Chris Finnegan's 14 rounds with Bob Foster

Bob Foster stood 6ft 3in with a 79-inch reach, which is a lot of arm for a light-heavyweight. He had taken the world title from Dick Tiger in 1968 with a fourth-round knockout at Madison Square Garden, and by the autumn of 1972 he had been defending it for four years.

Chris Finnegan came to the Empire Pool, Wembley, with a different kind of CV. Before boxing he had worked as a hod carrier on building sites. In 1968 he won the Olympic middleweight gold in Mexico City. As a professional he had become British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight champion. He had never been knocked down.

Nine rounds

For much of the fight the challenger was not simply surviving. The ringside accounts have Finnegan competitive through the first nine rounds and, at times, appearing to take command.

In the tenth, Foster found his punch. A straight right to the jaw put Finnegan down for the first time in 27 professional fights. He got up.

What makes the fight worth remembering is what happened next. In the 12th Finnegan hurt Foster with a right hand of his own. The champion had to take the 13th back with counter-punches. By then the Associated Press had the fight scored as close as it had looked: six rounds to Foster, five to Finnegan, two even.

The finish

It ended 55 seconds into the 14th round. Foster landed a left and then a right to the head, and the referee, Aime Leschot, had nothing left to count. The Ring named it the 1972 Fight of the Year.

Neither man sounded like he had finished with the other. "I sure will give him another go at the title," Foster said, "and I'm going to try for more money next time." Finnegan said, "I'm tired, thoroughly tired, but I'm ready for the return when he is ready."

Eight weeks later Foster moved up to fight Muhammad Ali in Nevada and was knocked down seven times before being stopped in the eighth. He made 14 defences of the light-heavyweight title before he was done, and later spent years as a sheriff's officer and detective in New Mexico.

Finnegan never won a world title. He had two hard fights with John Conteh for the British and Commonwealth titles and lost both, and in 1975 a detached retina ended his career. He died in 2009.

At Wembley, for nine rounds and again in the 12th, he had the champion in a real fight. That is why it is remembered.