- Sonny Liston l rtd 6 Cassius Clay
Liston was heavily fancied over loudmouth Clay, but the young upstart went on to shake up the world.
- Muhammad Ali w rsf 12 Floyd Patterson
After changing his name, Ali defended his heavyweight crown against former champion and all-time great Patterson.
- Joe Frazier w pts 15 Oscar Bonavena
Though his title was fragmented, Frazier was still considered the champ when he saw off dangerous Argentinian Bonavena.
- Mike Tyson w rsf 6 Pinklon Thomas
Making the second defence of his WBC title, Tyson decimated once-beaten former champion Thomas to continue his meteoric rise.
- Tim Witherspoon l ko 1 James Smith
Witherspoon lost one of his teeth – and his title – when late substitute and former foe “Bonecrusher” Smith ruined him inside a round.
- Floyd Patterson w ko 6 Pete Rademacher
In a gross mismatch, Olympic gold medallist Rademacher made his pro debut against heavyweight champion Patterson. He was eventually demolished.
- David Haye w rsf 3 Audley Harrison
Although it turned into a farce, there was huge UK interest in this grudge match, which went out on pay-per-view.
- Riddick Bowe w ko 2 Jesse Ferguson
Only defending his WBA title, Bowe barely broke a sweat while dispatching Ferguson.
- Wladimir Klitschko w rsf 6 Charles Shufford
Shufford had earned his shot with a points win over future champion Lamon Brewster, but was outclassed.
- Evander Holyfield w rsf 7 Bert Cooper
After both Mike Tyson and Francesco Damiani pulled out through injury, Cooper was drafted in for Holyfield.
