1985: The greatest sporting year

I've been putting this off for years. But the recent Live Aid nostalgia has pushed me over the edge. We've all had the debate in the pub about the greatest sporting year - no, just me then? - so I'm here to argue the case for 1985. After forty years, it is time to tell 1985 that I'm crazy for you.

There are of course many factors involved in your chosen favourite sporting year. Allegiance matters. Therefore, Manchester United winning a treble, Europe collapsing in the Ryder Cup, and Australia winning two World Cups means I don't want to party like it's 1999. Yet pushing all this irrational stuff to one side, there can be no doubting the credentials of 1985.

1980: Alan Minter v Marvin Hagler

It wasn't supposed to end like this for either Alan Minter or Marvin Hagler on the night of September 27 1980. Minter had just seen his all too brief grip on the WBA/WBC world middleweight titles end in seven minutes and 45 seconds of punishment, his face a mess, blood streaming from gashes inflicted by the superb Hagler. The American should have been elated, but any such emotions were soon replaced with genuine fear, as bottles and cans of beer headed towards the ring, the new champion fleeing the scene before he could even receive his belts. A shameful end to the story of Minter versus Hagler, but in retrospect perhaps not a surprising conclusion given what had preceded it.