As usual with all things political, my day job prevents me from saying much about this video (h/t Politicker NY) even in jest, but I’ll offer the following scouting report: –Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., has a nice stiff jab, hits with some power, offers some decent combos and possesses hand speed for a 65-year-old man. […]

It’s Wednesday and I’m about to hit the radio at 8 p.m. Eastern time to talk over Oscar De La Hoya’s retirement. It’s via Fight Game Blog’s radio program, FGB Radio, a nice blog that covers boxing, mixed martial arts and rasslin’. If you can’t listen live, I’ll provide an MP3 of the show ASAP […]

H/t to The Sporting Blog on this one, which they wrote up Friday and I just saw today, and which has been circulating in the general sports blog world but not so much the boxing-specific sites. As an aficionado of funny boxing videos, this one more than hits the spot. I recommend the write-up by […]

Oscar De La Hoya retired today. I’ve never had the conflicted feelings toward De La Hoya endemic to so many hardcore boxing fans. Certainly, I understood some of the animosity toward him for his wishy-washy act, both in the ring and out of it. But what I saw was a very good fighter — a […]

One weekend after HBO debuted its “Thrilla in Manila” documentary about the legendary third fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, four fighters who are anything but heavyweights will meet at the scene of that historic battle in the Philippines. But don’t let their diminutive size — none of the four will weigh more than […]

This guy — he’s amazing. I’m sure there will be some people who look at middleweight Paul Williams’ thoroughly easy defeat of Winky Wright Saturday night and think that Wright, 10 years older than Williams at age 37, was over the hill, he was rusty and the win proves nothing. I would advise them to […]

(Photo: DeMarcus Corley on Friday Night Fights [If you didn’t watch the show, I’ll explain in a second])

Also in this edition of Quick Jabs, besides the stuff in the headline: HBO reverts to its crappy pre-2009 form for a night; a questionable Ring magazine ratings decision; THE FIRST EVER QUEENSBERRY RULES POLL; and some fights in the works.

I’ve given this sermon on this blog so many times my e-voice is hoarse: I really, honestly think everyone ought to be crazy about Paul Williams, who is in prospectively the toughest fight of his life Saturday night on HBO. He is unique; he is aggressive; he is tough even by boxing standards; he is […]

None of this is very pretty, and despite what Miguel Cotto might assert, it is kind of our business: The welterweight star and his uncle/trainer Evangelista got into a series of violent exchanges that will result in Evangelista no longer training his nephew, landed Evangelista in the hospital and may lead to criminal charges for […]

I’d followed boxing casually for a few years before I saw James Toney-Vassiliy Jirov, and that titanic cruiserweight fight, more than any, converted me into a hardcore fan of the sport. “It’s amazing that humans can do this,” HBO’s Jim Lampley marveled during the battle. Not only was it a dramatic contest won on a […]

(Antonio Pitalua, front/center) Because it was such a full weekend, I scrimped a little on the “what’s next for everyone” portion of my rundowns, so I’ll make up that ground now, plus offer my observations on important subjects like Bernard Hopkins’ mic skills and Antonio Pitalua’s hair. I don’t know about you, but I am […]

Just have a glance at ‘er. Is it me, or did super middleweight Jean Pascal’s four-named get-well opponent, Pablo Daniel Zamora Nievas, look like he was literally taking a swan dive on his way down to the mat Saturday? Pascal connected very solidly, and Nievas has been knocked out before, so I’m not questioning the […]

Timothy Bradley ticked me off with his dirty fighting. Kendall Holt ticked me off with how he lost his composure and didn’t work hard enough. But of the two junior welterweight titlists, Bradley will leave Canada with the two belts after a Saturday night Showtime fight.

Dear Boxing: This is how a pay-per-view show ought to go, this “Lightweight Lightning.” One big upset. One terrific performance. Two spectacular wars. Two fights in, I’d gotten my $40 worth. Two fights later, I had seen a rare PPV card that went well from top to bottom. Really — if every pay-per-view card was […]