0 comments by Matthew Swain on 6/28/2022
There are era-defining fights and fighters. When boxing is at its best, you get a handful of them in the same weight class at the same time, and in a perfect world they all fight each other. Going back nearly a decade, we got just that with the ascendance of all time great Roman “Chocolatitio” […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 5/19/2022
Super-middleweight contender David Lemieux may be approaching his last shot at a world title. The Quebec native will take on David Benavidez on a Showtime televised card in Glendale, Arizona on May 21 for the interim WBC title, with a potential shot at Canelo Alvarez at stake. Canelo was recently upset by light-heavyweight titlist Dmitrii […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 1/25/2022
To become a boxing champion, you need to demonstrate a complete and utter devotion to your craft. You need to possess an obsessive, single-minded focus where you are willing to push your body beyond its limits day in and day out, year after year. And for many world titlists, it isn’t just the rigors of […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 1/1/2022
Welcome back to The Queensberry Rules’ annual year-end boxing awards, continuing over the course of a week. Here’s how we do it around these parts: The major categories are Knockout of the Year, Fight of the Year and Fighter of the Year. For each category, we give five finalists, with video and/or relevant info, as […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 12/15/2021
When I was in college, I was very briefly in a band. The sum total of our accomplishments was playing three open mics and recording a cover of Cake’s cover of “I Will Survive,” because that was the only song I could hit the notes for (that means I can’t sing for shit, if you […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 11/28/2021
Over the decades, junior featherweight has produced an outsized number of excellent fights, and one more needs to be added to that list. That would be last night’s brutal unification fight between Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa and Stephen “Cool Boy Steph” Fulton, which saw Fulton emerge with both WBC and WBO belts in a Showtime […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 11/19/2021
Saturday night from the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas, welterweights Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KO) and Shawn Porter (31-3, 17 KO) will meet in a 12 round bout televised on ESPN+ pay-per-view. In preparation, the intrepid TQBR crew crawled out from under their hangovers, diaper bags, and work obligations to discuss how they see […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 10/12/2021
Like many boxing writers, I became a fan of the sport before I started putting pen to paper. My first voluntary exposure to boxing came in 2008 when I decided to read Evander Holyfield’s biography, Becoming Holyfield, after my local newspaper recommended it. I was blown away by The Real Deal’s remarkable achievements as an […]
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao waves to fans after losing in a world welterweight championship bout in a decision to Yordenis Ugas at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 9/30/2021
One of the best ever, Manny Pacquiao, retired this week. He ends his 26-year career with a record of 62-8-2. The TQBR gang examines him and his legacy. What was the first time you saw Manny Pacquiao fight, and what was your impression of him? Tim Starks: It was the Lehlo Ledwaba fight he […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 9/23/2021
Jeanette Zacarias Zapata’s name hits close to home because she died in my hometown due to injuries sustained in her fourth-round knockout loss to Marie-Pier Houle on August 28 at IGA Stadium in Montreal. Zapata was only 18 with her whole life ahead of her, which only adds to the sting. Boxing is and always […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 9/13/2021
Winning an Olympic gold medal is the ultimate prize for amateur athletes. It represents the zenith of achievement because of how many athletes are chasing the same prize. Winning gold is even more challenging in a sport like boxing because of its single-elimination format. There is no room for error because losing once means losing […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 9/9/2021
One of the most jarring realizations of adulthood is that even the people in charge don’t really know what they’re doing and that life is nothing but chaos with a veneer of order. Some people relish the nihilistic glee of it because it gives them cover for never taking responsibility for anything they do. Some […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 7/15/2021
Normally, we only do these roundtables as a way to collectively discuss the biggest fights, but given all the givens of the last 18 months, we decided to sit down and hash it out last summer, so we’re going to do it again. Quite a few things have changed in that time. Hedtke hatched an […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 6/30/2021
Few countries boast as proud an amateur boxing tradition as Cuba. The island nation has won 73 Olympic medals in its history, including 37 gold, despite having boycotted the Games in 1984 and 1988. Many of Cuba’s most successful amateur boxers chose to remain in their country, where professional boxing has been banned since 1961, […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 5/26/2021
Imagine you’ve had a goal since childhood. It doesn’t matter what it is, but it becomes the critical motivator in your personal and professional life. Now, imagine you acheived it. And imagine if you failed. Beyond the elation and heartache in the immediate aftermath is a central question that no one can answer but you: […]
