#Shadow77 superfighters professional

The Utah native took on the best middleweights of his generation. He fought the fight of his life to outpoint Sugar Ray Robinson for the championship but, just four months later, Robinson took revenge, knocking Fullmer cold with a single left hook. He upset Dick Tiger to win the championship and defended successfully against Rubin “Hurricane” Carter before Tiger claimed revenge.

#Shadow77 superfighters professional

Griffith won a hotly contested decision but made up for it with two action-packed reigns at 160 pounds.Īfter a patchy start to his professional career and mob intervention blocking his path to a title shot, Giardello finally broke through. The great three-time welterweight champion spotted middleweight king Dick Tiger 9½ pounds but remarkably became the first fighter to floor the talented Nigerian. He refused to defend against Apostoli and was stripped. A solid competitor, hard-hitter and part-time actor, Steele was then shockingly upset by Fred Apostoli in a non-title bout. THE RING would recognize Steele as champion after Marcel Thil vacated the title. He was outpointed by Joey Giardello but avenged that defeat before losing controversially to Emile Griffith.

The savvy Nigerian won the championship by defeating Gene Fullmer during a memorable trilogy. Perennially mistreated by management, Tiger still attained Hall of Fame status. The brilliant Cerdan would suffer a shoulder injury in a knockout loss to Jake LaMotta and, just weeks out from a rematch, was tragically killed in an airplane crash. He stopped Tony Zale to win the title in the RING Fight of the Year. Smart, freakishly dedicated and a golden era throwback, this old-school Philadelphia general posted an incredible 19 successful defenses of his IBF title (among others) – a division record. “The Executioner” was 36 years old when he schooled Felix Trinidad to secure superstar status.

Hagler’s sensational third-round stoppage of Thomas Hearns in 1985 set the benchmark for middleweight superfights. “The Marvelous One” never shied away from a war but his boxing skills were also superb. This steel-headed southpaw sorcerer decimated an era of middleweights. He won the championship with a 12th-round stoppage of the superb Nino Benvenuti and made 14 successful defenses, nine of which came by knockout. The legendary Argentine pressure-puncher is a popular choice for being the greatest middleweight of all time.

What’s more astonishing is that the five-time middleweight champion peaked at welterweight. The original “Sugar Man’s” five-way rivalry with Jake LaMotta, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio and Bobo Olson rubberstamped an unmatched legacy at 160 pounds.