There was a collective sigh heard across the boxing community when it became evident that Yuriorkis Gamboa would not be fighting Brandon Rios in a legitimate dream fight on April 14 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Some even held out a little hope that, somehow, Gamboa would show up at […]

On a weekend devoid of a marquee matchup, Lonnie Smith has an opportunity to steal the spotlight as he meets fellow junior lightweight and former U.S. Olympian Vicente Escobedo in a 10-round crossroads bout in the latter’s hometown of Woodland, Calif. The fight, scheduled for Saturday, (Smith’s 25th birthday), will be aired on TeleFutura’s Solo […]

Though they both share Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions as their promoter, junior lightweights Adrien Broner and Eloy Perez have taken considerably different routes to Saturday night’s destination: a 12-round HBO-televised co-feature slot from St. Louis, Mo. underneath the welterweight clash between Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana. Broner, 22, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has […]

“Why have they gone/Fell by leather/So alone, all bound together.” – from the Sun Kil Moon track “Salvador Sanchez” It’s not often that boxing appears a central theme in music, but recording artist Mark Kozelek has given the combat sport a starring role in his work since disbanding alternative rock band, Red House Painters, on […]

(Wayne Kelly, with Tony Danza) He needed no gimmick and drew no attention to himself. It was modesty, perhaps, that overshadowed his merits, as his name was oft overlooked in casual discussions of the United States’ best officials. For veteran referee Wayne Kelly, who passed away last Wednesday due to heart attack at age 63, […]

Team Eloy Perez Moves Camp To SoCal In Prep For Adrien Broner With just three weeks to go before they make their arrival on the big stage, Team Eloy Perez has relocated their training camp to Oxnard from Oakland, Calif., according to assistant trainer Sam Garcia. The move is in preparation for his HBO debut […]

The early aughts saw champions-in-the-making Victor Ortiz, Steven Luevano, and Brandon Rios all begin their ascent up the pro ranks, yet it was fellow southern Californian Jose Miguel Aguiniga who many experts predicted would first reach the peak. In boxing, a fighter is not always the sum of his physical parts. Such was the case […]

Trainer Hunter Begins Building Stable In The Bay Northern California Trainer of the Year Virgil Hunter had a banner year in 2011, leading Oakland, Calif.-based super middleweight champion Andre Ward to victory in the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic. Ward compiled wins against Arthur Abraham in the semifinals and followed it up with a […]

(Dierry Jean) Don’t mistake this list as one to bank future successes of any of these fighters on, though I have faith that more than a handful of them will break through to the top level of the sport. No, what this list serves as is my 25 favorite prospects that I will be keeping […]

(From the weigh-in Friday: Carl Froch 167.5; Andre Ward 168) Tomorrow night, the historic, groundbreaking Super Six World Boxing Classic wraps up after beginning more than two years ago when Andre Ward and Carl Froch meet in Atlantic City for the Super Six cup, vacant Ring Magazine 168-pound title, as well as their respective alphabet […]

(Dyah Davis poses with his father after his win over Marcus Johnson; credit Tom Casino, Showtime) The tail end of 2010 saw the end to a wrenching, multi-generational grudge match spanning decades. Having suffered a defeat at the hands of Aaron Pryor Jr., the future of super middleweight Dyah Davis — whose father had crossed […]