The first prize fight Mark Davis ever attended?
Muhammad Ali vs. Jerry Quarry II. For the NABF heavyweight title. On June 27, 1972. At the late, great Las Vegas Convention Center rotunda.
"Mom and Dad were ringside with the Maddens," Davis said, and if you didn't know he was referring to the team's iconic owner Al, his bride Carol and then-Raiders coach John Madden and his wife Virginia, now you know.
Meanwhile, a then-17-year-old Mark Davis was in the second deck of the rotunda that night. He took in Bob Foster demolishing Mike Quarry with a vicious fourth-round knockout in the co-main event before watching Ali stop the elder Quarry in the seventh round by TKO, Ali calling for the ref to stop the fight on his own.
"I also remember the Quarry women fighting in the crowd," Davis said with a laugh. "It was a big melee."
As The New York Times headline read the next day: "Quarry Family Loses Outside the Ring, Too."
Ouch.
But as painful as that early-1970s Las Vegas summer evening was for the Quarrys, Saturday night was just as rewarding for Davis, what with Allegiant Stadium hosting the sweet science's latest Fight of the Century – Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford for the undisputed super middleweight championship.
"It really is a full circle moment for me," Davis said. "Because when we built Allegiant Stadium, boxing was one of the events we wanted to bring here. I love boxing. Las Vegas is, to me, still the boxing capital of the world. But we didn't want it unless there was a great fight. This is that fight.
"So to have the patience to wait was great. We waited for this fight. I'm just thankful to the powers that be, [promoters] Dana White and Turki Al-Sheikh. I'm just so excited they put their trust in us to do this."
The announced sellout crowd for the first-ever boxing card at Allegiant Stadium was a venue-record 70,482, the second-biggest boxing attendance in United States history by surpassing Ali-Leon Spinks II at the New Orleans Superdome in 1978, with a live gate of more than $47.2 million.
And the electric atmosphere was unlike anything ever seen on a Las Vegas fight night.
You could say Davis had the best seat in his house to watch Crawford put on an absolute boxing clinic against Alvarez, winning a unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113) to remain undefeated and improve to 42-0.
Crawford, who jumped up two weight classes and weighed in the same as Alvarez at 167.5 pounds but was still quick enough to avoid Alvarez's power shots, used a double-jab to keep him at bay all night. Crawford's southpaw style and defense also helped him to utilize quick scoring combinations off those jabs to flummox Alvarez, whose reflexes abandoned him late. Alvarez's frustration shone through, especially in the last three rounds.
Crawford, who suffered a cut over his right eye due to an accidental headbutt in the ninth round, did not hurt Alvarez so much as pepper him with scoring shots. Almost at will.
The heavily pro-Alvarez crowd was as stunned as their fighter was stymied.
In his in-ring interview, Crawford thanked both his "haters" and supporters, and tipped his figurative cap to his foe.
"I've got nothing but respect for Canelo," said Crawford, who was fighting at 147 pounds two bouts ago.
"I'm a big fan of Canelo and he fought like a champion today."
Still, Alvarez suffered his third career defeat as his record dropped to 63-3-2.
Rematch, then?
"I feel great to share the ring with a great fighter like him," Alvarez said. "And if we do it again, it's going to be great. But I'm glad to share the ring with great fighters and I'm glad to be here.
"I've already accomplished a lot in boxing. My legacy is already there and I'm still taking risks because I love boxing."
Allegiant Stadium, home to the Raiders and UNLV football, has already played host to a Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl, WrestleMania and, in 2027, the college football national title game will be held here. A year later, the Final Four for men's basketball will tip off.
Yet there's a certain vibe that envelopes Las Vegas on fight night, always has, and there were certain echoes from a long ago makeshift arena in the Caesars Palace parking lot that bounded off the Allegiant Stadium walls.
Just like back then, there were celebrities and athletes galore in the crowd: Rob Lowe, Michael Irvin, Josh Duhamel, Jason Statham, Tracy Morgan, Marc Anthony, Mike Tyson, Macaulay Culkin, Roy Jones, Jr., Julio Cesar Chavez, Charlie Sheen, Jeremy Renner, Sofia Vergara, Dave Chappelle, Michael J. Fox, Evander Holyfield and Charlize Theron…to name a few.
But on this night, when Davis went full circle from spectator in the rafters of a cramped arena to eager host for a sea of humanity in a massive stadium, more pugilistic history was made. Crawford became the first men's three-division undisputed boxing champ in the four-belt era and, with a title in his fifth different weight class, joined Manny Pacquiao (8), Oscar De La Hoya (6), Floyd Mayweather (5), Thomas Hearns (5) and Sugar Ray Leonard (5) as quintuple champions.
The first prize fight Davis remembers hearing about, or listening to on a transistor radio?
Ali, when he was still known as Cassius Clay, vs. Sonny Liston, for the heavyweight title on Feb. 25, 1964.
"Mom and Dad went to watch it on closed-circuit and I stayed home and listened to it on the radio," Davis said.
His parents also gave him a gift on the way out the door – the vinyl record album "Meet The Beatles!"
"And I still have it," Davis said.
As he does vivid memories of attending Leonard-Roberto Duràn I, in Montreal, on June 20, 1980.
"They announced the winner first in French, so a lot of people didn't understand who won," Davis laughed.
"I liked the heavyweights, but I loved the welterweights - Leonard, Duràn, [Marvin] Hagler, Hearns."
Then there was the time Ali's longtime photographer Howard Bingham, a big Raiders fan, brought the champ to meet Al Davis in his suite at a Super Bowl, and Mark Davis shook Ali’s hand.
In attendance Saturday night at the Raiders' home: Ali's widow Lonnie.
Yeah, another full-circle moment.
