Famous First Title Defenses

Sometimes men in our loved sport win a title by knocking off the man. This alone is normally their crowning moment, achievement, and peak of their career.

But for some men, it was their very first defense of the title that seels the deal, makes their career, is their defining moment. or is what they get remembered for.

Here are some examples

Joe Louis - Wins the title by knocking out Braddock, he then defends against Max Schmelling in the batte of democracy verse facism, at this time it is hard to imagine how much this fight meant. It was the greatest Louis has ever looked as he was in destroy mode from the bell. If Frazier vs Ali is the Fight of the Century, this is the Fight of the Millenium. Over 500 million people listened on the radio world wide.

Lennox Lewis - What fight made all the haters give Lennox his due? His first defense since regaining the titles from Hasim Rahman, Mr. Mike Tyson. It shouldnt have meant as much as it did, but lets face it, this fight meant alot when it took place. Over 2 millions people paid 50 dollars to watch a fight that was competitive for 1 round.

Evander Holyfield - Lets be honest, whats the most famous fight in the history of boxing? Come on, admit it, its ok, I understand you dont want to. For christ sake the first fight was classic..........but the Bite Fight will live in emphamy for a very long, long, long time.

Michael Moorer - MM and Teddy Atlas win the Heavyweight Title from Vander, and set up their first defense. This is the make or break point in Michael Moorers boxing career. I really believe in the sport of boxing 1 fight can make or break your career. This was that fight for Michael Moorer and George Foreman. For Foreman it actually happened, for Michael Moorer it didn't.

Leon Spinks- Leon Spinks did the impossible, at 6-0-1 he upset basically the world, and was the first man to get a fair nod vs Ali since the Thrilla in Manilla. But then, Leon did the even more impossible. Spinks was stripped of his WBC title for DEFENDING AGAINST ALI. What the hell, WBC must have been nuts and Roy Jones must scratch his head everytime this is brought up. In the Superdome, Ali mustered up enough to outbox the novice Leon. Spinks was a straight up boar in brawler, it worked amazingly in the amateurs but not so well in the pro's. This fight seeled Muhammad Ali's title of "The Greatest" as it was his 3rd reign as HW Champ. How bad did it end up getting for Spinks? HE LOST TO JAMES WILDER IN 1991, Wilder finished with a career record of 2-34. Wilder beat Spinks on points.