The "Best of a Century" series continues with "Fights of the Century", a decade by decade look at the greatest fights of the 20th century. Each decade will name one outstanding boxing match as the fight of the decade for each period. At the end of the series the "Fight of the Century" will be named.
Ahh Yes, the Fights, especially the really great ones, are the reason we watch boxing in the first place. We tune in to HBO, Showtime, ESPN2, and shell out the big bucks on PPV for one reason- we want to see a great fight!! The drama of athletic one on one competition, the thrill of victory and ...argh, the agony of defeat! But what constitues a great fight? How does one determine the "Fights of the Century"?
Choosing among the best of the best is no easy task. There are literally dozens of worthy candidates. In order to narrow the selections one great match is named for each decade to help make the choice clearer.
Here are three distinctive prerequisites in selecting a winner for this series. The winner from each era must meet these criteria: A) the best in terms of "action", B) the best in quality of opposition among the participants, C) the most significant in "historical impact". The winner should be the BEST in the combination of these three respective categories.