DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
even the most cynical anti-Fury types would concede that fights with countrymen Fabio Wardley, Daniel Dubois and young phenom Moses Itauma would still be a major U.K. spectacle. Of course, the biggest U.K. boxing event of all time would be a showdown with Anthony Joshua, but the tragic car accident that claimed the lives of two of the former unified titleholder’s teammates in December puts that matchup, and maybe Joshua’s career, in question. However, even if it’s Fury vs. Wardley, Dubois or Itauma, we can still envision a packed stadium, state-of- the-art pyrotechnics, an air show of giant blimps and maybe a few songs from Fury during the ring walk. He might even be the sentimental favorite. The question will be, as it has always been in these cases: Can Fury overcome those two stains on his record and regain some of his glory? Or do the two losses mean he’s reached the end of the road? Larry Holmes once found himself in a situation that mirrored Fury’s. A long- reigning heavyweight champion, Holmes was 35 and 36 when he lost back-to-back close bouts to Michael Spinks. The comparison is
Admittedly, he became a nostalgia act, fighting in second-rate casinos and failing in two more title bids. Still, his skill was evident as he outboxed the likes of Ray Mercer, Jesse Ferguson, Jose Ribalta and, in his final fight at age 53, Eric “Butterbean” Esch. Holmes publicly portrayed himself as a happy-go-lucky mercenary simply fighting for money, going as far as his left jab could take him. Yet beyond the persona, it’s possible Holmes wanted his final moments in the ring to be a celebration of his talents. For someone with Holmes’ ego, the losses to Spinks (and Tyson) weren’t good notes on which to end a career. Holmes’ experience wasn’t as bad as what another heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson, endured in the early 1960s. In consecutive bouts with Sonny Liston, Patterson suffered devastating first-round knockout losses and became the butt of jokes in news columns around the country. Yet Patterson, who wasn’t yet 30, was more resilient than anyone realized. Over the next two years, he mounted a strong comeback, highlighted by a decision win over George Chuvalo that was chosen as The Ring’s Fight of The Year for 1965. Though he fell short when he challenged Liston’s own two- time conqueror, Muhammad Ali, Patterson remained active. During this later period, Patterson’s popularity was greater than when he’d been champion. Considered a pampered and protected fighter in his younger days, now he’d become a sort of likable underdog. He finally retired in 1972, capping off his post-Liston years with a record of 17-4-1 and a newfound
respect from boxing fans. Middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins had made a record-setting 20 title defenses when he lost a pair of close bouts to Jermain Taylor in 2005. The losses left 40-year-old Hopkins in a sour mood, but he continued competing at the elite level, twice winning the Ring Magazine light heavyweight championship and later unifying 175-pound belts, all while defeating such names as Antonio Tarver, Winky Wright, Kelly Pavlik and Jean Pascal. He even avenged a loss from early in his career, outpointing old rival Roy Jones Jr. in a much- anticipated, though uneventful, rematch. Like Patterson, Hopkins enjoyed an increase in popularity during this stage of his career. His age-defying vitality, his cagey boxing style and his prickly personality combined to make him a regular attraction on HBO, Showtime and pay- per-view events. While scoring wins over Tavoris Cloud, Karo Murat and Beibut Shumenov, it looked like B-Hop could go on forever. In the wake of his losses to Taylor, Hopkins posted a record of 9-4-1 with a no-contest before he retired at 51. Of course, two years after his rematch with Hopkins, Taylor had his own double disaster courtesy of Pavlik. Unlike the aged Hopkins whom he dethroned for the middleweight title, Taylor was under 30 and was being groomed for stardom. Boxing programmers had liked his broad smile and clean-cut appearance, but consecutive losses to Pavlik (TKO 7 and UD 12) derailed him. His career after the Pavlik bouts included a
couple of dramatic KO defeats, first to Carl Froch and then to Arthur Abraham, the latter part of the Super Six World Boxing Classic. After some time off, Taylor scored some wins and even won the IBF middleweight title by beating Sam Soliman in 2014. Unfortunately, a series of arrests and jail time ended Taylor’s career. He was 6-2 after the losses to Pavlik but had become one of boxing’s problem characters in the process. Even the Baddest Man on the Planet had to deal with back-to-back losses to the same opponent. Following his knockout loss to Evander Holyfield and subsequent disqualification for biting Holyfield’s ears in the rematch, Mike Tyson faced widespread public scrutiny and was stripped of his boxing license. He resumed his career roughly a year and a half later, but this marked the beginning of his most ridiculous period, during which his diminishing skills were often overshadowed by headline- grabbing behavior, including a failed drug
(Left) Michael Spinks outworked a faded Larry Holmes and edged him twice. (Above)
Sonny Liston scored two first-round stoppages over Floyd Patterson.
even more striking when you consider that Holmes had looked bad in his bout prior to those losses, a close 15-round decision win over Carl Williams, just as Fury looked horrendous against Francis Ngannou. Bitter even in the best of times, Holmes was especially crabby after the losses to Spinks. He laid low for more than a year until Don King coaxed him to challenge the new heavyweight champ, Mike Tyson. Undertrained, rusty and only doing it for the money, Holmes succumbed to Iron Mike in four rounds. Three years later, Holmes returned to the ring and embarked on an unlikely but admirable comeback. Lacking youth, he compensated with pure guile, confidence and ring savvy, compiling a respectable 21-3 record after the three consecutive defeats.
Bernard Hopkins pushed Jermain Taylor hard but dropped two close decisions.
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