2. Bobby Chacon vs. Rafael Limon IV - December 11, 1982
Before Roman Gonzalez. Before Erik Morales and before Arturo Gatti, there was California's Bobby "Schoolboy" Chacon—the quintessential action fighter.
The 1980s were jam-packed with as many superb fights as any decade in history. A complete list could have been made with just battles from that 10-year period. 1982, in particular, had some extraordinary fights, most famously the Alexis Arguello-Aaron Pryor junior middleweight clash and a chapter in the Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry between Wilfredo Gomez and Lupe Pintor.
However, the fight that ended up with that year's Ring Magazine Fight of the Year award was the fourth match between Chacon and rival Rafael "Bazooka" Limon.
They had a 1-1-1 record against each other, each holding a decision win in 10-round contests. The fourth fight was the first for a major title as Limon held the WBC super featherweight title. In Chacon's two previous title opportunities, he suffered beatings at the hands of Alexis Arguello and Cornelius Boza-Edwards. Many believed that he was close to being a finished fighter.
At the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, Chacon and Limon waged war against each other in what can only described as the definition of brutality in the squared circle.
The southpaw Limon had longer arms and used them to counter and attack Chacon at every turn. There were sequences where Limon unloaded on Chacon, who got the worse of the exchanges. Limon would drop Chacon with left hands in the third and 10th rounds.
It can't be overstated just how intense some of the toe-to-toe action was throughout the fight. When it seemed like the two couldn't possibly inflict more punishment on each other, they would hit another plateau.
While Chacon, at times, looked overwhelmed, he stayed in the fight, landing an enormous amount of right hands that only became more accurate and damaging as the war went on.
In one of the more dramatic scenes in boxing history, with just seconds left in the 15th round, Chacon dropped Limon with two lead right hands. The knockdown earned him the unanimous decision victory and the WBC title.
To compare this fight to a film, Chacon-Limon IV was equal to The Raid parts 1 and 2 or the John Wick series. Even compared to other back-and-forth fights, imagining anything more action-packed is difficult.