The 10 Greatest Fights in Atlantic City Boxing History
From Tyson’s 91-second destruction to the Gatti-Ward wars, these are the nights that made the Boardwalk shake
For three decades, Atlantic City wasn’t just a gambling destination—it was the undisputed Boxing Capital of the World. From the moment casino gambling arrived in 1978 until the mid-2000s, the Jersey Shore hosted more championship fights than anywhere on Earth.
These are the 10 fights that defined Atlantic City boxing—bouts that transcended the sport and became cultural moments. From 91-second demolitions to 30-round wars, these are the nights when legends were made.
#1. Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks
Date: June 27, 1988
Venue: Boardwalk Convention Hall
Stakes: Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Result: Tyson KO 1 (0:91)
Billed as “Once and For All,” this was the most anticipated heavyweight fight since Ali-Frazier I. Two undefeated champions—Mike Tyson (34-0) holding all three major belts and Michael Spinks (31-0) as the lineal champion—meeting to settle the question of heavyweight supremacy once and for all.
The hype was unprecedented. Donald Trump paid a record $11 million site fee. Ringside seats cost $1,500. Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, and dozens of A-list celebrities packed the Convention Hall. The fight grossed $70 million—the richest in boxing history at the time.
Then it was over in 91 seconds.
Tyson destroyed Spinks with savage efficiency, dropping him twice before referee Frank Cappuccino waved it off. Only ten punches were landed in the entire fight—eight by Tyson, two by Spinks. It remains the sixth-shortest heavyweight title fight in history.
“I came to fight like I said I would. I just tried to do what I knew I had to do, and that was fight. I came up short.” — Michael Spinks
Accolades: Ring Magazine Round of the Year (1988) • Record Crowd: 21,785 • Richest Fight in History (at the time)
#2. Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward III
Date: June 7, 2003
Venue: Boardwalk Hall
Stakes: Non-title, 10 rounds
Result: Gatti UD 10
The conclusion to boxing’s greatest modern trilogy. Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward had already given fans two wars—Ward winning the first at Mohegan Sun, Gatti dominating the second at Boardwalk Hall. Now they would settle it once and for all in Atlantic City.
What followed was 30 minutes of controlled violence that surpassed even their legendary first encounter. Gatti broke his hand in the fourth round punching Ward’s hip, but refused to quit. Ward, knowing his rival was compromised, poured it on with devastating body shots. By the seventh round, with Gatti’s face a swollen mess and his broken hand dangling at his side, HBO’s Emanuel Steward declared: “I never thought I’d see anything as exciting as the first fight. This is equaling it and maybe more so.”
Gatti somehow survived, winning a unanimous decision to take the trilogy 2-1. Afterward, the two warriors embraced—the beginning of a friendship that would last until Gatti’s tragic death in 2009.
“I used to wonder what fighting my twin would be like. Now I know.” — Arturo Gatti
Accolades: Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (2003) • Attendance: 12,643 • Largest Non-Heavyweight Crowd in AC History (at the time)
#3. Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman
Date: April 19, 1991
Venue: Boardwalk Convention Hall
Stakes: WBA/WBC/IBF Heavyweight Championship
Result: Holyfield UD 12
“The Battle of the Ages” pitted 28-year-old undisputed champion Evander Holyfield against 42-year-old George Foreman, who had returned from a 10-year retirement to pursue one more shot at glory. Most experts predicted a mismatch—Holyfield was a 4-1 favorite.
They were wrong. Big George, 24-0 since his comeback, proved he could still punch with anyone. The seventh round became an instant classic—Foreman staggered Holyfield with a massive right hand, then absorbed a 15-second combination that would have felled most men. Neither went down. The crowd at Convention Hall went berserk.
Holyfield won clearly on the scorecards, but Foreman’s courageous performance proved he was no relic. Three years later, at 45, he would knock out Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.
The fight was a financial monster—$55 million from 1.45 million pay-per-view buys plus an $8 million gate. It launched TVKO (later HBO Pay-Per-View) and set the template for boxing’s pay-per-view era.
Accolades: Ring Magazine Round of the Year (Round 7) • Highest-Grossing Fight Ever (at the time) • Attendance: 19,000
#4. Roberto Duran vs. Iran Barkley
Date: February 24, 1989
Venue: Convention Hall
Stakes: WBC Middleweight Championship
Result: Duran SD 12
At 37 years old, Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran was written off as a faded legend. He hadn’t held a world title in five years. His brutal knockout loss to Thomas Hearns in 1984 seemed to signal the end. Younger, stronger Iran Barkley—who had knocked out that same Hearns—was a 2.5-1 favorite.
