Fights affected by the weather

As I write this on a Sunday morning in Vermont, the snow plows are hard at work outside (which is normal for this time of the year), while farther south, Washington, D.C. is preparing itself for six to 10 inches of snowfall (which is not). Across the pond, large parts of northern England are blanketed in white, briefly threatening the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Manchester United.

As a primarily indoor sport, boxing, unlike the Premier League, is rarely affected by weather conditions. But there have been times when Mother Nature has, at the very least, intruded on the comfort of those participating in or attending a boxing card.

A cold night in the open air in Cardiff seemed to bother Lennox Lewis almost as much as a surprisingly effective Frank Bruno in 1993, before the former Olympic champion found a left hook that hastened his opponent’s demise. Bob Arum donned a poncho and toughed out the steady rain in Carson, California as Oscar Valdez overcame Scott Quigg in a brutal contest in March 2018, but plenty of fans and media ran for cover. 

Wladimir Klitschko’s defeat of David Haye in Hamburg, Mike Tyson’s wipeout of Lou Savarese in Glasgow, and Haye’s stoppage of Derek Chisora in London were all miserable, wet affairs for ringsiders. Sergio Martinez and Martin Murray were somewhat protected from the driving rain during their middleweight title clash in Buenos Aires in April 2013 by a canopy above the ring, but the conditions played havoc with the TV production. 

Thirty minutes before the first fight on the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz II card in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, there were genuine concerns the entire event may have to be called off, as fierce winds and driving rains threatened the temporary stadium that had been designed for calmer, warmer, desert nights; in the event, even as Joshua sloshed to the ring with plastic bags over his boots, the rain eased and then halted in the nick of time.

Every so often, the conditions conspire to have a major impact on the fights themselves. Here are a few of the more notable instances.

Joey Maxim TKO 13 Sugar Ray Robinson, June 25, 1952

Probably the most famous example of conditions playing a part in boxing history. Former welterweight and reigning middleweight champion Robinson boasted a record of 132-2-2 when he moved up to 175 pounds to challenge division kingpin Maxim at Yankee Stadium. 

Robinson started well and built up a lead on the scorecards before the 103-degree F (39C) heat began to take its toll. Referee Rudy Goldstein was the first to succumb, and was replaced by Ray Miller in round 10. Robinson wilted over the next several rounds, retiring on his stool with heat prostration after round 13.

Jimmy Carruthers W12 Chamroen Songkitrat, May 2 1954 

The first world title fight under Marquess of Queensberry rules in Thailand saw Australia’s Carruthers retain his bantamweight crown in a driving rainstorm. In the third and ninth rounds the bout was halted when exposed electric bulbs exploded, spattering glass shards over the ring canvas – a particularly dangerous problem given that the two men were fighting barefoot to cope better with the conditions.

Muhammad Ali TKO 8 George Foreman, October 30 1974

There were so many elements conspiring against Foreman in Zaire: the cut he suffered in sparring that caused the fight to be delayed; his general level of discomfort and displeasure at being forced to remain in Kinshasa; and, of course, Ali’s genius. But if the Rope-a-Dope was Foreman’s ultimate downfall, the hot and humid conditions increased the effectiveness of Ali’s technique, multiplying the energy-sapping impacts of Foreman’s blows thudding harmlessly on Ali’s arms and shoulders. 

After Foreman had fallen and Ali had regained his crown, the humidity finally proved too much for the clouds to contain, and the sky opened in a thunderous downpour.

Alberto Davila TKO 11 Enrique Sanchez, May 25 1984

California’s Davila fell behind early on the cards in his defense of his bantamweight crown, with Dominican Sanchez staggering him with an eight-punch combination in the second. But, in the sixth round, the rain began to fall over Miami Beach, coating the ring canvas with a slick sheen. 

Suddenly, Davila seemed reborn, taking the fight to Sanchez, wearing him down, dropping him at the end of the tenth, and stopping him in the eleventh. Praising the precipitation as “holy water,” Davila said that the rain “revived me. It was like a miracle.”

Steve Cruz W 15 Barry McGuigan, June 23 1986

McGuigan was a big favorite to retain his featherweight belt against little-known Texan Cruz, but the underdog’s resilience and the blazing Las Vegas heat conspired to sap him of his strength and strip him of his championship. 

After a strong start by the Irishman, Cruz began reeling the champion in, dropping him with a body shot in the tenth. With the fight in the balance, McGuigan found it in him to have a strong fourteenth and seemingly secure a lead on the scorecards, but the effort emptied his tank. “Pray for me,” he pleaded to his corner before he pried himself off his stool. Cruz promptly dropped him twice in the fifteenth and final round and secured a famous victory.

Mikkel Kessler W 12 Carl Froch, April 24 2010

Boxers rarely accept defeat without finding some sort of explanation and excuse, and Froch was clear on what caused him to lose his unbeaten record against Denmark’s Kessler: it was the volcano wot done it.

Between March 20 and June 23 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted, and from 14 to 20 April, an enormous ash cloud spread across northern Europe, causing immense disruptions in air travel. Among the flights to be canceled was Froch’s to Denmark, leading to talk of getting the Englishman to the venue by boat, a notion that Froch soon shut down. 

“If I can’t fly out to Denmark, the fight is not happening,” he protested. “I’m not going on a boat for 20 hours and driving cross country a day before the weigh in.”

In the event, promoter Kalle Sauerland was able to put Froch on a private flight on the Wednesday of fight week, with Froch later describing the journey as “bloody horrific.” Kessler emerged victorious in a competitive contest, and Froch later claimed that the period of doubt about whether the fight would go ahead proved his downfall.

“We had a barbecue in the garden. I had a couple of cans of Guinness. I don’t drink much, and I had a couple of them in fight week!” he said.

“The next day, my promoter rang me and said that the Sauerlands were sending a private jet and the flight was at 2 PM… I crashed the weight, which I never do. At the weigh-in, I felt weak… Going over on the Wednesday under that ash cloud in fight week and being overweight, switching off, it was horrible.” 

To his credit, Froch would gain his revenge against Kessler in a 2013 rematch that was one of his finest performances.

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcast about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He presently co-hosts the “Fighter Health Podcast” with Dr. Margaret Goodman. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.