0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 12/27/2016
It’s fitting that discourse surrounding Vasyl Lomachenko ranges between extremes. Criticism is often speculative — sometimes wholly unfounded — and the praise can be hyperbolic to the point of absurdity. Similarly, the two-time Olympic gold medalist has not only faced extraordinarily lofty expectations, but also smashed them at an unprecedented pace. What’s more, the 28-year-old […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 7/17/2016
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Chris Arreola openly acknowledged that he didn’t deserve to face Deontay Wilder Saturday night. He did, however, promise to leave everything in the ring in his attempt. He was right on both accounts. Wilder (37-0, 36 KO) defeated Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs) via an 8th round stoppage to retain his title, battering — […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 3/13/2016
We all can agree that the organizational side of boxing is a mess. Politics stymie matchmaking. The term “titleholder” has been watered down by an endless supply of spin-off belts churned out by suspect sanctioning bodies. For every meaningful unification bout, there are dozens of mandatories against no-name challengers, forfeitures on the scale, or big […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 2/28/2016
“Speak softly and carry a big stick; you’ll go far.” In Terence Crawford’s case, no stick is necessary — just a big left hand and absolutely lethal boxing abilities. Crawford (28-0, 20 KO) successfully defended his junior welterweight title — and squashed an awful lot of pre-fight trash talk — with an impressive 5th round […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 1/15/2016
It has been almost a year since we’ve welcomed “Premier Boxing Champions’” version of free boxing for the masses into our lives, living rooms and Twitter feeds. I haven’t seen any formal surveys on the matter, but sticking of a finger into the cyclonic winds of boxing opinion, it seems like the average fan’s reaction to […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 11/7/2015
Broadcasters called it “Antoine Douglas Graduation Night” from the opening moments of the ShoBox telecast Friday night. Douglas responded with a rousing valedictorian (at least on this night) speech in the form of a 4th round TKO of Les Sherrington. Douglas (19-0-1, 13 KOs) began his systematic breakdown of Sherrington (35-8, 30 KOs) in the […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 11/4/2015
Heavyweights have become a near afterthought to the boxing community. There’s Wladimir Klitschko, and then there’s the rest of the weight class — a stew of raw prospects, pretenders with tissue-soft resumes and challengers that Dr Steelhammer has already defeated. There are more questions (and mistruths) than answers at heavyweight. Fortunately, Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KO) has strengthened […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland
Who knew the pay-per-view of the year would come on a Wednesday afternoon? The undercard for the heavyweight main event between Alexander Povetkin and Mariusz Wach has produced a smorgasbord of stunning upsets, curious refereeing and brutal knockouts. Here’s a look at the bouts that led up to the main event in Kazan, Russia: EDUARD […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 9/27/2015
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Deontay Wilder is a knockout artist, Olympic medalist and world heavyweight titleholder. He might also still be a work in progress. Tonight, Wilder improved to 35-0 (34 KOs) with an 11th-round stoppage of Johann Duhaupas (31-3, 19 KOs) in front of a raucous, hometown crowd at the Legacy Arena. It was the […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 9/13/2015
Floyd Mayweather vs Andre Berto was every bit of the 18-1 mismatch Vegas bookies predicted. The future hall of famer out-boxed, out-smarted and out-everythinged his opponent for 12 rounds on Showtime Pay-Per-View en route to a unanimous decision to improve to 49-0, 26 KO, matching Rocky Marciano’s hallowed record. Mayweather dictated the fight with stiff jabs […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 8/29/2015
It’s hard to get excited about many American heavyweight prospects these days. But while Trevor Bryan might not be worthy of “can’t miss” prospect status, his performance on tonight’s ShoBox card certainly was worth getting excited about. Bryan (16-0, 11 KO) kept his unbeaten record intact by decisioning the durable Derric Rossy (30-10, 14 KO) in an […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 7/31/2015
Daily fantasy sports (DFS) has quickly grown from a gaming spinoff to a multi-billion dollar industry. In just a few years, DFS sites like FanDuel and DraftKings have expanded their user-bases into the millions, their guaranteed cash prizes into the hundreds of millions, and now offer contests across NFL, MLB, NHL, PGA, NASCAR and even […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 6/14/2015
Deontay Wilder’s triumph over Eric Molina was one of the most divisive fights I’ve ever witnessed. Wilder knocked Molina down three times before vanquishing his challenger for good with one of his colossal straight rights, so it’s not like I’m split about the outcome. Rather, I’m torn about what I’m supposed to do next. In my […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland
Nick Saban, the University of Alabama’s revered head football coach, once complained to his fanbase that they should either stay for the entire game — no matter how lopsided the affair — or give their ticket to someone else. Tonight, Deontay Wilder probably wishes he could have sent his fans home earlier. Fighting in front of a […]
0 comments by Jonathan Moreland on 2/20/2014
(Sena Agbeko, left, sparring with Michael Moore; credit: Morgan Hines) Ike Quartey. Joseph Agbeko. Josh Clottey. Azumah Nelson. The list of boxing greats to come out of Ghana is impressive, especially considering the sub-Saharan country’s modest population of 25 million. But before refamiliarizing yourself with this list, pencil in one more name: Sena Agbeko. The […]