Approximately 7,500 fans braved a coastal blizzard to witness one of boxing’s great upsets. Duran, giving away six inches in height and seven in reach, used veteran guile to neutralize Barkley’s advantages. The fight was a war from the opening bell, with both men trading heavy leather through twelve brutal rounds.
In the eleventh, Duran dropped Barkley with a thunderous combination—the only knockdown of the fight and likely the deciding factor. When the split decision was announced (the sound system had malfunctioned, so Michael Buffer had to shout the scores), Duran had become the first Latin fighter to win world titles in four weight divisions.
“I am like a bottle of wine. The older I get, the better.” — Roberto Duran
Accolades: Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (1989) • First Latin 4-Division Champion
#5. Arturo Gatti vs. Gabriel Ruelas
Date: October 4, 1997
Venue: Caesars Atlantic City
Stakes: IBF Junior Lightweight Championship
Result: Gatti TKO 5
This was the fight that cemented Arturo Gatti’s reputation as “The Human Highlight Reel.” Defending his IBF 130-pound title against former WBC champion Gabriel Ruelas, Gatti found himself in a desperate situation by the fourth round.
Ruelas landed a devastating left uppercut that had Gatti absorbing more than 15 consecutive punches, saved only by the bell. His corner considered stopping the fight. Between rounds, the crowd fell silent, certain they were witnessing the end of Gatti’s reign.
Then came the fifth round. With Ruelas pressing for the finish, Gatti summoned something from deep within. A left hook, thrown from his heels, lifted Ruelas off the canvas. Referee Benjy Esteves waved it off at 2:22. The 15,500 fans in attendance—many of whom had come to see the Lennox Lewis-Andrew Golota heavyweight fight that served as the main event—knew they had witnessed something special.
Lewis knocked out Golota in 95 seconds. Nobody cared. Gatti-Ruelas had stolen the show.
Accolades: Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (1997) • Ring Magazine Knockout of the Year (1997) • Ring Magazine Round of the Year (Round 5)
#6. Arturo Gatti vs. Ivan Robinson I
Date: August 22, 1998
Venue: Convention Hall
Stakes: Non-title, 10 rounds
Result: Robinson SD 10
Ivan Robinson was supposed to be a tune-up. The Philadelphia fighter was a solid contender—nothing more. Gatti was the star, the action hero coming off back-to-back Fights of the Year. This was supposed to be easy money.
For ten rounds, Robinson and Gatti engaged in warfare that judge Melvina Lathan described this way: “I don’t think I breathed for the whole 10 rounds.”
Robinson dropped Gatti in the fourth with a right to the temple but absorbed tremendous punishment throughout. By the final rounds, Gatti’s face was a swollen mess—three distinct puffs around his eyes. Yet he kept coming, nearly stopping Robinson in the tenth with a series of hooks that left the Philadelphian staggering.
Robinson won by split decision, handing Gatti the Upset of the Year. But both men won something more valuable—a place in boxing immortality. Their rematch four months later, also in Atlantic City, was nearly as good, with Robinson winning again by unanimous decision.
Accolades: Ring Magazine Fight of the Year (1998) • Ring Magazine Upset of the Year (1998) • Ring Magazine Round of the Year (Round 3)
#7. Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor
Date: September 29, 2007
Venue: Boardwalk Hall
Stakes: WBC/WBO Middleweight Championship
Result: Pavlik TKO 7
Approximately 6,231 fans made the trip from Youngstown, Ohio to watch their hometown hero Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik challenge undefeated champion Jermain Taylor. The blue-collar Ohio contingent turned Boardwalk Hall into a sea of scarlet and gray.
Their faith was tested early. Taylor dropped Pavlik in the second round with a straight right hand, and for a moment it appeared the challenger was finished. But Pavlik, showing the heart that would define his career, survived and began systematically breaking down the champion.
By the seventh round, the tide had turned completely. Pavlik trapped Taylor in a corner and unloaded a barrage of punches that left the champion sagging against the ropes. Referee Steve Smoger had seen enough. Youngstown had a world champion.
The Boxing Writers Association of America named it their Fight of the Year—the last great middleweight championship fight in Atlantic City.
