In a battle of undefeated Heavyweight Champions, International Boxing Hall of Famer “Iron” Mike Tyson unified the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association, and International Boxing Federation World titles after winning a 12 round unanimous decision over Tony Tucker by the scores of 119-111, 118-113, and 117-112 at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 1st, 1987. The 21 year old Tyson improved to 31-0, 27 KO’s, while the 28 year old Tucker dropped to 34-1, 29 KO’s.
International Boxing Hall of Famer and lineal Jr Lightweight World Champion Brian Mitchell made the second defense of the World Boxing Association title after stopping Francisco Fernandez at 1:06 of round 14 at the Gimnasio Nuevo Panama, in Panama City, Panama on July 31st, 1987. The 25 year old Mitchell improved to 31-1-2, 17 KO’s, while the 26 year old Fernandez dropped to 24-11-1, 21 KO’s.
International Boxing Hall of Fame member Dwight Muhammad Qawi won the World Boxing Association Cruiserweight title after stopping Piet Crous at 1:47 of round 11 at the Superbowl in Sun City, South Africa on July 27, 1985. The 32 year old Qawi trailed on one scorecard 96-98 and was tied on two at 95-95 and 96-96 at the time of the stoppage and improved to 24-2-1, 13 KO’s. The 30 year old Crous was making his third defense and lost for the first time, dropping his record to 23-1-1, 20 KO’s.
International Boxing hall of fame member Lupe Pintor made the sixth defense of his World Boxing Council Bantamweight Championship after stopping Jovito Rengifo at 1:21 of round eight at the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 26th, 1981. The 26 year old Pintor trailed on two of the scorecards, 66-67 twice and led on the third 67-66 at the time of the stoppage and improved to 46-5-1, 36 KO’s. The 24 year old Rengifo dropped to 28-3, 14 KO’s.
International boxing hall of fame member and World Boxing Association Bantamweight Champion Jeff Chandler made the third defense of his title after stopping Julian Solis at 2:58 of round seven at Resorts International Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 25th, 1981. This was a rematch from November of 1980 when Chandler beat Solis for the WBA crown. The 24 year old Chandler led on the scorecards 60-54, 59-57, and 58-57 at the time of the stoppage and improved to 26-0-2, 13 KO’s. The 24 year old Solis dropped to 22-2, 10 KO’s.
International Boxing Hall of Fame member Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini made the first defense of his World Boxing Association Lightweight Championship after stopping Ernesto Espana at 2:59 of round six at Mollenkopf Stadium in Warren, Ohio on July 24th, 1982. A barrage of punches without any return fire led referee in charge Stanley Christodoulou to stop the contest. The 21 year old Mancini led on the scorecards 50-46 and 50-45 twice while improving to 24-1, 19 KO’s. The 27 year old Espana dropped to 35-5, 29 KO’s.
Tony Lopez won the International Boxing Federation Super Featherweight Championship of the World after winning a 12 round unanimous decision over Rocky Lockridge by the scores of 116-112 and 115-112 twice at the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California on July 23rd, 1988. The fight earned Fight of the Year honors from Ring Magazine. The 25 year old Lopez survived a knockdown in round eight and improved to 30-1, 22 KO’s. The 29 year old Lockridge was making the third defense of his title and dropped to 43-6, 35 KO’s.
In a battle between two International Boxing Hall of Fame members, World Boxing Association Featherweight Champion Eusebio Pedroza made his fifth defense after stopping Ruben Olivares at 1:42 of round 12 at the Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas on July 21st, 1979. The 23 year old Pedroza led on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage 108-102, 108-101, and 108-100 and improved to 23-3, 16 KO’s. The 32 year old Olivares fell to 87-10-2, 77 KO’s and this was his final World Title bout.
World Boxing Association Light Heavyweight Champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad made the first defense of his title after stopping Jerry Martin at 2:25 of round at at the Great Gorge Playboy Club in McAfee, New Jersey on July 20th, 1980. Muhammad led on two scorecards 88-82 and 87-83 with one even 85-85. The 28 year old Muhammad improved to 37-4-1, 31 KO’s while the 26 year old Martin dropped to 19-2, 12 KO’s.
World Boxing Association heavyweight World Champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon made the first defense of hist title after stopping Frank Bruno at 2:57 of round 11 in front of 40,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England on July 19th, 1986. The 28 year old Witherspoon landed four consecutive right hands that dropped Bruno, resulting in his corner immediately throwing in the towel. Witherspoon was ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage 99-96, 98-96, and 97-94 and improved to 25-2, 17 KO’s. The 24 year old Bruno dropped to 28-2, 27 KO’s.
Castro's Kingdom 