# What is the most heartbreaking final fight in boxing history?

> Careers seldom end on a good night. Here are the last ones, when everyone in the arena already knew.

*By YPB Team · Published August 2, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-most-heartbreaking-final-fight-in-boxing-history*

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## Current results (0 votes)

1. **Muhammad Ali vs Trevor Berbick**
   Ali's last fight, a ten-round decision loss in Nassau in December 1981, staged in the Bahamas because no US state would licence him.
2. **Joe Louis vs Rocky Marciano**
   Marciano knocked the 37-year-old Louis through the ropes at Madison Square Garden in 1951.
3. **Mike Tyson vs Kevin McBride**
   Tyson quit on his stool in 2005 and said afterwards he no longer had the fight in him.
4. **Sugar Ray Robinson vs Joey Archer**
   Robinson, 45, was dropped and outpointed in his 200th professional fight in 1965.
5. **Roberto Duran vs Hector Camacho**
   Duran's fifth decade of fighting ended with a decision loss in 2001 at the age of 50.
6. **Evander Holyfield vs Vitor Belfort**
   A 58-year-old Holyfield was stopped in the first round of an exhibition in 2021.
7. **Thomas Hearns vs Shannon Landberg**
   Hearns fought on until 2006, long after the era that made him famous had ended.
8. **Roy Jones Jr. vs Scott Sigmon**
   Jones, once untouchable, closed his career with a routine win over a club fighter in 2018.
9. **Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas**
   Pacquiao lost a decision in 2021 and retired at 42 after two decades at the top.
10. **Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao**
   De La Hoya quit after eight rounds in 2008 and never fought again.
11. **Jake LaMotta vs Billy Bello**
   The Raging Bull finished his career with a loss to a 20-year-old prospect in 1954.
12. **Riddick Bowe vs Gene Pukall**
   A former undisputed champion ended up on small cards in Germany in 2008.

Tags: sports, boxing, fighters