“Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, the rematch, the evening they were selling as the greatest fight of all time, will go down as just another black eye for boxing. No, this time call it a black ear. Make it two black ears. Holyfield will wake up this morning with his title in place, and an […]

(Josesito Lopez celebrates; credit, Tom Casino, Showtime) LOS ANGELES — Before a hot-and-cold Los Angeles crowd at the Staples Center, fighters in Showtime’s main event tonight brought their own heating element in the form of nasty leather and solid action, steaming up spectators who came inside the air-conditioned arena to beat the 80-degree heat. In […]

Often attached to great fights is some type of tie-in to a larger social occurrence, event or aspect thereof, and it tends augment the overall meaning of a bout past what it would normally mean within the masochistic realm of boxing. Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling II will forever be conjoined with the “U.S. vs. […]

The winding and political history of boxing in Cuba is well acknowledged, as is the island’s tendency to spill greatness into its boxing rings. Being even simply among the best that Cuba has produced is an honor unto itself, but to have a name surrounded by an aura of greatness that transcends the amateur ranks […]

“In two rounds other than the deciding one the crowd was lifted to its feet by knockdowns. In the sixteenth Ketchel landed a right and left swing to the body and the jaw that stretched Thomas flat on his back, near the center of the ring and it looked as though everything was over. But […]

When pickings are slim on the U.S. fight scene due to cancellations, dramas and whatever other nonsense, fight fans need something a bit more rock solid to cling to when on the brink of starvation. It’s nice having a program to depend on, and Friday Night Fights came through with a little bit of Ji-Hoon […]

(Raymond Serrano, left; Karim Mayfield, right) Friday Night Fights continued its much appreciated upswing this week, and bouts once again lived up to expectations for the most part. Having hit a nice little stride with a few weeks in a row of solid bang ups, fight makers at ESPN seem to have either gotten in […]

There existed a time, not so long ago, when amateur boxing amounted to much more than an unsatisfying hors d’oeuvre to the main course of the professional ranks. It’s not that amateur pugilism cannot be entertaining and fun to watch, but the current system almost seems to actually discourage action fights with quick stoppages and […]

“There was no occasion for surprise in the announcement from the police department that a prize fight had been fought just outside the city limits a few nights ago. The scarcity of events of this character is the only feature that should excite wonder. When the reforming busy-bodies killed legitimate boxing in this city several […]

Five fighters walked onto this week’s Friday Night Fights broadcast undefeated — a lineup more like the ideal ShoBox card than any of the cards we’ve gotten from ESPN2 of late. Actually, it seemed more like an ideal ShoBox card than we’ve gotten from a ShoBox program itself so far this season. Even better, it […]

“John L. Sullivan, the Boston pugilist, had a benefit at Harry Hill’s Theater yesterday afternoon, the feature of which was an offer of $50 for any man to box with him four rounds according to the rules of the Marquis of Queensbury, which are rounds of three minutes each, with one minute between each round. […]