One of the epic battles / fights mentioned in the previous memorable boxing trilogies post. The phrase they don’t make em like this anymore comes to mind, as Muhammad Ali takes on Joe Frazier for a third time, in a boxing trilogy for the ages!
In boxing, few scenarios captivate the public like a trilogy, where fighters repeatedly go to war, engaging in epic matchups that are by their very nature – (the viewers desire for rematch after rematch!) destined for the history books. There are several memorable trilogies we could turn our attention to, so we’ve selected three from across the decades that in our view, definitely make the grade. In you’re too young to have seen some first time around, check them out on Youtube sometime. Sure you likely already know the outcomes, but these are unmissible encounters that deserve us returning to on occasion.
First in line for a mention, and one young and old boxing fans alike will keenly recall are the three heavyweight match-ups between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. From 2018 to 2021, this trilogy had it all: controversy, WWE Undertaker style comebacks, and the will be overcome adversity. The first fight of the trilogy ended in a controversial draw, notable for Fury’s dramatic recovery from what initially looked to be fight-ending knockdown. In the rematch, Fury showcased his boxing prowess, stopping a deflated looking Wilder in the seventh round. Wilder just couldn’t find the answers. The trilogy ended with a return to the epic nature of their initial bout, with Fury overcoming adversity (being knocked down twice) to secure a victory by way of knockout in the eleventh round. In the modern era where few fights fans actually want to see even happen – and Youtubers are treated as boxing Gods – it’s a miracle that we got to enjoy such an epic series of fights.
Rewinding the years back to the 1990s, the heavyweight battles between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe saw two warriors of what many now see as a golden era of boxing, go to war. Their initial 1992 fight was a closely fought contest that saw Bowe win out. The rematch the following year was another top-tier encoutner, with Holyfield edging out Bowe to reclaim his title. The trilogy wrapped up two years later in 1995 amidst the bizarre “Fan Man” incident that I’m sure we all remember, with Bowe securing a victory by TKO. Remember that these two legends of the rings were around in the era of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and the like. It was a who’s who of heavyweight greats.
Last but not least, no talk of boxing trilogies is complete without the Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fights being placed in the mix. Taking place in the early to mid-1970s, this trilogy was more than a sporting event; it was a cultural and political symbol of the times. Their first meeting in 1971, dubbed “The Fight of the Century,” saw, to the shock of fans, Frazier handing Ali his first career defeat. Ali, a dertermined individual by any standard, went back to the drawing board and won the rematch in 1974. With one win a piece, this set the stage for the iconic “Thrilla in Manila” bout the following year. It was a fight in which Ali emerged victorious after Frazier’s corner stopped the fight before the 15th round (remember the 15 round days?).
With boxing politics so often in the way now, trilogies like these may become thin on the ground going forward, but I do hope not. No sport does rivalries like boxing, and these are just a few examples from over the years that have enthralled fans both at and away from the arena.
There are a few contenders for what was arguably the worst leg in the history of professional darts and, weirdly, all of them involve an Australian. New South Walean Simon ‘The Wizard’ Whitlock has twice staked his claim at the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) World Championship at Alexandra Palace, London. In December, 2018, he and opponent Martin Schindler missed 22 darts at a double between them in the third leg of their first round match, although Whitlock did average 87.42 and eventually won the match 3-1. In December, 2022, Whitlock and Christian Perez again missed nine darts apiece at a double in the third leg of the deciding set in their first round match, which Whitlock won on double 1 after 30 darts.
However, the player generally considered to be responsible for worst leg in the history of professional darts was Australian former professional Anthony ‘Fleety’ Fleet, who did so on his one and only appearance at the British Darts Organisation (BDO) World Championship at Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey. Drawn against former BDO World Champion Martin ‘Wolfie’ Adams in the first round, Fleet was clearly overcome by nerves, to the extent that he not only had problems throwing his darts accurately, but also passing them from hand to hand and, at one point, even standing steadily at the oche.
His first twelve darts yielded 26, 41, 60 and 60, followed by an excrutiating passage of play in which he hit single 1, single 1, dropped his third dart on the floor and, having taken a moment to compose himself, hit treble 1 for a total of 5. At that point, commentator David Croft remarked, ‘A long way to go yet, but one of the worst starts I’ve ever seen a player make to a match here’. He wasn’t kidding; Fleet threw his next dart into double one.
Further haphazard throws of 22, 80 and 11 followed, before Adams finally put him out of his misery, although he needed 26 darts to do so, having missed three darts at double 12 and another at double 6. Fleet never recovered, losing the match 3-0 without winning a leg and recording a paltry three-dart average of 65.34.
As way of expanding on the previous post, I’m now almost three-quarters through the well-received book Enemy Number One by Patrick Veitch. There no doubt he has proven to be a very successful professional gambler and literally ‘Enemy Number One’ when is came to bookmakers laying bets. There weakness, mostly they didn’t realise it was him placing the bets via his many agents.
It comes as no surprise, that most professional punters make good money for one reason – they bet astonishing sums of cash. In fact, Veitch is probably one of the biggest bettors with only the likes of Harry Findlay wagering more. He had some massive bets in his time, some over £1M. One such bet on New Zealand to win the World Cup proved very costly indeed when they were knocked out in the semi finals by France.
Vietch has had individual bets ranging from the small thousands to almost £100,000. His winning sprees were prolific and he made a couple of million a year. It is reputed he won over £10M in an eight year period.
But what were his favourite bets:
Single Bets:
The vast amount of bets were placed on singles and each-way wagers. They were definitely the staple. He wasn’t against ante-post bets and made a killing over many years.
Flat & National Hunt:
He was predominantly a Flat racing professional although he bet on both codes of racing often using tips from others on the National Hunt. However, he liked to rely on his own judgment most of all.
Each Way Doubles & Trebles:
He enjoyed great success with some outlandish each way doubles and treble, often paying tens of thousands. I think a few went close to winning hundreds of thousands.
Trixies:
Another bet he enjoyed a combination of 3 horses in doubles and treble.
SCOOP 6:
A few big pay days with the Scoop 6 coming in one or two in the hundreds of thousands. Nice work if you can get it.
Reverse Forecast:
Once again, not scared to place a bet that few punters who consider. A decent reverse forecast on strong markets gave the possibility of really striking lucky if the win single came in.
Ante-post Bet:
As detailed above, he wasn’t against ante-post wagers including the Classics although he did bet on big handicaps too.
