Rocky Lives!: Heavyweight Boxing Upsets of the 1990s

by David E. Finger

Overview

Boxing fans love the upset, seeing the underdog surprise the heavy favorite and take the fight to him, winning over the fans and-perhaps even more important-the judges. Sylvester Stallone mined that emotion through his long series of Rocky films.

Rocky is fiction, however. The men in Rocky Lives! are real. David E. Finger, a writer for top boxing website FightNews.com, presents chronologically seventy-five heavyweight boxing upsets of the 1990s. Some involve boxers still fighting today; others contain a cautionary tale of once-great boxers chasing one last payday. There are also the early-round disasters of wannabes and athletes who switched to boxing in midstream.

From the Tyson-Douglas, Foreman-Moorer, and Lewis-McCall top-dollar fights to low-level curiosities like former New York Jet Mark Gastineau getting embarrassed or Eric "Butterbean" Esch taking to the ring, David Finger presents the best heavyweight upsets the 1990s have to offer. You'll read about crooked promoters drugging opponents, a convicted felon hoping victory in the ring will win him leniency, and a forty-five-year-old preacher looking to exorcise a two-decade-old demon. Rocky Lives! brings all the knockouts and slugfests right into your home.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612343099
Publisher:	Potomac Books Inc.
Publication date:	03/31/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

David E. Finger is a former amateur boxer who writes for FightNews.com, one of the world’s largest Internet boxing sites. He has written more than one hundred articles for FightNews.com, as well as several freelance articles on boxing. He lives in Denver.

Table of Contents

Chapter One: 1990
James “Buster” Douglas KO10 Mike Tyson
Mark Wills KO6 Greg Page
Mike “The Bounty” Hunter Wu10 Pinklon Thomas
John Sargent TKO8 Yuri Vaulin

Chapter Two: 1991
Oliver McCall TKO9 Bruce Seldon
Levi Billups Wu10 James “Bonecrusher” Smith
Nathaniel Fitch TKO1 Terry Davis

Chapter Three: 1992
Larry Holmes Wu12 Ray Mercer
Jerry Arentzen TKO4 Paul Roma
Jerry Jones Wu10 Carl “The Truth” Williams
Lionel Butler WDQ4 David Dixon
Tim “Doc” Anderson Wu5 Mark Gastineau
Jimmy Lee Smith TKO7 Mark Carrier
Everett “Bigfoot” Martin Ws10 Tim Witherspoon
Lionel Butler KO1 Tony Tubbs
Ron Cranmer Wu6 Jerry Quarry
Lennox Lewis TKO2 Donovan “Razor” Ruddock

Chapter Four: 1993
Mike “The Bounty” Hunter Wu12 Tyrell Biggs
Lawrence “Poncho” Carter TKO7 Pinklon Thomas
Jesse Ferguson Wu10 Ray Mercer
Mike Weaver Wu10 Bert Cooper
Jeremy Williams TKO2 Danell Nicholson
Mike “The Duke” Dixon TKO2 Alex Garcia
Jimmy Ellis KO1 Tony Tubbs
Carl McGrew W6 John Sargent
William Morris Wu8 Tim Puller
Ladislao Mijangos TKO1 Jimmy Ellis
Michael Bentt TKO1 Tommy “The Duke” Morrison
Evander Holyfield Wm12 Riddick Bowe
Dan Dancuta Wu3 James “Bonecrusher” Smith

Chapter Five: 1994
William Morris Ws8 Ray Anis
Stanley Wright TKO8 Peter McNeeley
Ed Donaldson KO2 Quinn Navarre
Michael Moorer Wm12 Evander Holyfield
Nate Tubbs KO2 Corrie Sanders
Craig Payne TKO6 Sampson Po’uha
Doug Davis Wu8 Craig Tomlinson
Oliver McCall TKO2 Lennox Lewis
John Carlo TKO1 Leon Spinks
George Foreman KO10 Michael Moorer
Josh Imadiyi TKO2 Tom “The Bomb” Glesby
Bobby Crabtree TKO1 King Ipitan

Chapter Six:1995
Robert Hawkins Wu4 Jerry Ballard
Franco Wanyama Ws10 James Thunder
Marion Wilson Ws10 Mike “The Bounty” Hunter
Brian “B-52” Yates KO2 Ernie Shavers
Mitch Rose TKO2 Butterbean

Chapter Seven: 1996
Maurice “Mo” Harris Wu8 David (Izon) Izonretei
Darroll Wilson KO3 Shannon Briggs
James Pritchard TKO4 Greg Suttington
Lou Monaco TKO5 Peter McNeeley
Jesse Ferguson Wu10 Bobby Joe Harris
Craig Petersen TKO8 Alex Stewart
Peter Hrivnak TKO2 Jukka Jarvinen
Evander Holyfield TKO11 Mike Tyson
Brian Scott KO2 Courage Tshabalala

Chapter Eight: 1997
John Ruiz Ws12 James Thunder
Bert Cooper TKO1 Richie Melito
Levi Billups KO6 Terrence Lewis
Darroll Wilson KO4 Courage Tshabalala
Ike Ibeabuchi Wu12 David Tua
Lyle McDowell Ws12 Trevor Berbick
Robert Hawkins TKO10 Gary Bell
Paul “Rocky” Ray Phillips KO2 Michael Dokes

Chapter Nine: 1998
Michael Murray TKO3 Kevin McBride
Joe Bugner TKO1 James “Bonecrusher” Smith
Terry Verners TKO3 Alonzo Highsmith
Ross Purrity TKO11 Wladimir Klitschko
Jesse Ferguson Ws10 Obed Sullivan

Chapter Ten: 1999
Julius Francis TKO3 Pele Reid
Artis Pendergrass Ws10 Greg Page
Israel Cole W10 David Bostice
Dickie Ryan TKO10 Brian Nielsen
Maurice Harris Wu10 Jeremy Williams
Jeff Pegues TKO5 Joe Hipp

Editorial Reviews

"I was impressed with the facts that were combined with the action in the ring and the drama that surrounds each fighter. The book also proves that to achieve anything in life, one needs motivation and a strong will to succeed."

"Finger does an excellent job of not only finding the fights that the average fan had long forgotten, but telling the reader why he should care about those bouts. . . . riveting . . . Boxing fans will enjoy reading about the Levi Billups, Lou Monacos, and Darroll Wilsons as much as they will the Mike Tysons, Razor Ruddocks, and Tommy Morrisons."

From the Publisher