Five St Valentine’s massacres in boxing

Following years of anticipation, bona fide champions Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford finally squared off for the undisputed welterweight crown in 2023.

Crawford, of course, had already established himself as a pound-for-pound great – becoming a three-division titlist – while Spence, at the same time, was widely considered to be far too big for the former lightweight king.

Regardless of any pre-fight predictions, though, the last thing that fans were anticipating was a one-sided beatdown.

And yet, after ‘Bud’ floored his previously indestructible opponent in only the second round, one of the most awe-inspiring boxing clinics in recent memory was emphatically put on display.

Heading into their rematch, the overarching narrative remained unchanged – it would either be Tyson Fury on points or Deontay Wilder via stoppage, is what many had proposed.

Being the uncompromising maverick that he is, however, Fury decided to embark on a seek-and-destroy mission which, against a monstrous puncher like Wilder, can only go one of two ways.

Sure enough, his herky-jerky style was replaced by a far more assertive approach, allowing ‘The Gypsy King’ to floor his heavyweight rival twice before halting proceedings with a punishing seventh-round onslaught.

In the heat of battle, Fury also took the opportunity to display his more sadistic side, licking the blood that was relentlessly trickling from Wilder’s bludgeoned ear.

In what proved to be his last fight at cruiserweight, David Haye produced arguably a career-best performance to unify the division with a two-round demolition against Enzo Maccarinelli.

But before the pair locked horns in 2008, it was believed within some boxing circles that WBO titlist Maccarinelli would be too polished for the explosive but somewhat reckless puncher.

Haye, after all, had been floored in the fourth round of his enthralling battle with Jean Marc Mormeck, not to mention his disastrous outing against Carl Thompson several years prior.

Yet still, the sheer athleticism of ‘The Hayemaker’ ultimately proved too fierce for Maccarinelli, whose highly respectable power offered little resistance in their two-round shootout.

It was difficult to gauge how truly devastating of a puncher George Foreman was before he stepped into the ring with Joe Frazier.

Sure, he had ended nearly all of his outings inside the distance but, against one of the greatest heavyweight champions this sport has ever seen, it is fair to say that ‘Big George’ was no longer the overwhelming favourite.

That, of course, is what made his ruthless second-round stoppage victory particularly astonishing, with Foreman utilising his long levers to negate the dynamic style of Frazier, never allowing him to close the distance.

Suffice to say, the newly-crowned WBC and WBA champion had squashed any doubts over his world class power in double quick fashion.

With the outbreak of World War II just around the corner, an America vs Germany heavyweight clash was always going to attract eyeballs.

Even before the pair collided, Max Schmeling was portrayed by US media as the villain, despite the fact that he had a Jewish promoter and, more importantly, never joined the Nazi Party.

But regardless of the fabrications that emerged leading up to their showdown, Louis had an almighty mountain to climb against a fighter who handed him his first defeat just two years prior.

Despite all of the pressure, though, ‘The Brown Bomber’ nonetheless halted Schmeling with a blistering first-round finish, leaving every fan at the packed out Yankee Stadium gaping in utter disbelief.