In 1981, almost 300 million people watched “Sugar” Ray Lewis beat Thomas Hearns for the welterweight title in the first-ever Pay-Per-View boxing event. A couple of years later, Mike Tyson showed up and became one of the most dominant forces the sport has ever seen.
The boxing frenzy became a real thing, and Las Vegas became the fighting capital of the world. Major casinos hosted some of the most iconic matches, and everyone was placing wagers on their favorite sports or casino games.
Unfortunately, the 90s were nowhere near the golden era the 80s were. The pool of fighters was much worse, and people seemed to care less about boxing. Also, Mixed-Martial-Arts made their appearance, creating a shift in the entire base of fight fans. Overall, the sport was in trouble.
Luckily, things changed at the start of the 21st century. New names and new styles began to rebuild the boxing scene, making it into what it is today. Below are some of the most entertaining fights that have taken place since the 2000s, so make sure to check them out if you haven’t already.
Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor (2017)
Traditional boxing fans would say this wasn’t a real boxing fight, but they’d be wrong to do so on many levels. First, it erased the false perception MMA fighters were equal to boxers in the ring. Second, it helped promote the sport way beyond its fan base.
And third, it created so much revenue it would’ve been crazy not to set it up. People were tuning in left and right, and the entire event was pure gold in terms of marketing and making money. Everyone wanted their piece of the pie, which is why the match was eligible for watching and betting everywhere, including online casino platforms like verde kasyno and many others.
At the time, McGregor was at the pinnacle of his fame. Becoming the first-ever double-champ in the UFC gave him enough star power to challenge Floyd Mayweather, who was officially retired, but came out of it just for the sake of this bout.
Despite performing at the age of 40, Mayweather showed why he’s one of the greatest ever to lace them up. Also, he justified “money” being his nickname, as the fight netted him approximately $280 million, while the UFC superstar had to “settle” for $130 million.
Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather (2015)
It’s not hard to guess who was one of the faces of the fight game over the last two decades. In his prime, Mayweather was considered untouchable, and everyone wanted to prove they were the ones to beat him. He used to drive his opponents crazy with his almost-perfect defense, and although the fans didn’t appreciate it – it worked.
Manny Pacquiao was another great fighter in the same weight class, but for unexplainable reasons, these two didn’t meet in the ring until Floyd was 38 and Manny was 36 years old. The critics back then were pointing out the fact the fans got robbed of seeing them clash with each other, but there was nothing they could’ve done.
However, when they fought, both of them showed the world why they were at the top of the boxing world for so long. Manny’s technique was flawless, but so was Floyd’s, on both offense and defense. Mayweather did get the win by unanimous decision, but make no mistake, this fight was highly entertaining despite not being closed by a knockout.
Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko (2017)
Another huge fight that is an absolute must-see took place on April 29th, 2017, at Wembley Stadium in London. Anthony Joshua was an undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, looking to defend his title against the man who lost it to Tyson Fury two years earlier.
Wladimir Klitschko reigned over the heavyweight division for over a decade and was on a mission for redemption, which made this fight massively hyped within the boxing community. Everything leading up to it hinted towards a spectacle, and both guys brought it to the arena.
Unfortunately for the 41-year-old Ukranian champion, time waits for no one. The 14 years younger Joshua was able to brutally knock him out in the 11th round, ending a truly legendary career.
Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin Trilogy (GGG) (2017 – 2022)
Just like you can’t watch only one Lord-of-the-Rings movie, you also can’t watch just one of the three fights between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. The feud between these two was iconic, which is why their bouts were more than just sports events.
For years, Triple-G dominated the middleweight division, while Canelo was doing his thing at welterweight. He was the ultimate showman and someone who was compared to Floyd in terms of speed and agility.
However, when he announced he was moving up to middleweight, all hell broke loose. Everyone wanted to find out whether Canelo was the one to dethrone Golovkin, and the tension and the enemy-like atmosphere were unlike anything else we’d seen from them before.
Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury Trilogy
After Tyson Fury became the heavyweight champion in 2015, he quickly got stripped of his titles and went down the drugs and alcohol corridor. The “Gypsy King” struggled with mental health for a couple of years, and decided to make a comeback against the hottest heavyweight in the game who was knocking people left and right.
Their first fight ended being a draw, but every round of it was as tense as a coiled spring. Round 12 was the craziest one, giving us the iconic “dead man getting up” moment from Fury. Wilder connected with an uppercut, sending Fury to the ground and convincing everyone in the building the fight was over. However, the Gypsy King rose just like the Undertaker used to in WWE, making the moment one of the most inspirational in boxing’s history.
Tyson Fury vs Wladimir Klitschko (2015)
The number one fight from this century everyone should see was Fury vs Klitschko for the heavyweight title, in Germany, on December 8th, 2015. Wladimir had been the champion for so long at that point, and no one thought Fury had a chance. Klitschko was extremely popular in that region, meaning the judges would probably be inclined to him if the match went the distance.
Instead, the boxing fans saw one of the most technical shutdowns that ever happened in the history of this sport. Years later, Tyson said in an interview that he noticed all of Wladimir’s opponents were making the same mistake – they were looking for a one-punch knockout.
Considering his size and athleticism, it was an almost impossible task. That’s why Fury switched to breaking down Vladimir’s game and played the points strategy. It was one of the most beautiful heavyweight performances you’ll ever see, making a 10-year champion look helpless, almost like an amateur.
