Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter was a welterweight championship unification match contested between IBF champion Errol Spence Jr. and WBC champion Shawn Porter. The event took place on September 28, 2019 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
The first contest between José Luis Castillo and Floyd Mayweather Jr. was on April 20, 2002 for the WBC Lightweight Title (4th defense by Castillo) and The Ring Magazine Lightweight Title (Vacant) at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Mayweather entered the fight as a 4-1 favorite despite having recently moved up from the 130-pound division, where he held the WBC title.
Before “Money” was his moniker, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was an unbeaten 130-pound fighting machine known as “Pretty Boy.”
Already a pound-for-pound entrant due to stoppage wins over Genaro Hernandez; from whom he claimed the WBC junior lightweight title, and Angel Manfredy; who he battered inside two rounds, the Grand Rapids star was still viewed by many critics as untested.
Corrales was a 5-foot-10 ½ junior lightweight with crunching power in both hands. In October 1999, the Sacramento native scored a devastating seventh-round stoppage over Roberto Garcia to win the IBF title, and he maintained his dominance in successful defenses against John Brown (UD 12), Derrick Gainer (TKO 3), Justin Juuko (KO 10) and Manfredy (TKO 3). Enormous for the weight, Corrales (33-0, 27 KOs) targeted the lightweight division, but emphasized that he would return to 130 pounds a final time for a showdown with Mayweather. His rival promptly accepted the challenge.
The junior lightweight championship between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Diego Corrales was contested on January 20, 2001 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pernell Whitaker vs Wilfredo Rivera II was Whitaker's seventh defense of his World Boxing Council welterweight title on September 20, 1996 at James Knight Convention Center in Miami, Florida.
On June 9, 2020, Shakur Stevenson (14-0, 8 KOs), the WBO featherweight champion, moved up to 130 pounds to fight heavy underdog Felix Caraballo in a non-title main event at the MGM Grand Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Roberto Durán vs Sugar Ray Leonard II, billed as "The Super Fight" and later popularly known as the No Más Fight, was a boxing match which took place on November 25, 1980, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, United States. It was the second of three bouts between the pair. It gained its name from the moment at the end of the eighth round when Durán turned away from Leonard towards the referee and quit by apparently saying, "No más" (Spanish for "No more").
Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Durán had first fought on June 20, 1980, in Montreal. Leonard was defending the World Boxing Council (WBC) Welterweight Championship for the second time. Durán was the WBC No. 1 welterweight contender. Leonard abandoned his usual slick boxing style and stood flat-footed with Durán. Durán won the first fight by a narrow but unanimous decision, with scores of 148–147, 145–144, and 146–144.
Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Érik Morales II, billed as "For Honor and Pride", was a professional boxing match between then three-time super bantamweight and reigning lineal featherweight world champion Marco Antonio Barrera and WBC featherweight world champion Érik Morales. It took place on June 22, 2002, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Barrera had been the WBO super bantamweight champion in the mid 1990s. Morales, from his part, was undefeated and he had won the WBC super bantamweight title, knocking out Daniel Zaragoza (being the first person to do so) in eleven rounds in 1997. Promoters soon began arrangements for a bout between the WBC and WBO super bantamweight title holders.
The first bout took place on February 19, 2000, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas and was televised on HBO Boxing. Morales was declared winner by split decision, with scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114 and captured the WBO Super Bantamweight title. Many believed that Barrera deserved the decision. This bout was named as Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year for 2000, before being named as the best Fight of all time in the same year.
On September 25, 1999, Shane Mosley made his welterweight debut against Wilfredo Rivera, after moving up 12 pounds from 135, at the Pechanga Entertainment Center in Temecula, California.
Lennox Lewis vs. Ray Mercer was a professional boxing match contested on May 10, 1996.
Following victories over heavyweight contenders Lionel Butler and Tommy Morrison, Lennox Lewis was now regarded as the number one contender for the WBC Heavyweight Title, which was then held by Frank Bruno. However, the WBC chose to bypass Lewis and instead sanctioned a championship bout between Bruno and Mike Tyson, who had returned to boxing the previous year after serving over three years in prison. Lewis brought the matter to court, claiming that he, not Tyson, deserved to face Bruno for the WBC title, but he was unable to secure the match as the court ruled in favor of the Bruno–Tyson fight. As such, Lewis agreed to meet fellow 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer. The Lewis–Mercer fight was one of three high-profile fights put together for the return of boxing to Madison Square Garden. Also included on the card were Jorge Luis González vs. Tim Witherspoon and Evander Holyfield vs. Bobby Czyz.
In this first installment of their historic trilogy, Arturo "Thunder" Gatti and Irish Mickey Ward faced off on May 18, 2002 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.