The Dirty Dozen: 12 Fights You Won't Want to Watch

No recounting of heavyweight punch history would be complete without mention being made of the many fights that have let the fans down. I'm talking about the duds, the stinkers, the fights where not one, but TWO heavyweights get in there and disappoint. I'm talking about the fights where both guys are whiffing, or posing or just plain afraid to get hurt. Sorry guys, but I'm calling you out. I sat through 12 rounds of crap: (The following fights are all 12 round decisions, with the exception of Ali-Young, which went 15).

#12 - Muhammad Ali vs Jimmy Young (1976) TOTAL PUNCHES: 158 (Young 85, Ali 73)
Two of the best boxers of the 70s met in one of the most tactical and boring fights in history. This fight is what happens when you have two counterpunchers trying to out-cute each other. The late career Ali was content just to be in the ring loving himself, while Young seemed determined to win a chess match (which he actually did). The result was a gift decision for Ali, but neither fighter really deserved a victory.

#11 - Riddick Bowe vs Larry Donald (1994) TOTAL PUNCHES: 145 (Bowe 88, Donald 57)
This disappointing fight came on the heels of an explosive press conference, where Bowe punched Larry Donald in the face with a left-right before security separated the two men. Upon further review, it appears that Bowe's frustration with his own stuttering was the trigger and later he apologized for the incident. The fight, however, was painfully lacking in ferocity and fireworks. Donald danced around the ring while Bowe won the fight with his jab.

#10 - John Ruiz vs Evander Holyfield 3 (2001) TOTAL PUNCHES: 136 (Ruiz 68, Holyfield 68)
The point of this fight was to establish who was better between the two after both Holyfield and Ruiz had each won close decisions against each other. Instead, what happened was 12 rounds of thwarted attacks and painful ambiguity. At this stage of their careers, they were just too even. Ruiz was at his peak and Holyfield was considerably distant from his. The draw verdict in this fight was appropriate.

#9 - Oliver McCall vs Larry Holmes (1995) TOTAL PUNCHES: 133 (McCall 77, Holmes 56)
This was Holmes' last moment in the sun, a rather undeserved shot at the WBC Title that McCall won after catching Lennox Lewis with a lucky punch. This fight is frustrating because Holmes is simply unable to outbox McCall from the outside due to his age and decreased speed. McCall's occasional hooks inside were enough to give him the decision.

#8 - Nikolay Valuev vs Evander Holyfield (2008) TOTAL PUNCHES: 122 (Valuev 61, Holyfield 61)
This terrible fight was as much about Valuev's lack of skill as it was about Holyfield's advanced age and reluctance to engage. For 12 rounds, the plodding Valuev flicked an occasional jab while Holyfield bounced around the ring, proving that he could still move. Holyfield's rare but impressive hooks on the inside had many people believing he'd won the fight. Valuev took a close verdict with the judges.

#7 - Mike Tyson vs Tony Tucker (1987) TOTAL PUNCHES: 118 (Tyson 71, Tucker 47)
Unfortunately, a fight featuring the prime Mike Tyson makes the list. The fact is that Tony Tucker's defense was quite effective and he warded off the beating that Tyson wanted to put on him. This fight is essentially Tyson being frustrated but outworking Tucker. Tyson took a lopsided unanimous decision.

#6 - Lennox Lewis vs David Tua (2000) TOTAL PUNCHES: 115 (Lewis 81, Tua 34)
It's hard to blame Lennox for this one, but the fact is this fight was a huge letdown. Many people thought that Tua's Tyson-like style might be enough to wrest the championship from Lewis, but for some reason Tua entered this fight considerably overweight and slow. Lewis easily boxed his way to a unanimous decision win while failing to ever dare to put a beating on the overmatched Tua.

#5 - Sultan Ibragimov vs Evander Holyfield (2007) TOTAL PUNCHES: 114 (Ibragimov 73, Holyfield 41)
Another one of Holyfield's sad attempts to reclaim a title here. Ibragimov used his quickness to occasionally sneak in with jabs and straight lefts while Holyfield struggled to find a strategy or to land punches. Ibragimov's caution was sickening as he made sure to eliminate any exchanges or excitement from the fight. Ibragimov cruised to a unanimous decision win.

#4 - Larry Donald vs Evander Holyfield (2004) TOTAL PUNCHES: 110 (Donald 84, Holyfield 26)
So many late-career Holyfield fights on here. This one may have been the saddest. In what most people surely thought would be Evander's final fight, he was one-two'd to death by the competent Larry Donald. It's hard to fault Donald for this one, he landed a ton of right hands and really did his best. But the fact remains that the fight was hard to watch and didn't contain many punches, especially from Holyfield. Donald easily won a unanimous decision.

#3 - Fres Oquendo vs Evander Holyfield (2006) TOTAL PUNCHES: 108 (Oquendo 67, Holyfield 41)
Ok, I promise this is the last fight on the list that Holyfield is involved in. Once again, the way-past-his-prime Holyfield struggled to get anything done against the always difficult Fres Oquendo. While Holyfield did knock Oquendo down in the 1st, this fight was seriously hurting for quality action. Oquendo seemed to do the more effective work over the 12 rounds but Holyfield received a questionable decision victory.

#2 - Wladimir Klitschko vs Sultan Ibragimov (2008) TOTAL PUNCHES: 93 (Klitschko 67, Ibragimov 26)
The fans wait 9 years for a Unification Title fight and this is what they get. 12 rounds of Klitschko tentatively pawing with a jab while Ibragimov hovered about 10 feet away in mortal fear of being hit. With both men utterly unwilling to risk being hit with a punch, this fight was painfully tactical and utterly boring. Klitschko emerged with a unanimous decision, capturing Ibragimov's WBO belt in the process.

#1 - Mike Tyson vs Bonecrusher Smith (1987) TOTAL PUNCHES: 90 (Tyson 66, BSmith 24)
Congratulations, Bonecrusher Smith. It is quite possible that no fighter has ever grabbed and held so much as Smith did in this fight. While the young, ferocious Tyson tried to land haymakers, the taller Smith leaned away, ducked and grabbed his way to finishing the fight. From an offensive standpoint, Smith's performance was dreadful, a mere 2 punches per round. What a shame that a fight between 2 of the most powerful punchers of the 1980s turned into a swing-and-a-miss grabfest for 12 rounds. Tyson was granted a lopsided unanimous decision.