There have been times in the history of boxing when the boxers weren’t only satisfied by victory. To win the glory of the fans, they resort to mockery and showboating.
Let’s walk down memory lane and look at these atrocious and disrespectful showboating in boxing history.
- Sabri Sadiri vs Sam Maxwell
Sabri Sadiri’s misconduct in the European super-lightweight final round paid him well. We bet the entire episode taught the boxing world that cockiness inside the ring gets you nowhere. And, in all honesty, Sabri “Speed” Sadiri wishes he evaded this act of disrespect.
The 26-year-old French fighter was unbeaten in his super lightweight before competing against his British counterpart, Sam Maxwell. Sadiri came off with a blistering start, dominating Maxwell since the first round. He successfully dropped Maxwell in the first, second, third, and successive rounds during his battle. So, naturally, the Frenchman felt that the impending victory was on his way. Even though Maxwell was recovering and gaining points, the crowd wasn’t expecting him to win.
However, the 10th round witnessed an ironic event that changed the entire game and kept the audiences awestruck. Sadiri continued to land his best shots at Maxwell, taking the lead. Consequently, this inflated his pride and made him over-confident. And, he committed the greatest mistake of his life by taunting Maxwell and dancing around the ring. Besides, he lowered his hands, exposed his chin, and the clock was ticking to the few remaining seconds. Maxwell utilized the split second’s opportunity and landed a devastating punch on Sadiri, literally separating the showman from his senses.
- Marcos Maidana vs. Adrien Broner
Marcos Maidana is undeniably a household name in WBA history. In the 2013 welterweight title, he gifted his fans several glories. Additionally, he paid off the nasty showboating by the Argentine slugger, Adrien Broner.
Remembering that fateful climax, many wished Adrien could keep his dignity in the middle of the ring. After all, the showboating gigs are what got Broner into real trouble before his heavy-handed opponent. Ever since the fight began, Marcos was taking the lead, not leaving an opportunity to pressure Adrien. He even landed quick jabs on the Argentine to get him down. However, Broner did not lose his confidence at all. He went on to taunt his opponent occasionally between blows. That’s not all! Broner indecently air-humped Marcos against the ropes.
This obscene gesture played on Marcos as well as his fans. The American knew he had revenge for repaying. Maidana followed up with severe blows to his opponent’s face in the eighth round. To top it all, in the ultimate round, Maidana air humped Broner! Of course, he had to give Adrien a taste of his own medicine.
Once again, the crowd witnessed how showboating backfires hard on the showmen. This event successfully made the boxing community go wild. But, more than that, fans cheered when Maidana bruised, knocked down, and dry humped his overconfident counterpart. It was the first professional loss for Broner after a long winning streak. Sadly, he failed to fend his belt in the Texas welterweight championship.
- Lucian Bute vs Edison Miranda
In boxing history, you’ll rarely come up with a fighter’s name as powerful as Lucian Bute. With his deadly combinations of body shots, the boxer has many of the finest titles to his name. He even had an unbeaten streak in the Bell Centre until he faced the Olympic medalist Edison Miranda in Canada.
Despite his losses to Andre Ward and a few others, Miranda is undeniably one of Columbia’s best boxers. So, fans were ready for a thrilling knockout between the power duo. Being a master of smart moves, Bute seemed more comfortable towards the initial rounds of the bout. This naturally got Miranda more impatient and frustrated. Fans witnessed Lucian shower flurries of blows to his opponent. On the other hand, the Columbian was barely able to land his single power shots on his rival. Out of frustration, he resorted to his showboating gigs.
The act of disrespect heightened when Miranda started taunting Bute by dropping his arms repeatedly. If only he could stabilize his concentration on his opponent’s arms, he wouldn’t have to suffer the vicious blow from Bute. It was hard enough to knock the Middleweight champion down, thereby quitting his race for the title.
- Ricardo Mayorga vs Shane Moseley
If you’re familiar with Ricardo Mayorga’s chaotic and wild style of fighting, you’ve perhaps heard about this event. Although he boasts several victories, most of his biggest fights have ended in losses. And the one with Shane Moseley is one of the most talked-about knockouts in boxing history. That’s because Mayorga’s taunting and showboating skills became an outlier and brought upon his instant defeat.
The Nicaraguan fighter Ricardo is an outright outspoken brawler. Time and again, the brash boxer has blown cigarette smoke in the opponent’s face and taunted them seamlessly. However, his face-off with the iconic Shane Moseley surely made history one of the epic boxing grudges. Luckily, in both the 2008 and 2015 knockouts, Moseley got the better of his sleazy counterpart.
As the bout began, Mayorga took the lead as the more powerful puncher. He landed severe hits and blew at Shane from the long-range. This rough-housing act of Mayorga also came with mean taunting and occasional mockery. Naturally, his showboating antics played on Moseley’s anger, which made him uncomfortable. But, like a true legend, the cool and composed boxer tried to focus on his skills.
· Prince Naseem Hamed VS Marco Antonio Barrera
The renowned “Prince” Naseem Hamed is the ultimate showboater. His ring antics have become legendary. It’s a sight to witness the way he shakes his head and torso, throwing his hands down, sticking his tongue out at adversaries, and actually baiting them in the midst of a fight.
It also served him well throughout his career. Prior to encountering Mexican sensation “The Baby Faced Assassin” Marco Antonio Barrera in 2001, he remained unbeaten after 34 fights, knocking out 31 opponents.
That’s when one-third of the Mexican Trifecta successfully extinguished his flame, essentially ending Hamed’s days of ring showboating. Barrera seemed unfazed by Hamed’s antics and continued to dominate and virtually smash the self-assured Brit en route to a unanimous decision. Following his one and only defeat, Hamed recovered just enough to win another world title the following year, before retiring into the sunset.
· Rocky Juarez vs. Jorge Rodrigo Barrios
Rocky Juarez has recently become a journeyman fighter, yet he was once regarded as one of boxing’s brightest prospects. He’s always been good enough to win bouts after a certain level, but he’s always been beaten while attempting to move up to the top.
He was 4–4 in his past 8 fights coming into his August 2008 meeting with Argentine tough man Jorge Rodrigo Barrios, although his losses had come to Humberto Soto, Marco Antonio Barrera, and Juan Manuel Marquez. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
The Barrios fight was expected to set his career back on track, but things were not going his way until the 11th round when everything changed. It was close and competitive, but “The Hyena” was flowing blood from his lips when Juarez dumped Barrios on the seat of his pants with a tiny left hand and when he rose from the mat.
His lip was spilling blood all over the arena in a pretty terrible way, prompting the ringside doctor to halt the action in the ring swiftly and appropriately. Even watching it was terrifying.
· Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko was a fighter who pushed his way up the ranks before becoming one-half of the most powerful sibling duo in boxing history.
On June 21, 2003, he received his first opportunity at a world title against Lennox Lewis, the reigning heavyweight champion. Klitschko controlled the early rounds, shaking Lewis with a series of blows, and seemed to be on his way to beating Lewis when a right hand created a major gash above his left eye in the 3rd round.
Lewis was able to re-enter the battle thanks to the cut, and as he continued to target it, his opponent’s face turned into a gory mask. Klitschko’s upper eyelid began to drop down into his field of vision, causing the fight to be stopped in the sixth round by the ring doctor.
To this day, it is one of the most contentious stoppages in boxing. Vitali’s eye, on the other hand, was undeniably hideous.
