again, Ali entered the ring as the great underdog.
Boxing: WBC/WBA World Heavyweight Title: George Foreman in action vs. Joe Frazier at the National Stadium. Kingston, Jamaica January 22, 1973. Source: Herb Scharfman (Photo: Herb Scharfman /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X17418)
1) Jack Dempsey knocks out Jess Willard in the third round
A fierce, hard-fought, thrilling victory that single-handedly elevated boxing to the number one sport in America. Before the Dempsey-Willard fight, attendance and interest in the sport were low, so the leisurely, lumbering heavyweight champion faced the homeless Jack Dempsey.
The “Manassa Mauler” was so much smaller than Willard that many feared for his life. However, Jack flipped the script and came out of the blocks, delivering a devastating first-round thrashing.
He knocked Willard down seven times in the first three-minute round. As the fallen champion slowly rose, Dempsey stood over him before ruthlessly slamming him back to the floor. Dempsey’s explosive fury broke Willard’s ribs and orbital bone and knocked out several of his teeth.
The crowning of a up-to-date champion who would fight with such animalistic fury intrigued many in the sport. Dempsey’s subsequent fights were the catalyst for live broadcasts, attendances of over 100,000 and the first million-dollar boxing gates in history. This fight is the most influential in history and was a pioneering piece that lit up the Roaring 20s.
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