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.
Orleans Arena is a 9,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. It is located at the Orleans Hotel and Casino and is operated by Coast Casinos, a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corporation.
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and subsequent concerts by Luther Vandross, Anita Mui and Janet Jackson.
The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts International, and was opened on April 10, 1999. MGM and brewing company Anheuser-Busch entered a naming-rights agreement in 2021, naming the arena after the company's Michelob Ultra beer.
In boxing, the undisputed champion of a weight class is the boxer who simultaneously holds world titles from all major organizations recognized by each other and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. There are currently four major sanctioning bodies: WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF. There were many undisputed champions before the number of major sanctioning bodies recognizing each other increased to four in 2007, but there have been only 19 boxers to hold all four titles simultaneously.
Isufu "Ike" Quartey is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1988 to 2006. He held the WBA welterweight title from 1994 to 1998, and challenged once for IBF junior-middleweight title in 2000.
Toyota Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Ontario, California, United States. The arena hosts local sporting events and concerts and is suitable for indoor events, including basketball, ice hockey, ice shows, boxing, graduation ceremonies and concerts. The arena's basketball capacity is 10,832; 9,736 for hockey; and has a full capacity configuration for 11,089 spectators. The 225,000-square-foot (20,900 m2) venue also has 36 luxury suites on two levels. Construction officially began on March 7, 2007, and the arena was opened on October 18, 2008. It is the largest and most modern arena within the Inland Empire region of Southern California.
As in the 1980s, the 1990s in boxing's popularity focused on all divisions. When 1980s legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, as well as others retired, newer superstars filled the void: Pernell Whitaker, Julio César Chávez, in the early 1990s, Oscar De La Hoya, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the mid to late 1990s.
The Las Vegas metropolitan area is home to many sports, most of which take place in the unincorporated communities around Las Vegas rather than in the city itself. Currently, the Las Vegas Valley has three major league professional teams: the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), which began play in 2017 as the region's first major pro team, the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) which began play in 2020 after relocating from Oakland, California, and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) plan to move to Las Vegas to play at a new ballpark which is estimated to be complete by 2028. When this relocation happens, Las Vegas will have progressed from being the largest market in the U.S. with no teams in the men's major professional leagues to being one of the smallest markets with at least three such teams within less than a decade. In addition, the National Basketball Association has publicly confirmed Las Vegas is being considered for an expansion franchise, which would potentially make Las Vegas by far the fastest market to progress from no teams in the Big Four leagues to having teams in all four leagues.
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As of 2023, UNLV has the seventh-highest winning percentage (.687) in Division I history. UNLV is 33–19 all-time in the NCAA tournament with a 63.5 winning percentage. In July 2008, ESPNU named the program the eighth most prestigious collegiate basketball program in the nation since the 1984–85 season.
Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield, billed as Finally, was a professional boxing match fought between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson for the WBA heavyweight championship on November 9, 1996, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The bout was Tyson's first defence of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year.
Mike Tyson vs. Tony Tucker, billed as The Ultimate, was a professional boxing match contested on August 1, 1987 for the WBA, WBC, and IBF heavyweight championships.
T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), T-Mobile Arena is situated on the Las Vegas Strip behind the New York-New York and Park MGM casino hotels.
John Ruiz vs. Roy Jones Jr., billed as Never Take A Heavyweight Lightly, was a professional boxing match contested on March 1, 2003 for the WBA heavyweight championship. The fight took place at the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV in Paradise, Nevada.
Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver, billed as Now It's Personal, was a professional boxing match contested on November 8, 2003 for the vacant WBA (Unified) title, Tarver's WBC light-heavyweight championship, Jones' IBO and The Ring light-heavyweight championships.
The heavyweight unification series, also known as the Heavyweight World Series, was a sequence of professional boxing matches held in 1986 and 1987 to crown an undisputed champion of the heavyweight class. The series was produced by HBO Sports and promoted by Don King. It ended with Mike Tyson as undisputed champion, holding the championship belts of the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), and World Boxing Council (WBC).
Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugás, billed as "The Legend vs. The Olympian", was a welterweight professional boxing match contested between former eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, and WBA (Super) champion Yordenis Ugás. The bout took place on August 21, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. This was Manny Pacquiao's final boxing match before his retirement later that year.
Boxing in the 2020s is a list of notable fights and events in boxing during the decade from the year 2020 to 2029.
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.
