When Joe ‘The Brown Bomber’ won the world heavyweight title by stopping champion James Braddock in June 1937, he said, “Until I beat Max Schmeling, I’m not the champion!” He talked about his knockout loss in 1936. He got revenge in 1939 at Madison Square Garden, knocking out Schmeling in the first round.
When ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard, 27-0, lost to Robert ‘Hands of Stone’ Duran, 71-1, in June 1980 in the Durans fight, he got a rematch. He boxed Duran so badly that Duran quit in November.
In April 1987, Leonard defeated Marvin Hagler for his middleweight title. Hagler retired and moved to Italy, not wanting a rematch.
In April 2002, lightweight champion Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather won a gift decision over Jose Luis Castillo. Eight months later, he gave him a rematch, easily defeating him.
In June 2012, Manny ‘Pac Man’ Pacquiao was robbed by Tim Bradley Jr., but in April 2014, he defeated Bradley in a rematch.
In November 2016, Andre “SOG” Ward was awarded a split decision over Sergey Kovalev in a light heavyweight title fight and immediately gave him a rematch, stopping Kovalev and then retiring.
Heavyweight champion Rock Marciano won a close, if uncontested, decision over Rolando LaStarz in March 1950 before winning the title. After stopping ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott for the title and again in his next fight, he stopped LaStarza.
In November 1986, super featherweight champion Alfredo Escalera won a split decision over Philadelphia’s Tyrone Everett in Philadelphia. He never got a rematch, and the Pennsylvania judge who voted for Escalar never worked a show.
Historian Jim Jacobs told me the worst decision he ever saw was the one in June 1963, when light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson was robbed by Willie Pastrano by split decision and never won a rematch.
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali lost to Ken Norton and Smokin’ Joe Frazier in his first fights, but beat both of them twice in rematches.
In June 1983, heavyweight champion Larry ‘The Easton Assassin’ Holmes, 42-0, won a gift decision defending against ‘The Terrible’ Tim Witherspoon, 15-0, and never gave him a rematch.
What fight did you want to see in the rematch that never happened?
