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HBO Sports has made several headlines over the past several decades, whether it be the network home of where a once-undefeated heavyweight champion went down, or a presidential candidate shooting hoops. Here are the top 10 moments in its history:
- Down goes Joe Frazier, courtesy of George Foreman, in the pay cabler’s first world champion boxing match, live from Kingston, Jamaica. Muhammad Ali and Frazier provide a “Thrilla in Manila.”
- Sugar Ray Leonard proves you don’t need heavies to deliver drama as he defeats Marvin Hagler for the world middleweight title.
- James “Buster” Douglas shocks the world, and Mike Tyson, when he upsets the Iron Man in Tokyo.
- HBO shows off the green grass of Wimbledon, expanding its coverage to at least six hours a day.
- “Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World” debuts, showcasing one of the net’s biggest sports and eventually winning Emmy and CableAce awards.
- Vince McMahon comes close to bodyslamming Bob Costas during a tense live interview from the set of “On the Record.”
- Former NFL lineman Esera Tuaolo comes out of the closet on “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel.”
- Eagles star Donovan McNabb makes headlines when he tells “Real Sports” that black QBs “have to do a little bit extra because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn’t want us to play, is low.”
- Gumbel goes one-on-one with presidential candidate and notoriously poor bowler, Barack Obama.
