Three boxers are left in the tournament, with Muhammad Ali booking his ticket to the championship round as the lone unbeaten fighter. Joe Louis has won four consecutive matches in the losers’ bracket, including three in this segment, besting a murderer’s row of Jack Dempsey, George Foreman and Mike Tyson. Louis will face Larry Holmes, who was beaten by Ali, in the losers’ bracket final.
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Losers’ Bracket Third Round
Joe Louis vs. Jack Dempsey: Dempsey earned a knockdown late in the first round, but that was his only highlight. Louis outpunched Dempsey the rest of the way to make up the early deficit and was aided by two foul point reductions. The judges had it 116-109, 116-109 and 115-110 for Louis. Louis def. Dempsey by unanimous decision.
Evander Holyfield vs. Rocky Marciano: Holyfield left Marciano a bloody mess. He first opened up a deep cut over Marciano’s left eye early in the second round that nearly had the referee stop the bout. Marciano was coming off his best round in the eighth, when Holyfield landed a blow that broke Marciano’s nose. As it turned out, the scorecards were very close heading into the ninth round, and that helped Holyfield win the final four rounds. The judges had it 115-113, 117-111 and 116-113 for Holyfield as he posted another upset win. Holyfield def. Marciano by unanimous decision.
Losers’ Bracket Fourth Round
George Foreman vs. Joe Louis: Louis weathered some big blows early, then quickly wore Foreman down. After Louis dominated the seventh round, Foreman didn’t have much left in the eighth, and the referee eventually stopped the fight after a flurry of Louis strikes. Louis def. Foreman by technical knockout, eighth round. 2:26.
Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson: The two rivals engaged in a slugfest, with a lot of high-scoring rounds, mostly won by Tyson. Neither landed a knockdown, but there were a few big punches. Tyson earned the victory fairly comfortably on the judges’ scorecards, 117-114, 117-112 and 118-113. Tyson def. Holyfield by unanimous decision.
Winners’ Bracket Final
Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes: Ali and Holmes were determined to not let the other land any big punches, and so there weren’t any. The defensive-minded bout went the distance. Ali claimed a comfortable victory via the judges, 117-110, 116-112 and 118-111, to advance to the championship. Ali def. Holmes by unanimous decision.
Losers’ Bracket Fifth Round
Joe Louis vs. Mike Tyson: This was the first rematch of the tournament, with Tyson defeating Louis in a unanimous decision the first time out. Tyson seemed much more disinterested this time around, and made his intentions clear with a malicious foul right off the bat. He ended up being docked two points for other fouls, and the referee was on the verge of disqualifying him. Tyson had one big round in the sixth, but otherwise Louis controlled the bout. It wasn’t close on the scorecards, with Louis prevailing 118-110, 118-109 and 117-112 to avenge the earlier defeat. Louis def. Tyson by unanimous decision.
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