In boxing the referees job is to protect the fighters and enforce the rules of the sport. Sometimes however the referee gets more involved than they need to and sadly this was the case for referee Vic Drakulich who was the 3rd man in the ring when Julio Cesar Green defended his NABF Light Middleweight title against Lonnie Beasley in 1994.
Going into this bout Green was 16-1 (10) and on a 12 fight winning streak which had seen him defeat the experienced Wayne Powell for the NABF title 6 months earlier. This series of wins had seen Green earn a number of solid world rankings including top 10 rankings with the IBF, WBC and WBA. Beasley had also come to the ring with a solid record of 22-1-1 (7) and had been a former IBO world champion who was looking to move into world contention with a win against Green.
Whilst Beasley had started the bout well he was starting to look tired and had started to take solid shots through the second half of the bout with his eye and ear swelling noticeably as Green started to pour on the pressure. Although Beasley was still surviving he was starting to take real damage and must have been well down on the scorecards. Green came out aggressively for the final round and early on he landed 2 excruciating body shots which appeared to take it all out of Beasley who held on for dear life. The referee attempted to split the two men but sadly Beasley didn't seem to have enough left in the tank to get up causing the referee to wave the bout off.
Since the bout Drakulich has gone on to become one of the most well known referees in the sport. Green would later go on to win the WBA Middleweight title before retiring in 2004 with a record of 27-6-1 (19) with losses to the likes of Mikkel Kessler, William Joppy, Carl Daniels and Byron Mitchell. Sadly this loss would spell the start of the end for Beasley who would win just 5 of his next 11 bouts before retiring in 1999 with a record of 27-7-2 (8) with 5 straight losses to end his career.
The video of the end of this bout is thanks to torontogem
Some fights become much more famous than the fighters that are involved in them and this 2004 bout between Cornelius “K9” Bundrage and Sechew Powell is one such case. The 22 seconds of the bout are probably some of the most actioned packed and yet equally hilarious we've seen in a boxing ring, and yet that was the entire fight. It's memorable, most boxing fans will have seen it, but yet it's something that you could never tire of seeing over and over.
Going into the bout both men were unbeaten with Bundrage having compiled an impressive record of 21-0 (13) whilst Powell's record stood at 15-0 (9). Someone's 0 had to go though few watching the bout would have expected someone's 0 to go this quickly or in quite this way.
Since the bout Bundrage has appeared as a contestant on the television series “The Contender” and is currently the IBF Light Middleweight champion of the world with an impressive record of 31-4-0-1 (18). He has also defeated Powell in a rematch in his only title defence so far (though he is currently preparing to face Cory Spinks in another title defence). With his title and easy to like personality he has since earned himself a cult reputation amongst boxing fans.
Powell on the other hands has really failed to live up to expectation and currently has a record of 26-4 (15) having, as we've mentioned, lost a rematch to Bundrage and has actually lost his last 2 bouts. Powell is currently preparing for a bout with the highly ranked Gabriel Rosado with the WBO Inter-Continental Light Middleweight title up for grabs for the winner. A win against Rosado will help Powell remain relevant in the boxing world, however a loss will likely see the curtains pulled on his career.
Video thanks to jdwc1043
Whilst boxing at it's core is 2 men fighting they are fighting with some rules in place...well usually. This WBA Featherweight title bout between Derrick Gainer and Freddie Norwood from 2000 seems to have been a fight where the referee (Mr Paul Sita) has forgotten that boxing has rules, in fact at the end he seems to have decided to just make up his own rules.
Going into the bout Norwood was the defending WBA Featherweight champion, he was unbeaten going into the bout with an impressive record of 38-0-1 (22) with 6 title defenses and wins over the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Takashi Koshimoto, Antonio Cermeno and Agapito Sanchez. Gainer however had been less successful in terms of his record with a ledger of 35-5 (22) which had included losses to Diego Corrales and Kevin Kelley as well as wins over Kelley (in a rematch) and Manuel Medina.
Following this bout Norwood retired before returning to the ring almost 6 years later to win 4 bouts before suffering 2 losses to Johnnie Edwards (including a DQ loss after repeatedly landing low blows). Following the two losses to Edwards many though we'd seen the end of Norwood but he came back in 2009 to out point Jose Celaya and then resurfaced in 2011 to lose to Ray Narh by decision. Currently aged 42 Norwood has a record of 43-4-1 (23).
Gainer on the other hand defended his title 3 times before losing a unification bout to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2003. Gainer would return to the ring 17 months after the loss to Marquez and lose to Chris John in a bout for his old title. He then fought 3 more times over the following 5 and a half half years before hanging up his gloves in 2010 with a record of 42-7-1 (24).
Sita would never referee in a major bout again after this farce which included the most interesting count in boxing history.
This video thanks to Strongboy1770 features highlights from the bout. Note the numerous low blows, a body slam and the count at the end of the bout (which is seriously the most bizarre thing in the whole video).
Riddick "Big Daddy" Bowe
In 1988 Riddick Bowe won an Olympic Silver medal and the following year he turned professional. Earlier in his professional career Bowe was kept insanely busy and between March 1989 and October 1991 he had advanced his record 26-0 (23) with wins over the likes of Pinklon Thomas and controversially Tony Tucker. In his 27th bout he faced Elijah Tillery who had massed himself a record of 23-4 (15) in a career that dated back to 1980. This bout was supposed to be a stepping stone for Bowe who was meant to look fantastic, pick up a regional WBC title and take a step towards a world title, instead it turned into a farce that quickly escalated into a brawl.
Towards the end of the opening round Tillery was dropped and although he got up the bell appeared to be very late in being rung. When the referee finally told the men to go to their corners Bowe landed a cheap shot and Tillery retaliated with a series of kicks, which as you can see in the view sparked a full blown brawl between the two men. The brawl was ended when Tillery was “helped” out of the ring by Bowe's manager Rock Newman who literally dragged backwards over the top rope.
The two men would rematch a few months later with Bowe scoring a 4th round TKO victory in less controversial circumstances. Bowe would eventually become a multi-time world champion and record an impressive ledger of 43-1-0-1 (33) with victories over the likes of Evander Holyfield, Andrew Golota, Herbie Hide, Larry Donald, and Michael Dokes (amongst others) though was better remembered for the controversies that followed him through out his career.
For Tillery this bout was the beginning of the end and he retired for good in 1993 with a record of 23-7 (15) losing his final bout by by 7th round TKO to former world champion James “Bone Crusher” Smith.
Enjoy the bout and the brawl thanks to jaguar6633
To start this section of our site we are reminiscing on one of the shortest ever bouts in boxing history. Phil "The Drill" Williams entered this bout with a record of 3-0 (3) and he was facing Brandon Burke (0-2-1) who didn't only look a bit of a berk in his ring attire but looked even more of a berk after literally running into the first punch Williams threw.
This Light Heavyweight clash from 2007 is surely the most memorable bout either guy had. For Williams it was a highlight reel victory, for Burke it was a lesson that you never run in to an opponents fist.
Following this bout Burke would fight twice more retiring in 2009 with a record of 0-5-1 whilst Williams, who is still active at the time of writing, has moved to 11-5-1 (10). With 4 losses in his last 5 fights Williams also seems likely to call an end on his own career.
Enjoy one of the weirdest, shortest and funniest boxing bouts in history.
Video thanks to HateFreeTV
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