Having in excess of 600 world championship title fights in my vintage video library to post here at Imasportsphile…I have come to realize that from 1964 to 1995 was truly the golden age of boxing….for there were more great boxers, super great boxers and legendary boxers than at any other time in boxing history. Heck, there were more fights during this era where boxing legends fought another boxing legend than ever before or ever again….shoot, the best boxer to enter the ring since 1995 was Floyd Mayweather, Jr….and he dodged every great fighter of his day until they were old and long in the tooth….like Manny Pacquiao….but not during the golden age of boxing….cuz that’s when Ali fought Smokin’ Joe Frazier (3 times), Sonny Liston (2 times), George Foreman and Larry Holmes…..and that is when Sugar Ray Leonard fought Roberto “Manos de Piedras” Duran (3 times), Thomas “Hitman” Hearns (3 times), Wilred Benetiz (2 times) and Marvin Hagler (2 times)….and all of these guys are boxing legends…..for this scenario was not just in the heavyweight and welterweight divisions….cuz every weightclass during the golden age of boxing was loaded with boxing legends.
However, if there is one glaring flaw during the golden age of boxing…..it would be the eventual reality that the fight game would move from having one world champion per weight division to three and four world champions in every weight division….for no matter how this video spins how there became three, then four, different boxing titles known as the World Boxing Council (WBC)….World Boxing Association (WBA)…..and the International Boxing Federation (IBF)….and even later on the World Boxing Organization (WBO)….the fact is that MONEY was the catalyst for dividing into different titles….but that’s a story for another day.
This video provides an interesting perspective of how this multi-title transition took place….without really addressing how LIVE TV PRODUCTIONS and BIG MONEY were the cause and effect at the heart of why there are still multiple title holders in each boxing division….so, it makes this video well worth seeing.
