Carlos De León, also known as "Sugar" De Leon, was a Puerto Rican boxer who made history by becoming the first cruiserweight to win the world title twice. Subsequently, he kept breaking his own record for the most times as cruiserweight champion by regaining the title on two further occasions.
Leon Spinks was an American professional boxer who competed from 1977 to 1995. In only his eighth professional fight, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1978 after defeating Muhammad Ali in a split decision, in what is considered one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Spinks was later stripped of the WBC title for facing Ali in an unapproved rematch seven months later, which he lost by a unanimous decision.
Jimmy Young was an American heavyweight professional boxer. Young was known for his awkward, defensive style and counterpunching. He was one of the top contenders of the 1970s, losing a controversial unanimous decision against Muhammad Ali in 1976 and earning a victory over George Foreman in 1977. Young fought many other significant fighters of his era, including twice outpointing Ron Lyle and losing only by a split decision to then-number one contender Ken Norton in a title eliminator in late 1977. Fellow boxer Bobby Watts was his cousin.
Boxing in the 1980s was filled with important fights, events and personalities that shaped the sport. Boxing in the 1980s was shaped by many different situations, such as the continuous corporate battles between the different world sanctioning organizations, the void left by Muhammad Ali as the sport's ambassador and consequent search for a new boxing hero, the continuous presence of Don King as the sport's most famous promoter, the surge of rival promoters as Bob Arum, Butch Lewis and Murad Muhammad, and major rule changes. In 1986, Mike Tyson emerged as a fresh new face in the heavyweight division, which had seen a decline in champion quality level after Ali's retirement and, later on, after longtime WBC ruler Larry Holmes' prime. In addition, the IBF and WBO began operating.
During the 1970s, boxing was characterized by dominating champions and history-making rivalries. The decade had many superstars, who also had fierce rivals. Alexis Argüello, for example, who won the world Featherweight and Jr. Lightweight titles in the '70s, had to overcome Alfredo Escalera twice before the decade was over.
Michael Marshall Dokes was an American professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 1997, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1982 to 1983. As an amateur he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the 1975 Pan American Games.
Jesse Ferguson is a retired American boxer who was a Heavyweight Title Challenger and Top Contender who Beat Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion Buster Douglas, Heavyweight World Champion Ray Mercer and Cruiserweight World Champion Tyrone Booze. His professional career is filled with matches with champions and contenders and his name is linked with numerous boxing stars of the 1980s and 1990s.
Tim Witherspoon is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2003. He was a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the WBC title in 1984, and the WBA title in 1986. He beat Heavyweight World Champions Greg Page, James Smith, Tony Tubbs, Frank Bruno and Cruiserweight World Champions Alfonzo Ratliff and Al Cole. He is best known for his fight against undefeated Heavyweight World Champion Larry Holmes in which he lost by Split decision. Witherspoon also worked as a regular sparring partner for Muhammad Ali.
Cruiserweight, also referred to as junior heavyweight, is a weight class in professional boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight. Before the advent of the current cruiserweight class, "light heavyweight" and "cruiserweight" were sometimes used interchangeably in the United Kingdom.
Michael Dokes vs. Gerrie Coetzee, billed as The Buckeye Homecoming, was a professional boxing match that took place on September 23, 1983, at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield Township, Ohio, United States for Dokes' WBA heavyweight title.
Carlos Santos is a former boxer from Puerto Rico, who represented his native country as an amateur at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. There he was eliminated in the quarterfinals. Santos was involved both in the first and the fourth world title bouts involving two Puerto Rican boxers in history. It has been suggested that Santos was not born in Ceiba but in the San Juan area named "Santurce", but it is widely believed that Santos is a Ceiba native.
Pierre Coetzer is a former heavyweight boxer from Pretoria, South Africa. Coetzer's most notable fights include those against Johnny du Plooy, Riddick Bowe, Frank Bruno, and George Foreman.
Evander Holyfield vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match that took place on November 13, 1992 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight was contested for the undisputed world heavyweight championship, which consisted of the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships.
Josue Marquez Acevedo was a Puerto Rican who was once a world title challenging boxer. Not known for his punching power,, Marquez nevertheless gave many of the top boxers of his era trouble and managed to defeat a number of them.
Dwight Muhammad Qawi vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as "Pandemonium" was a professional boxing match contested on July 12, 1986 for the WBA Junior Heavyweight championship.
Evander Holyfield vs. Ossie Ocasio was a professional boxing match contested on 15 August 1987 for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight title.
Evander Holyfield vs. Dwight Muhammad Qawi II was a professional boxing match contested on December 5, 1987 for the WBA and IBF cruiserweight titles.
The Michael Dokes vs. Mike Weaver or, alternately, Mike Weaver vs. Michael Dokes, boxing fights were a pair of fights that occurred in 1982 and 1983 and were for the World Boxing Association's world Heavyweight title. Both fights were considered controversial due to a separate set of situations. They are both among the most widely spoken about heavyweight boxing contests of the 1980s.
The history of the sport of boxing in Puerto Rico is a varied and extensive one. Boxing is a major sport in the Caribbean country, and the sport has produced many champions for the island, both in the amateur and professional ranks, and among men and women fighters.
Larry Holmes vs. Tim Witherspoon, billed as The Crown Affair, was a professional boxing match contested on 20 May 1983, for the WBC and The Ring heavyweight championship.
