The so-called ‘Battle of Greatness’, staged at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas on May 2, 2015 was, at the time, the highest grossing fight in boxing history, worth $600 million. The combatants were WBC and WBA welterweight champion Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather Jr. And WBO welterweight champion Manny ‘Pac-Man’ Pacquiao.

Mayweather adopted a technical, defensive approach, which, while not aesthetically pleasing, proved tactically astute. Rather than seeking to knock out his opponent, Mayweather concentrated on landing accurate, single shots to build an unassailable points lead. Pacquiao pursued him, relentlessly, throughout the fight but, aside from a straight left in the fourth round, rarely caused Mayweather any discomfort. The fast flurries of punches, which had been his trademark in previous fights, were few and far between, as Mayweather blocked, held, rolled or simply ran to avoid being caught.

It would be fair to say that the fight was, on the whole, a huge disappointment but, defensive though he may have been, Mayweather not only achieved success with his jab but, remarkably, also threw more punches overall than Pacquiao. Ultimately, the one-sided display was reflected by the judges’ scorecards, with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision, 116-112, 116-112, 118-110. The crowd, though, was less impressed, roundly booing the decision and Mayweather, himself, during his post-fight interview. In fairness to Pacquiao, he had suffered a shoulder injury in training a few weeks before the bout, which undoubtedly affected his performance.

Read about the fight here

On June 28, 1997, at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield made the first defence of his WBA heavyweight title against ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, from whom he had won the title, by technical knockout, at the same venue the previous September. Originally billed as ‘The Sound and the Fury’, the rematch was, at the time, the highest grossing match in the history of boxing.

Holyfield started well, winning the first two rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. However, early in round two, Tyson sustained a cut over his right eye from an ‘accidental’ headbutt, which spurred him into ferocious action at the start of round three. Nevertheless, despite landing several solid right hands, Tyson failed to make much impression on Holyfield and, after two minutes, his frustration boiled over.

Inexplicably, as the pair came together in a clinch, Tyson viciously bit Holyfield on his right ear, removing a piece, and as he retreated to his corner, rushed across the ring and pushed him from behind. Bemused referee Miles Lane called time-out to assess the situation and after consultation with ringside officials, deducted two points from Tyson before allowing the bout to continue. Shortly afterwards, Tyson bit Holyfield again, this time on the left ear, and was, unsurprisingly, disqualified at the end of the round. Tyson was fined $3 million – the maximum allowed by law – by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and had his boxing licence revoked for just over a year.

Fourteen months after their first meeting, in Los Angeles, California, which ended in a controversial, split-decision draw, Tyson ‘The Gypsy King’ Wilder and hitherto unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘The Bronze Bomber’ Wilder fought a highly anticipated rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas on February 22, 2020.

Billed as ‘Unfinished Business’, the fight proved to be a one-sided contest, with Wilder backpedalling right from the start and never able to throw his trademark right hand effectively. Standing 6’9″ tall and weighing in at 273lb, Fury held a height, weight and reach advantage over his opponent, who was unable to deal with his jab.

In the third round, Fury knocked Wilder down for the first time, with a left-right combination. He continued to batter his increasingly groggy opponent before knocking him onto the seat of pants, again, with a left-hand body shot in the fifth round. Shattered, unsteady on his feet and clearly in desperate trouble, Wilder survived the sixth round, but, halfway through the seventh, with their man backed into a corner, his corner threw in the towel to spare him further punishment. Referee Kenny Bayless stopped the contest, awarding Fury a win by technical knockout.

In his post-fight interview, Wilder said, ‘I just wish that my corner would’ve let me go out on my shield’, and subsequently sacked trainer Mark Breland for throwing in the towel. However, with Wilder having been comprehensively outboxed for seven rounds, knocked down twice and miles behind on points, it’s difficult to argue that Breland wasn’t acting in his best interest.