W1st AIBA European Olympic Boxing Qualifying Tournament was held from February 25 – March 1, 2008 in Roseto degli Abruzzi-Pescara, Italy. During the tournament 250 boxers from 40 countries competed for 26 Olympic qualifying places in 11 different weight categories.
WJoe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jr., billed as "Battle of the Superpowers", was a boxing light-heavyweight superfight. The fight was held on November 8, 2008, at Madison Square Garden. The fight was for Calzaghe's Ring light-heavyweight championship.
WMiguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito, billed as "The Battle", was a professional boxing match between World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight champion Miguel Cotto and former International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion Antonio Margarito. The WBA welterweight title bout took place on July 26, 2008, at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, and resulted in an eleventh round technical knockout victory for Margarito.
WOscar De La Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao, also billed as The Dream Match, was a professional boxing welterweight superfight. The bout took place on December 6, 2008 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Pacquiao defeated De La Hoya via technical knockout when De La Hoya decided not to continue with the fight before the start of the ninth round. The card was a co-production of Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing and De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions and was aired live on pay-per-view (PPV) on HBO PPV. The fight is notable for propelling Manny Pacquiao to full-blown superstar status in much of the western world, as Oscar De La Hoya symbolically "passed the torch", so to speak, to Pacquiao.
WRicky Hatton vs. Juan Lazcano was a boxing Light Welterweight fight between Ricky "Hitman" Hatton and challenger Juan Lazcano for the IBO and Ring Magazine titles. It was held in Manchester, England at the City of Manchester Stadium in front of a record 55,000 fans. This was a record for a boxing event post world war II, until 2014 when Carl Froch faced George Groves, fight which sold 80,000 seats. The fight went the full 12 rounds and Hatton won by unanimous decision.
WRicky Hatton vs. Paulie Malignaggi was a boxing light welterweight match-up for the IBO and Ring Magazine titles. It was called "Power vs. Precision" and was held on November 22, 2008 at the MGM Grand Las Vegas. The fight was won by Ricky Hatton as Paulie Malignaggi was withdrawn by his corner during the 11th round.
WBernard Hopkins vs. Joe Calzaghe was a boxing match that took place on April 19, 2008, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, between The Ring light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe. The fight was dubbed the "Battle of the Planet", and the fight was for Hopkins' The Ring light heavyweight title.
WWladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov, billed as "The Unification", was a professional boxing match contested on 23 February 2008 for the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship.
WWladimir Klitschko vs. Hasim Rahman, billed as "X-Plosive", was a professional boxing match contested on 13 December 2008 for the IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championship.
WJuan Manuel Márquez vs. Manny Pacquiao II, billed as Unfinished Business, was a junior-lightweight title boxing match. The bout took place on March 15, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States and was distributed by HBO PPV. The fight is second of the Pacquiao-Márquez tetralogy.
WDavid Diaz vs. Manny Pacquiao, billed as Lethal Combination, was a lightweight title boxing match. The bout took place on June 28, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Pacquiao defeated Diaz via technical knockout in the ninth round. The fight sealed Pacquiao's status as the best pound-for-pound fighter after he was elevated to the #1 spot because of the retirement of the undefeated five-division champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. weeks prior to the fight and put Pacquiao's name in the history books as the only Asian fighter to win five world titles in five weight classes.
WFélix Trinidad vs. Roy Jones Jr., billed as "Bring on the Titans" was a professional boxing match contested on January 19, 2008. The non-title bout was fought with a catch weight of 170 pounds.
WNikolai Valuev vs. Evander Holyfield was a professional boxing match contested on December 20, 2008 for the WBA heavyweight championship.