Legends of Boxing Heayweight Tournament

I’ve never been much into boxing — I’ve never seen a live event in person, and I’ve never purchased a pay-per-view. But I did grow up in the Mike Tyson era when he was one of the world’s most famous athletes, so the sport was on the periphery of what I followed at that time. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! was a favored video game whenever I visited a friend that owned a Nintendo system. Having read a lot of sports history books growing up, some of those stories were about boxing, so I knew at least something about many of the famous names in the sport.

I had seen a lot of love online for Legends of Boxing, produced by Stone Mountain Press (which also makes the excellent Dice United 2). Intrigued, and impressed by the how-to videos I watched, I picked it up when they recently released the updated Legends of Boxing 2.

So, boxing became the eighth different sport to make it to my tabletop. I picked 16 notable boxers over the past century and set up a double-elimination tournament. As one might have expected, Muhammad Ali came out on top, beating Larry Holmes twice, once in the winners’ bracket final and again in the championship.

This turned out to be an excellent purchase, as I really enjoyed the game. This project ran in August and September of 2024.

Double-Elimination Bracket

Winners’ Bracket First Round
(1) George Foreman vs. Frank Bruno — Foreman by knockout
(2) Rocky Marciano vs. Ken Norton — Marciano by knockout
(3) Joe Frazier vs. Evander Holyfield — Holyfield by split decision
(4) Muhammad Ali vs. Jack Dempsey — Ali by unanimous decision
(5) Larry Holmes vs. Wladimir Klitschko — Holmes by unanimous decision
(6) Lennox Lewis vs. James Braddock — Lewis by technical knockout
(7) Mike Tyson vs. Deontay Wilder — Tyson by technical knockout
(8) Joe Louis vs. Riddick Bowe — Louis by unanimous decision
Bouts 1-8 Recap

Losers’ Bracket First Round
(9) Frank Bruno vs. Ken Norton — Bruno by knockout
(10) Joe Frazier vs. Jack Dempsey — Dempsey by majority draw
(11) Wladimir Klitschko vs. James Braddock — Klitschko by unanimous decision
(12) Deontay Wilder vs. Riddick Bowe — Bowe by knockout

Winners’ Bracket Quarterfinals
(13) George Foreman vs. Rocky Marciano — Foreman by majority decision
(14) Evander Holyfield vs. Muhammad Ali — Ali by disqualification
(15) Larry Holmes vs. Lennox Lewis — Holmes by unanimous decision
(16) Mike Tyson vs. Joe Louis — Tyson by unanimous decision
Bouts 9-16 Recap

Losers’ Bracket Second Round
(17) Joe Louis vs. Frank Bruno — Louis by technical knockout
(18) Lennox Lewis vs. Jack Dempsey — Dempsey by unanimous decision
(19) Evander Holyfield vs. Wladimir Klitschko — Holyfield by unanimous decision
(20) Rocky Marciano vs. Riddick Bowe — Marciano by technical knockout

Winners’ Bracket Semifinals
(21) George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali — Ali by unanimous decision
(22) Larry Holmes vs. Mike Tyson — Holmes by split decision
Bouts 17-22 Recap

Losers’ Bracket Third Round
(23) Joe Louis vs. Jack Dempsey — Louis by unanimous decision
(24) Evander Holyfield vs. Rocky Marciano — Holyfield by unanimous decision

Losers’ Bracket Fourth Round
(25) George Foreman vs. Joe Louis — Louis by technical knockout
(26) Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield — Tyson by unanimous decision

Winners’ Bracket Final
(27) Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes — Ali by unanimous decision

Losers’ Bracket Fifth Round
(28) Joe Louis vs. Mike Tyson — Louis by unanimous decision
Bouts 23-28 Recap

Losers’ Bracket Final
(29) Larry Holmes vs. Joe Louis — Holmes by majority decision

Championship
(30) Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes — Ali by unanimous decision
Bouts 29-30 Recap