There are big fights. There are great fights.

And then there are great big fights.

The latter category is reserved for those that not only rise to a certain level of significance because of the stakes and/or the principals involved, but also provide a memorable amount of compelling action befitting a modern classic.

Many reach one category or the other. Few reach both.

For example, the 1985 battle between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns was a great fight by any measure. But it warrants legendary status nearly 40 years later because it was for an undisputed middleweight championship, not buried on a nondescript undercard.

Still in the afterglow of the past weekend's unification showdown in the Saudi desert, the B/R combat team took some time to look back on the first 140 days of 2024 and compile a list of the very best of the biggest action in the ring so far.

Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

6. Christian Mbilli TKO 6 Rohan Murdock

When you remind people of a Hall of Fame heavyweight, it's impressive.

And when you're a super middleweight doing it, it's even more impressive.

That was the vibe left by rising contender Christian Mbilli on SiriusXM and former Ring editor Randy Gordon after the Cameroon-born, French-based slugger battered Rohan Murdock into submission after six brutal but exciting rounds on the Beterbiev-Smith undercard in January.

"He's a 168-pound Joe Frazier," Gordon told Bleacher Report. "Most exciting fighter at 168. Does not back up."

Indeed, Mbilli's reticence to retreat showed against Murdock, who hung in gamely and exchanged evenly for the first few rounds before the traffic gradually became more one-way in nature. The fighters combined to throw 863 shots in their 18 minutes together, with Mbilli landing 46.7 percent of the 505 punches for which he was responsible.

It was the kind of performance that gets you noticed.

Maybe even by the likes of Canelo Alvarez.

"Canelo is the best. Everyone knows that," Mbilli said. "But now I want to show that I'm the best in the division. My goal is to fight him. I would do anything to fight him."

5. Raymond Ford KO 12 Otabek Kholmatov

You know you've got something when the phrase "instant classic" gets tossed around.

That's the morning-after tag hung on a WBA featherweight title scrap between Raymond Ford and Otabek Kholmatov that ended when Ford, on the verge of a scorecard loss, hurt his foe with a right and sent him reeling with a follow-up flurry before a final right prompted Kholmatov to turn his back and draw an intervention from referee Charlie Fitch.

The official time was 2:53 of the 12th, meaning just seven seconds remained.

It was a 15th win (with a draw) in 16 fights for the unbeaten product of Camden, N.J., who was bleeding from a gash under his left eye sustained in the 11th. He was down by three points apiece on two scorecards and ahead by a point on one, meaning a split-decision loss was coming had he not forced the finish.

Kholmatov was taken to a local hospital for post-fight observation.

"The whole time in the corner, I kept telling myself, 'I'm going to stop him,'" Ford said. "I felt him breaking down as the rounds went on."

4. Sebastian Fundora SD 12 Tim Tszyu

If you want a fight to be remembered, blood helps.

And rarely will you see more blood than in the 154-pound title fight that matched champion Tim Tszyu and challenger Sebastian Fundora at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Standing nine inches taller at a ridiculous 6'5.5" on a 154-pound frame, Fundora arrived as a short-notice replacement for Keith Thurman and opened the floodgates, literally, when he landed an accidental elbow to Tszyu's forehead late in Round 2.

The blood flowed into Tszyu's eyes and left his face a gory mess for the remainder of the fight, which Fundora attempted to keep at long range with his pterodactyl-like reach. He fought smartly behind a jab, limited Tszyu's effectiveness inside and avoided the prolonged exchanges that the Australian was hoping to create.

Fundora earned nods of 115-113 and 116-112 from two judges, offsetting the 116-112 score in Tszyu's direction and providing redemption from his lone career loss in his previous fight nearly a full year earlier.

"This is boxing, you're going to get hurt and you just have to be smart," Fundora said. "He's a world-class fighter. He was a world champion for a reason."

3. Ryan Garcia MD 12 Devin Haney

Go ahead and list this one with an asterisk.

Though Ryan Garcia's majority decision defeat of super lightweight champ Devin Haney was initially celebrated for Garcia's shocking effort as a huge underdog following a tumultuous training camp, how it'll be remembered going forward hinges on drug-test results.

"KingRy" scored three knockdowns and consistently landed fight-altering blows against Haney, who'd not lost in 31 fights and was defending a title in his second weight class.

Garcia was ineligible to win the championship because he weighed-in over the 140-pound limit and earned further derision when it was reported that both pre- and post-fight urine samples tested positive for Ostarine. He requested analysis of the additional "B samples" that were collected before and after the fight and results are expected later this month.

Garcia has disputed suggestions that he cheated.

The controversy has shifted focus from the fight, which looked to be going in Haney's direction before a left hand dropped him for the first time in his career in the seventh round. He was dumped again in the 10th and 11th, and, though he was an even 112-112 on one scorecard, was on the short end of 114-110 and 115-109 nods on the others.

2. Kenshiro Teraji MD 12 Carlos Canizales

Non-stop punching for most of 12 rounds and both fighters hitting the deck?

Sign us up.

That's what lucky viewers got upon tuning into the 108-pound title bout matching champion Kenshiro Teraji and challenger Carlos Canizales in Osaka, Japan.

The violence got started early and led to Canizales going down after taking a right to the head in the second round, before the veteran landed his own right that sent Teraji to the floor one round later. It was similarly back and forth through the middle rounds and into the late stages, as the champion tried to keep Canizales at bay but was frequently drawn into close-range firefights.

He transitioned to full-on movement across the final six minutes and waited for the scorecards that saw him earn a pair of 114-112 nods to overrule a 113-113 tally and allow him to successfully defend his WBC belt for the fourth time since winning it in March 2022.

"He was so tough," Teraji said. "I had to change my strategy over the second half of the fight and try to control the distance."

1. Oleksandr Usyk SD 12 Tyson Fury

Yes, we're stealing a line from HBO legend Jim Lampley.

"It happened. It happened."

The longtime voice of the "Network of Champions" delivered that classic when George Foreman floored Michael Moorer to win a heavyweight title at age 45.

We're using it in the same weight class while celebrating what seemed just as unlikely, a great fight on a big stage that unified the division for the first time since 1999.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury delivered all that was asked for and more across 12 rounds on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, with Usyk leading early and Fury rallying to establish control before the smaller man responded with a fight-changing flurry and a split-decision win.

Lampley himself told Bleacher Report, "This was Ali-Frazier I."

An October rematch was written into the fight contract and predictably discussed in the immediate aftermath of the brawl, which boosted Usyk to 22-0 as a pro while handing Fury his first loss after 34 victories and a draw.

"How great for the sport of boxing," promoter Eddie Hearn said. "Incredible fight and absolutely a fight of two halves. Struggled to give Usyk maybe more than one round in the first half of the fight. And then all of a sudden, the fight changed [in rounds] seven and eight, the momentum started to swing."