Accolades: BWAA Fight of the Year (2007) • Last Major MW Title Fight in AC
#8. Sergio Martinez vs. Paul Williams II
Date: November 20, 2010
Venue: Boardwalk Hall
Stakes: WBC/Ring Magazine Middleweight Championship
Result: Martinez KO 2
Their first meeting, also at Boardwalk Hall, had been a 12-round war that ended in a controversial majority decision for Williams. Many felt Martinez deserved the victory. Now, nearly a year later, “Maravilla” was the WBC champion seeking revenge.
He got it in spectacular fashion.
Williams started the fight aggressively, backing Martinez up with combinations in the first round. The pro-Williams crowd was on their feet. Then, at 1:10 of the second round, Martinez ducked under a Williams left and unleashed a short left hook that caught “The Punisher” flush on the chin.
Williams went down like he’d been shot. His right hand was at his waist when the punch landed. He was unconscious before he hit the canvas. The crowd fell silent in stunned disbelief.
It remains one of the most dramatic one-punch knockouts in middleweight history—a moment that proved boxing’s most dangerous punch is the one you don’t see coming.
Accolades: KO of the Year Candidate (2010) • Dramatic Revenge Victory
#9. Mike Tyson vs. Larry Holmes
Date: January 22, 1988
Venue: Convention Hall
Stakes: WBA/WBC/IBF Heavyweight Championship
Result: Tyson TKO 4
Larry Holmes was 38 years old and hadn’t fought in over two years. He had lost his last three fights—two to Michael Spinks and one in a comeback attempt. But he was still Larry Holmes, one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, and he wanted one more shot at glory.
What he got was a beating.
Tyson, at the absolute peak of his powers, systematically dismantled the former champion. In the fourth round, a right uppercut followed by a right hand sent Holmes crashing to the canvas for only the third time in his career. He rose, but another right hand put him down again. When Holmes got up the second time, referee Joe Cortez wisely stopped the contest.
The fight drew a star-studded crowd that included Jack Nicholson and Kirk Douglas. For Holmes, it was the end of his championship dreams. For Tyson, it was another statement that he was the most devastating force in heavyweight history.
Accolades: Celebrity Crowd • Holmes’s Final Title Shot
#10. Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward II
Date: November 23, 2002
Venue: Boardwalk Hall
Stakes: Non-title, 10 rounds
Result: Gatti UD 10
After Ward’s stunning upset victory in Connecticut six months earlier, the rematch was inevitable. Gatti, determined not to engage in another brawl, came in with a different strategy—use his superior boxing skills to outpoint the relentless Ward.
It worked. Gatti boxed beautifully, using his jab and movement to frustrate Ward throughout the early rounds. When Ward did manage to get inside, Gatti tied him up or pivoted away. The fight lacked the non-stop violence of their first encounter, but it showcased Gatti’s underrated technical skills.
Ward was dropped in the third round and never quite recovered. Gatti won clearly on all three scorecards (98-91, 98-90, 98-91), evening the series at one fight apiece and setting up the trilogy finale that would come seven months later.
While not as celebrated as their other two meetings, this fight proved that Gatti could be more than just a warrior—he could be a boxer when the situation demanded it.
Accolades: Trilogy Fight • HBO Boxing After Dark
Honorable Mentions
| Fight | Date | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floyd Mayweather vs. Arturo Gatti | June 25, 2005 | Boardwalk Hall | Mayweather TKO 6 |
| Sergio Martinez vs. Kelly Pavlik | April 17, 2010 | Boardwalk Hall | Martinez UD 12 |
| Paul Williams vs. Sergio Martinez I | December 5, 2009 | Boardwalk Hall | Williams MD 12 |
| Lennox Lewis vs. Andrew Golota | October 4, 1997 | Caesars Atlantic City | Lewis TKO 1 |
| Arturo Gatti vs. Ivan Robinson II | December 12, 1998 | Trump Taj Mahal | Robinson UD 10 |
The Legacy
Between 1978 and 2007, Atlantic City hosted more than 2,000 professional boxing events. The city produced four Ring Magazine Fights of the Year in a single decade (Gatti alone accounted for three consecutive nominations from 1997-1999). It was the place where Mike Tyson became a cultural phenomenon, where Arturo Gatti became a legend, and where legends like Duran, Foreman, and Holmes had some of their most memorable moments.
The era has passed. Casino boxing in Atlantic City is now a shadow of its former self, though promoters like Larry Goldberg’s Boxing Insider Promotions are working to revive the tradition at the Tropicana. But for three glorious decades, there was no better place on Earth to watch a prizefight than the Jersey Shore.
These ten fights are the reason why.
