The Boxing History Blog

Tony Bellew was enjoying his honeymoon in Mykonos after marrying the mother of his three children, Rachael Roberts, when he watched on a phone in a bar, Oleksandr Usyk claim the undisputed cruiserweight title with a unanimous decision over Murat Gassiev in Moscow. In his broken English, the new champion from Ukraine called out the only challenger left to him before his inevitable move up into the heavyweight division; Tony Bellew.  The thirty-four-year-old Bellew, who had won the British, Commonwealth and WBC silver light-heavyweight titles and the cruiserweight WBO International and European belts after his failed WBC light-heavyweight title challenge to the hard-punching Adonis Stevenson, also captured the WBC cruiserweight title in front of his home city fans at Goodison Park stadium, the home of his beloved Everton FC. His back-to-back victories over David Haye at heavyweight cemented his legacy in the sport and secured him and his family financially. The WBC granted Bellew Cha...

26th June 1972, Madison Square Garden, New York WBA Lightweight Title Ken Buchanan Vs Roberto Duran World champion Ken Buchanan was born in  Edinburgh, Scotland on 28th June 1945. He became ABA champion in 1965, turning professional on 20th September that very same year, stopping Brian Rocky Tonks in the second round in the lightweight division. In his seventeenth bout he became the British Scottish Area lightweight champion, outpointing John McMillan over ten rounds for the vacant title. On 19th February 1968 he beat Maurice Cullen for the British lightweight title with an eleventh round knockout, taking his unbeaten record to 24-0 with nine KO's. Nine more victories put him in line for the vacant European lightweight title. He travelled to Madrid, Spain to take on Miguel Velasquez. The bout went the full fifteen rounds and the Spaniard was given the decision 72-69 by Italian referee and sole judge. Buchanan leaned dejected against the ropes as the home supporters inv...

Pernell Whitaker The new IBF lightweight champion made the first defence of his crown against undefeated Mexican Louis Lomelli at the end of April 1989. Whitaker staggered his opponent in the first round and went on to stop the Mexican in the third. Four months later Whitaker would face arch-nemesis Jose Louis Ramirez again in his home town of Norfolk, Virginia. The fight was also for the vacant WBC lightweight championship, as the holder, Julio Cesar Chavez, had moved up to the light-welterweight division. During fight week it very much looked as if both governing bodies wouldn't be sanctioning Whitaker-Ramirez II. Both organisations were squabbling over who would name the officials, them or the Virginia Athletic Commission. They also had trivial debates, such as what logo would be on the referee's shirt. As it turned out, referee Chris Wollesen, wore neither. On the Wednesday, which was four days before fight night, the IBF president, Bob Lee, was persuaded to sanctio...

16th September 1981, Caesars Palace, Outdoor Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC & WBA Welterweight Unification Bout (Undisputed Title) Ray Leonard (WBC Champion) Vs Thomas Hearns (WBA Champion) Thomas Hearns, the freakishly tall welterweight, who wasn't much of a puncher in the amateur ranks, blasted out seventeen opponents on the bounce in a two year period. The first man to take him the distance was the former USA Pennsylvania State welterweight champion Alfonso Hayman. Hearns won every single round in the ten rounder, but failed to knock the tough Philadelphia fighter off his feet. Seven fights later Hearns was matched with middleweight Mike Colbert, where he had to negate the full ten rounds for only the second time in his career as he went 24-0. Two fights later he stopped Angel Espada in four rounds for the vacant USBA welterweight championship. The 'Hit Man' continued to knockout his opponents and was pitted against WBA welterweight champion Pipino Cuev...