5 Most INFAMOUS Novelty Fights In Boxing History

Integrity and professional boxing seldom go hand-in-hand. Fighters and promoters have been involved in some truly embarassing sideshows over the years – today, we’ll be looking at five of the most infamous examples.

For the sake of fairness, we’ll only be including one fighter per entry. If not, the list would be polluted with Jake Paul bouts – and no-one wants that.

Additionally, not every fight on this list is a ‘boxing match’ as such. If the bout involved boxing in any capacity, it is eligible for inclusion.

Paula Jones vs Tonya Harding

Yes – this actually happened! Not only that, it only takes the #5 spot on our list – this should give you an indication of the insanity that lays ahead of us in this list.

Paula Jones, a former American civil servant who sued then-President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment, was inexplicably paired up against controversial figure skater Tonya Harding in a (surprise, surprise) unlicensed bout on Fox’s Celebrity Boxing show in 2002.

While the whole event was played for laughs, the fight that took place was anything but humourous. Jones clearly had no interest of being in the ring – Harding, despite her lack of ability, at least gave it a go. Wearing comically oversized headguards, Jones continouously turned her back to her opponent, resulting in a TKO win for Harding.

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury’s reign as WBC Heavyweight champion must go down as one of the disappointing in history. Instead of fighting the best that the division had to offer, as he had previously advertised, he instead spent most of his time taking on the softest touches imaginable.

When Fury was scheduled to defend his crown against Francis Ngannou, an MMA fighter making his professional boxing debut, boxing purists were incensed. If that wasn’t bad enough, Fury turned up completely out of shape and put forth his worst performance in years.

In round three, Ngannou caught Fury with a looping left hook that dropped him on his backside. Fury looked more embarrassed than hurt – he scrapped his way to a razor-thin split decision, but it was far from convincing. MMA fans rejoiced and gloated – until Anthony Joshua stepped in to clean up Fury’s mess a few months later, obliterating Ngannou in two rounds.

Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather will always be boxing’s greatest spin doctor. He and Conor McGregor created a media circus like no other for their 2016 fight – boxing/MMA crossover fights weren’t without precedent, but none had ever attracted such an all-encompassing media buzz.

Unfortunately, at some point, the bell had to ring. After a McGregor had a successful first round, largely because Mayweather chose to do nothing for the opening three minutes, ‘Money’, shut the former UFC Champion down until he forced a stoppage in the tenth round.

It wasn’t interesting in the slightest – thanks to Mayweather’s brittle hands, he took far longer to get rid of McGregor than he should’ve. The Irishman survived until the tenth round, but he was effectively out of the fight from the moment Mayweather decided to switch through the gears.

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson

What an utter, utter shame this was for a number of different reasons. Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is the most-watched boxing match in history – if that fact doesn’t leave you in a deep, hopeless depression, nothing will.

There are two main reasons as to why. Firstly, this fight was broadcasted free to anyone with a Netflix subscription. Secondly, it featured Tyson’s return to the ing for the first time in 19 years, but this was a ghostly shadow of the man who once dominated the Heavyweight division. Paul, despite his crude technique, was at very least a capable athlete – Tyson, at 58 and with numerous health issues, was not.

Was this fight a fix? There were a couple of moments where Tyson looked set to pull the trigger, but hestiated. Whether he couldn’t or wouldn’t is anyone’s guess – but considering that Tyson had suffered leg injuries in the past, he may have been worried about the sharp transfer of weight. Thankfully, Paul did not knock him out, but he did permanently taint the legacy one of boxing’s greatest superstars.

Muhammad Ali vs Antonio Inoki

Whenever someone tells us that boxing isn’t what it used to be, we will invariably point towards this utter disgrace of an event that damaged the legacies (and in some cases, long-term health) of everyone involved.

Muhammad Ali needs no introduction – however, it’s important to remember that Antonio Inoki was every bit as big of a star as Ali was in Japan. The hype surrounding this fight was gargantuan – only for it to immediately devolve into an humiliating farce.

In a ‘Special Rules’ match, Inoki spent almost the entire bout on his back, aiming a series of leg kicks at Ali. Ali could do nothing but hurl insults at his opponent in response, who would cause minor damage to ‘The Greatest’s’ legs that he never fully recovered from. Nevertheless, he and Inoki became good friends afterwards – given Ali made $6 million for his efforts ($34 million in 2026), we can certainly see why.