On the morning of 17 April 1860, boxing’s inaugural “world title” match took place. Though the event was illegal, sporting historians accept that John C. Heenan vs Tom Sayers (U.S. vs England, in a Hampshire field) was the first of many thousands of “fights of the century.” Here’s TIME’s selection of the greatest matches.

More Must-Reads From TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com.

You May Also Like
EDIT POST