It’s early, but 2009 is starting to look like The Year Of The Withdrawal. The biggest and best fight on the tentative schedule, Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton May 2 in Las Vegas, is now in trouble. It’s not alone. Some of the troubled fights might be replaced with superior bouts, but some might not. It’s a […]

One of the roles bloggers play is functioning as a check on the media, and even though in the boxing world I’ve bounced back and forth between blogging and writing for some news sites, I occasionally feel the need to play that particularly bloggy role. With that in mind, I’d like to spend some time […]

The kickoff of the 2009 “Friday Night Fights” season on ESPN2 spotlighted a trio of Cubans, the most prominent of which were heavyweight Odlanier Solis — thought by some as a potential big man who could take the moribund division by storm — and featherweight (126 lbs.) Yuriorkis Gamboa — hailed by some (including yours […]

With a period and lower case, not with my usual exclamation point and all caps. Such tantalizing talent and such athletic gifts. But such terrible habits and such a fragile chin. It’s enough to get knocked down in every fight and win every fight by a landslide or knockout — so far. But for how […]

This is total inside baseball, but I know from personal experience that a good spat between writers (especially, as it turns out, boxing writers) can be awfully juicy: What the hell is going on with the Boxing Writers Association of America elections? Two prominent writers, Thomas Hauser and Dan Rafael, have made some acidic but […]

Oh me oh my did this week get busy fast. One day comes news that so-and-so’s fighting thus-and-such, then the very next damn day so-and-so’s fighting thus-and-so instead. Therefore, there’s lots to get to in this edition of Quick Jabs (you might even call it an avalanche –>) one day before YURIORKIS GAMBOA! returns to […]

First of all, I freely admit that I am more than a few days tardy with the news/outcry over the comments made by Ulitmate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White’s recent comments in a story by Miguel Lopez of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.  In the piece, White goes on the record criticizing the state of boxing, specifically the […]

I’ll have more to say about this particularly meaty Dan Rafael notebook shortly, but the main thing is that it looks like Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo is well on its way to being replaced by some boxing programming over at Azteca America. Since Sean recently poured a 40 ounce on the curb to lament Solo Boxeo’s […]

I realize the picture above is of Charles Barkley, aka “the Round Mound of Rebound,” not a visual representation of “Round and Round,” the feature here at The Queensberry Rules where I examine some fights in the works. I’m always looking for an excuse to drop that nickname somewhere, though. The occasion of another holiday […]

Though officially off the air as of a couple weeks ago, I still find myself in Solo Boxeo withdrawal.  And how could I not be? Nearly every Friday night I could count on basking in the warm glow that the Telefutura’s popular boxing series provided.  Like a weekly visit from beloved family members, Bernardo Osuna […]

If boxing’s powers-that-be wanted to tread water in 2008 after a comeback year in 2007, well then, mission accomplished.

After months of speculation and widespread rumor, 2008 US Olypmic boxing team light flyweight Luis Yanez has decided to turn pro. The announcement was made Tuesday morning at a press conference held at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas, Texas. “Man, it’s a big day for me,” Yanez would tell the Queensberry Rules.  “It’s […]

Thomas Hauser, I’ve made no bones about saying, is the finest boxing writer in the land. He’s somewhere between the sport’s poet laureate and its Bob Woodward. If you have read any of Steve Kim’s pieces in recent months, you’ll recall Kim writing about HBO execs trying to suss out who Hauser’s sources are for […]

(Photo: Flickr/wallyg) I should have posted this sooner, since it’s Christmas-themed, but so what, it’s still cool. And it’s close enough to Christmas. There were at least two boxing-themed Christmas storefront windows in New York City. One, above, was at Bergdorf Goodman. I discovered it via this interactive feature, which captures some nice glimmers of […]

…And we’re back. While we were away, it wasn’t exactly the biggest news week in the history of boxing, but there were indeed some developments deserving “Quick Jabs” treatment. So before we bring you a couple more features to close out the year — including an interview with Tom Hauser about his newest book (and […]