The great trilogies in boxing

The Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales rubber match that ended with the Filipino boxing idol giving the Mexican legend the worst beating of his long and illustrious boxing career on Nov. 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, has to be one of professional boxing’s most exciting trilogies.

ESPN.com recently came up with its own list of the best of the best trilogies even as it admitted that compiling the said list is a subjective science. ESPN says that the recently completed set between Diego Corrales and Joel Casamayor did not make the cut; neither did Bobby Chacon-Ruben Olivares, Muhammad Ali-Ken Norton, Battling Nelson-Joe Gans nor Antonio Tarver-Roy Jones.

Although not a trilogy since the Gabriel "Flash" Elorde and Japanese Teruo Kosaka met in the ring five times in the 1960’s, the rivalry between the ring gladiators has to rate as one of the most memorable in the history of boxing. In their final meeting, Elorde decked Kosaka five times in their 15-round title fight.

ESPN stated that all the trilogies that made it to their list were either exciting, memorable or significant or a combination of all three. Readers are invited to vote on the best boxing trilogy.

ESPN says that the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier (March 8, 1971; Jan. 28, 1974 and Oct. 1, 1975) rubber match is likely to remain the most celebrated of all trilogies for some time to come. 

Ali, in just his third bout since returning from enforced exile caused by his objection to the war America was waging in Vietnam, challenged the man who had claimed his crown during his absence. Ali, however, came out on the losing end of what was dubbed the Fight of the Century, a knockdown in the 15th (and final) round at Madison Square Garden sealing Ali’s fate.

ESPN continues to say that the dislike between the two (or at least, Frazier’s dislike of Ali, fomented by Ali’s constant taunting) was genuinely and deeply felt. But their second bout — after Frazier had lost the title to George Foreman, and Ali had lost to (but gained revenged over) Ken Norton — was relatively lackluster.

But the decider fought in Manila and aptly called the "Thrilla in Manila" was a brutal affair, perhaps the greatest heavyweight championship bout of all time. Despite Frazier’s insistence that he be allowed to continue, his trainer Eddie Futch halted the bout after the 14th round. "It’s all over," said Futch. "No one will ever forget what you did here today." Almost immediately afterward, Ali collapsed in the ring. In his best-selling autobiography, "The Greatest," Ali confesses that the third fight with Frazier was the closest to death he had ever been.

ESPN says that Tony Zale-Rocky Graziano (Sept. 27, 1946; July 16, 19947; June 10, 1948) ranks second among the 10 top trilogies. ESPN quotes boxing historian Bert Sugar, "(Graziano and Zale) may have been the best of the sport’s trilogies" at least the first two. They had ebb and flow, they flip-flopped continually. In the first fight, Graziano beat. (expletive) out of Zale, until Zale hit him in the stomach (and followed up with a left hook) and that was it. Graziano was out of breath, and couldn’t get up. In the second fight, Zale beat the living bejabbers out of Graziano until Graziano draped him over the ropes and stopped him. That’s when he grabbed the microphone and said, "Somebody up there likes me." And the third fight was all Zale (who won by third-round knockout)."

The Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales (Feb. 19, 2000; June 22, 2003; Nov. 27, 2004) rubber match is ranked third. It’s at this point that others may argue that the Pacquiao-Morales trilogy should be ranked ahead of Barrera-Morales and even Graziano-Zale. Apart from the excitement of Pacquiao-Morales, the near record crowd that attended the third bout says a mouthful about the epic proportions of the fight. Our vote goes Pacquiao-Morales as the second best trilogy in the history of boxing. But for history’s sake, let’s see what ESPN has to say about Barrera-Morales.

ESPN says Barrera-Morales is a trilogy. Two national rivals who detested (and by all accounts still detest) each other, and who backed up their mutual enmity outside the ring with skill and heart inside the ropes.

Entering their first contest, Barrera was three years removed from his shocking defeats to Junior Jones, but even so he had yet to recover the luster of his early career. While Barrera was losing his unbeaten record to Jones, Morales was winning the World Boxing Council (WBC) super bantamweight title, and had since defended it eight times.

Barrera won the second fight. When they met again two years later, Morales was now WBC featherweight champ, and this time, Barrera, who boxed more cautiously during the first half before being drawn into another brawl, was the controversial points winner. The crucial moment was an apparent knockdown of Barrera that referee Jay Nady called a slip, and which prevented a 10-9 Barrera round becoming a 10-8 Morales frame.

The third fight was the greatest of them all and one of the very greatest of all time, 12 rounds packed with equal parts savagery and skill, two warriors pounding each other with their proficiency and power and hate permeating their every punch. Barrera won this one.

The seven other trilogies ranked by ESPN are: 4) Barney Ross-Jimmy McLarnin (May 28, 1934; Sept. 17, 1934; May 28, 1935); 5) Emile Griffith-Benny "Kid" Paret (April 1, 1961; Sept. 30, 1961; March 24, 1962); 6) Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson (June 26, 1959; June 20, 1960; March 13, 1961); 7) Arturo Gatti-Micky Ward (May 18, 2002; Nov. 23, 2002; June 7, 2003); 8) Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield (Nov. 13, 1992; Nov. 6, 1993; Nov. 4, 1995); 9) Sugar Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran (June 20, 1980; Nov. 25, 1980; Dec. 7, 1989) and 10) Humberto "Chiquita" Gonzalez-Michael Carbajal (March 13, 1993; Feb. 19, 1994; Nov. 12, 1994).

Griffith-Paret deserves special mention. The two had split their previous two fights. According to ESPN, in the build up to the rubber match, Paret raised Griffith’s ire by insulting him with ahomosexual slur, and after suffering a knockdown in the sixth, a relentless Griffith took over, before pummeling Paret into the ropes in the 12th.

The entangled Paret was unable to extricate himself as Griffith rained down blow after blow on his defenseless victim, while the referee appeared frozen in shock.

Paret, wrote Norman Mailer, "went down more slowly than any fighter had ever gone down, he went down like a large ship that turns on end and slides second by second into its grave. As he went down, the sound of Griffith’s punches echoed in the mind like a heavy ax in the distance chopping into wet log." Paret died from his injuries, and boxing all but disappeared from national television for a better part of a decade.