Ever since the city's first pro bout between Jim Daly and Mike Boden in 1890,Atlantic City has always been a great boxing town. From the midget boxing and weekly club shows of the Boardwalk Empire era to the"golden age" of the 1980's to Arturo Gatti's fights at the Hall, you could always go down the shore to a see fight of some sort.
The legalization of gambling and subsequent opening of Resorts, AC's first casino in 1978, undoubtedly did a lot to revitalize the relationship between the city and the sport. With about a dozen casino showrooms/ballrooms large enough to stage boxing, not to mention the historic Boardwalk Hall, AC has no shortage of venues.
Even though cards haven't been staged in AC as frequently in recent years, it still continues to be a marque destination that draws promoters big and small. However, the competition from slot parlors in neighboring states may actually force the casinos here to revisit the days of weekly fights in the near future.
This column will focus on the past, present and future of boxing in America's Playground.
Since everybody loves a good list, I'm going to count down the top 5 fights staged in AC over the past 20 years. Feel free to add your 2¢ to the comment section below.
5. Ivan Robinson D10 Vivian Harris
Tropicana Hotel &Casino
8/11/2000
After 10 rounds of back and forth action, it was literally to close to call. The fans were the winners on that night.
4. Evander Holyfield UD12 George Foreman AC Convention Center 4/19/1991
Holyfield, in the prime of his career, is able to out slug Big George who had 49 lbs. on him.
Approaching the 20th anniversary of this fight, "The Real Deal" has two bouts scheduled in the coming months.
3. Darroll "Doin' Damage" TKO3 Shannon Briggs Adrian Phillips Ballroom, Convention Center 3/15/1996
To say the hometown guy, Wilson, was the underdog in this fight is a huge understatement. Even though he came into the fight 16-0-2, he wasn't even supposed to be a pebble on Briggs' (25-0 at the time) road to a championship. He was able to survive The Cannon's initial follies to land a picturesque left hook that put Briggs down and out with :43 to go in the 3rd. Wilson went on to get knocked out by David Tua two fights later, but in stopping Briggs, he can claim something that not even Vitali Klitschko can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKduOqSmeBY
2. Sergio Martinez KO2 Paul Williams Boardwalk Hall 11/20/2010
In one of the most anticipated fights to come to AC in years, "Maravilla" lands the shot heard round the boxing world. His stunning one-punch KO instantly established him as one of the top fighters P4P in the world.
1.tie between Arturo Gatti UD10 Micky Ward(3rd fight)
Boardwalk Hall 6/7/2003
and Ivan Robinson SD10 Gatti (1st fight) Boardwalk Hall 8/22/1998
Both of these fights were fight of the year. These wars cemented Gatti as an all-time great and made it possible for him to headline in the Hall even after his best days were behind him.
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