The 21 Greatest Boxing Matches of the 1980s

Four kings, two heavyweight eras and a handful of featherweight wars still rewatched on grainy tape. Some ended in seconds; others went 15 brutal rounds.

1. 1
   Hagler vs. Hearns

   The 1985 'War' in Las Vegas, eight minutes of nonstop violence that Marvin Hagler ended in the third round.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Hagler vs. Durán

   The 1983 middleweight title fight where Roberto Durán pushed Marvin Hagler the full 15 rounds.
   619pts
3. 3
   Chávez vs. Rosario

   The 1987 lightweight title fight where Julio César Chávez systematically broke down Edwin Rosario.
   567pts
4. 4
   Holmes vs. Ali

   The sad 1980 'Last Hurrah', in which Larry Holmes dominated his former idol Muhammad Ali until the corner stopped it.
   468pts
5. 5
   Leonard vs. Durán II

   The November 1980 'No Más' rematch in New Orleans, where Durán stunningly quit in the eighth round.
   468pts
6. 6
   Holmes vs. Cooney

   The racially charged 1982 heavyweight title fight in which Larry Holmes stopped Gerry Cooney in the 13th.
   468pts
7. 7
   Leonard vs. Hearns

   The 1981 'Showdown' welterweight unification, where a trailing Sugar Ray Leonard stopped Thomas Hearns in the 14th.
   419pts
8. 8
   Leonard vs. Hagler

   The 1987 'Super Fight', Leonard's comeback split-decision win over Marvin Hagler, still argued about today.
   419pts
9. 9
   Durán vs. Leonard I

   The June 1980 'Brawl in Montreal', in which Roberto Durán outworked Leonard to take the WBC welterweight title.
   419pts
10. 10
    Camacho vs. Rosario

    The 1986 Puerto Rican grudge match in which Héctor Camacho survived Edwin Rosario's power for a split decision.
    419pts
11. 11
    Hearns vs. Durán

    The 1984 fight in which Thomas Hearns flattened Roberto Durán with a single right hand in round two.
    363pts
12. 12
    Tyson vs. Holmes

    The 1988 bout where Mike Tyson handed Larry Holmes the only knockout loss of his career.
    299pts
13. 13
    Holyfield vs. Qawi

    The 1986 15-round cruiserweight war in Atlanta where Evander Holyfield won his first world title from Dwight Muhammad Qawi.
    299pts
14. 14
    Tyson vs. Berbick

    The 1986 fight in which 20-year-old Mike Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion.
    299pts
15. 15
    Spinks vs. Holmes

    The 1985 upset where light-heavyweight king Michael Spinks ended Larry Holmes's 48-0 run and heavyweight reign.
    226pts
16. 16
    Pryor vs. Argüello

    The 1982 'Battle of the Champions' in Miami, where Aaron Pryor stopped Alexis Argüello in the 14th round.
    226pts
17. 17
    Sánchez vs. Gómez

    The 1981 featherweight clash where Salvador Sánchez stopped the unbeaten Puerto Rican Wilfredo Gómez in eight.
    226pts
18. 18
    Tyson vs. Spinks

    The 1988 heavyweight showdown that Mike Tyson finished in 91 seconds to cement his status as the undisputed champion.
    226pts
19. 19
    Leonard vs. Hearns II

    The 1989 rematch in which Hearns twice dropped Leonard but had to settle for a disputed draw.
    226pts
20. 20
    Hearns vs. Cuevas

    The 1980 night Thomas Hearns destroyed Pipino Cuevas in two rounds to win the WBA welterweight title.
    226pts
21. 21
    Gómez vs. Pintor

    The 1982 super-bantamweight battle where Wilfredo Gómez stopped Lupe Pintor in the 14th round in New Orleans.
    140pts

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