Boxing’s glorious history has been graced by several champions who –through their sheer heart, determination, skill, talent, charisma and everything in between— have managed to awe us, inspire us, and to capture our collective imaginations. Throughout the years, there have been many what-ifs, especially when fans and pundits alike would speculate on the outcome should a great champion of the past and a great champion of the present (and future) meet in the ring – both in their primes.
Balboa—Dixon and the Super Fight
In the film Rocky Balboa, the sixth and (hopefully) final installment of the Rocky series, the exhibition bout between former champ Rocky Balboa and current heavyweight titlist Mason Dixon was actually triggered by a computer simulation fight between the two. In the simulation, a prime Balboa is predicted to have knocked out a prime Dixon in the 13th round. The simulation bout played an important part in the overall plot point of the story. Of course, the way in which the 60-year-old Balboa gave Dixon problems in the course of the fight, even managing to knock Dixon down, might be more unbelievable than any simulation fight, but that’s another story.
But to go back-- what inspired the simulation bout in Rocky Balboa was actually a fictional boxing match dubbed the Super Fight between Rocky Marciano and Muhammad Ali. The fight took place in 1970, and at that time Marciano and Ali were the only undefeated heavyweight champions. Boxing fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes. Ali and Marciano were filmed acting out every possible scenario in a fight and the result was then determined using probability formulas entered into a computer. As with the Balboa—Dixon simulation, the Super Fight’s outcome had Marciano knocking out Ali in the 13th round (talk about unlucky 13—for Dixon and Ali, that is).
The faux Dream Match: Recreating your own Super Fight
Nowadays, especially with the technological innovations and advancements of this age, it’s fairly easy to recreate your own Super Fights.
In fact, even before the Dream Match between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar De La Hoya, I have been doing a bit of simulation fights myself, pitting both Pacquiao and De La Hoya in the squared ring. This is courtesy of my Playstation Portable and EA’s successful boxing game, Fight Night Round 3.
In the game, Pacquiao is still listed at featherweight and De La Hoya is a full-fledged welterweight. When you pit the two fighters against each other, the size difference is immediately evident; more so the power. When Pacquiao hits the bigger De La Hoya with flush shots, it hardly makes a dent on the latter’s health bar. On the flipside, it only takes a handful of De La Hoya power punches to put Pacquiao’s health bar on a downward spiral and to eventually knock him down and finally, knock him out.
With further practice, however, I was able to beat De La Hoya by using Pacquiao’s advantage in speed and quickness. I’d go in and unleash a combination of punches to the head and body and get right out. Persistence paid off and eventually, using Pacquiao, I knocked out De La Hoya in the 12th round. Of course the real Dream Match only lasted eight rounds. The rest, as they say, is boxing history.
Tyson on Fight Night Round 4 – It’s about friggin’ time!
Speaking of EA Sports’ Fight Night series, Fight Night 4 will come out in June of this year, and both boxing fans and gamers alike have already been abuzz and salivating. And with good reason. For one, the latest title will feature the Baddest Man on the Planet, Iron Mike Tyson himself.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tyson in a video game. The last time was when Mike Tyson’s Punch Out was released in the Nintendo Entertainment System in the late 80s.
I recall getting a kick at being able to beat the seemingly invincible Tyson (back then known as Kid Dynamite), using the game’s main character, the pint-sized Little Mac. Even then, the game was a breakthrough in terms of playability, graphics and characters. Punch Out has been well-received by many players and critics and was rated the 17th best game made on a Nintendo System in Nintendo Power’s Top 200 Games list. GameSpot has also placed it among the best games of all time. In addition, the video game incarnation of Mike Tyson was named the 25th most diabolical video game villain of all time by PC World.
Going back to Mike Tyson, it’s about time that EA Sports brought him to the Fight Night series. I personally think it’s long overdue, Tyson’s troubled and infamous past notwithstanding. He is one of the best fighters and finishers to have laced up gloves, and it is but a fitting tribute for him (and Ali) to have graced the cover of Fight Night Round 4. Having said that, I can’t wait to simulate my own Tyson vs. Ali Super Fight on the Playstation 3.
By the way, for whatever it’s worth, I’ve already tried pitting Pacquiao against Ricky Hatton, and the outcome was a knockout victory for the Pac Man in the 12th .
Having said that, I can’t wait for the real fight come May 2.
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