Five Very Weird Superfight Endings

As most of my loyal followers know, I have been following the sweet science for over 30 years. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly side of boxing. But I have also seen some stuff that belongs on an episode of Ripley’s Believe It or Not. And I am sure I just dated myself with that reference to a television show from the 1980’s, but I digress.

Weirdness comes in many shapes, sizes and colors. For my money, the five fights below deserve to be in Boxing’s Hall of the Shame. Yes, the endings were that bizarre.

5. Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr. vs "Vicious" Victor Ortiz. Let’s get the most recent one out of the way. We all know what happened. Mayweather toyed with Ortiz for three rounds. Ortiz got frustrated in round four and head-butted Mayweather, WWF-style. Ortiz then hit Mayweather with a series of kisses and hugs in an attempt to make amends. Referee Joe Cortez spaced out and left the fighters alone. And then "BAM," Mayweather ends the fight with "legal" sucker-punches. I’m not saying Mayweather was right for what he did to Ortiz, but to quote the rapper DMX, if "you do dirt, you get dirt."

4. Paul "the Punisher" Williams vs Kermit "the Killer" Cintron. This is another recent fight. I’ll admit, I’m relying more on my short-term memory for these first two entries on my list because my long-term memory is not as sharp as it used to be. Regardless, this is one fight that we’d all soon forget. In a seemingly even fight that appeared headed to a late decision or stoppage by either fighter, Cintron inexplicably decided to live up to his first name and leaped out of the ring like a frog after tripping on Williams’s foot. The result: a bizarre technical decision loss to Williams, after Cintron injured his neck on his spill outside of the ring.

3. Riddick Bowe vs Andrew Golota I. Most boxing fans know how this fight ended. Golota, seemingly ahead on the scorecards, simply couldn’t stop hitting the rapidly fading Bowe below the belt, and was ultimately disqualified for his "under-handed" work. But that’s only where the strangeness began. To add insult to injury, some of Bowe’s cronies entered the ring and attacked the unsuspecting Golota, and proceeded to pound on him. From that point on, the madness ensued throughout the arena, as fans of both fighters began brawling with surprisingly little security around at the "world’s most famous arena." To put it bluntly, this was one of the darker days in Madison Square Garden’s storied history.

2. Sugar Ray Leonard vs Roberto Duran II. If you follow sports, most of you have heard the Spanish phrase, "no mas," which translates to no more. The fact that Leonard befuddled and out-boxed the frustrated Duran was not weird at all. Leonard was an all-time great. But so was Duran, and that’s what makes the ending so weird. Seeing a fighter as prideful as Duran literally quit and walk away transcended weird. It was darn right jaw-dropping given his reputation.

1. Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield vs "Iron" Mike Tyson II. The year was 1997. The scene was Las Vegas, Nevada. The crime was ear-biting (twice to be exact), punishable by disqualification in boxing. In a twist on the "no mas" concept, Tyson found a way to "quit" against Holyfield in their rematch. Tyson later complained of repeated head butts by Holyfield and felt that he had to "do something" to get back for these fouls. If he truly felt he was being wronged, my suggestion would have been to get Holyfield back legally (via punches) or, worse, illegally (via retaliatory head butt or low blow). Ear-biting should not be on the menu, under any circumstances!