YouTube boxing is nothing new if we are being technical. For years, boxing has been about the freak show. Today we are looking at seven “fights” that you may have never heard of or you may have forgotten about.
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
0:53 Jack Dempsey fighting 5 in one night
3:32 Jack Dempsey vs. a pro wrestler
6:14 Jack Johnson selling war bonds
7:40 Muhammad Ali vs. Rocky Marciano
10:45 George Foreman vs. 5 in a night
12:13 Muhammad Ali vs. An NFL defensive end
13:51 Shaq vs. Oscar De La Hoya
Jack Dempsey starts us off by fighting five people in one night. Twice. In a week. We will talk about how and why Kid Blackie wanted to return to boxing. He took over 40 exhibitions in a short period of time and pocketed nearly $800,000 in the middle of the Great Depression.
We circle back to Jack Dempsey again for our second section. He fought Cowboy Luttrell, a professional wrestler, in the 1940’s. That fight was much less glamorous but Dempsey was proving a point.
Jack Johnson is up next. In the midst of World War II, the United States had a war bond program and the former champion returned at 67 to face an old rival in Joe Jeanette. This was more of a glorified sparring match and was done in good fun. Fans were ecstatic to see Jack Johnson back in action, even at 67.
Muhammad Ali is at the heart of many’s love for boxing and rightfully so. But he, being a showman, also took part in quite a few exhibitions. Muhammad Ali vs. Rocky Marciano may be the most peculiar. Why? Because they did a computer simulation in the 70’s.
George Foreman may be the most famous, or infamous, exhibition on the list today. After losing to Muhammad Ali, George Foreman wanted to prove himself a tough fighter and took a page out of Jack Dempsey’s playbook and fought five in one night. The fans didn’t take kindly to George Foreman beating up five smaller men, however.
Our last foray into Muhammad Ali will be his exhibition with NFL pro bowler Lyle Alzado. The two squared off at Mile-high stadium in Denver, Colorado. Much like Dempsey vs. Luttrell, the fight between Muhammad Ali and Lyle Alzado was a financial letdown. It was also apparent the lighting quick Muhammad Ali had seemingly lost his magic.
Finally, we are diving into some Shaq-Fu. Shaq faced Oscar De La Hoya in a five round exhibition match in 2009 for his television show “Shaq Vs.” An entertaining affair, Oscar De La Hoya was in the shadow of Shaq, a literal giant. In a fun contest, Oscar De La Hoya took home the win and Shaq showed great sportsmanship throughout.
Boxing’s history with exhibitions, gimmick fights, and computer simulations