Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter and the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad. In 1986, Mike Tyson crowned himself world Heavyweight champion, and he was considered by many to be the savior of the Heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level (particularly in the WBA side) after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
Another important aspect of boxing in the 1980s was the rivalry between five world champions: Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. Of all the possible match-ups between these five, Benitez-Hagler was the only one that never happened. The circle of fights between these five gladiators actually began on November 30, 1979, when Leonard beat Benitez by knockout in round fifteen to win the WBC world Welterweight title, on the same night Hagler drew (tied) with Vito Antuofermo in his first bid to become the world's Middleweight champion.
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2 1980 3 1981 4 1982 5 1983 6 1984 7 1985 8 1986 9 1987 10 1988 11 1989 |
A list of fights by year
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
See also: Boxing in the 1970s, Boxing in the 1990s.
