I was all prepared after watching the Versus show to write up a sappy official farewell to one of my all-time favorite fighters, James Toney. I’ve thought Toney should retire for a year or more now, and with what appeared to be a fairly clear defeat at the hands of heavyweight Fres Oquendo — who […]

What kind of photographs of HBO executives in compromising positions does Wladimir Klitschko have? The world’s #1-ranked heavyweight knocked out Hasim Rahman in the 7th round of a complete mismatch after the ref stopped the bout. It wasn’t Klitschko’s fault he was so much better than the over-the-hill Rahman. But did HBO have to put […]

Both trainers for the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya fight last weekend have now (warning: obvious pun ahead) “weighed in” on De La Hoya’s weight for the match. Asked in the above video when he knew Pacquiao would win, trainer Freddie Roach answered (video h/t: Boxing FanHouse): “Before the fight started. When he gained two […]

ESPN’s Dan Rafael has some good news: Fox Sports Net, which has had sporadic boxing coverage since the demise of the live “Sunday Night Fights” a few years ago, will begin airing notable overseas title bouts on a tape-delay basis about once per month as part of “Best Damn Sports Show Period.” Boxing’s a global […]

Merry Christmas (!) from two heavily-tattooed men who plan to punch the snot out of each other Saturday night on Showtime — Kendall Holt, left, and Demetrius Hopkins, right, fighting for Holt’s junior welterweight (140 lbs.) alphabet title belt.  (Photo: Tom Casino/Showtime)

For those boxing fans without Versus — and I know too many who go without — Thursday night heralded its official arrival as a real player on the boxing scene with its broadcast of a great card headlined by the tremendous cruiserweight (200 lbs.) championship fight between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham. Every boxing fan […]

I have to admit that I am having a bit of an emotional letdown in light of the recent announcement that the much anticipated rubber match between Kendall Holt and Ricardo Torres was called off due to Torres coming down with an illness.  The previous two fights of this burgeoning rivalry were filled with enough […]

NEWARK, N.J. — I’ve got three hours to wait for my train back to D.C., so I’ll share every last thought I have and every last note from my notebook rather than twiddle my thumbs.

NEWARK, N.J. — Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham fought each other to a standstill for 12 rounds to produce a strong finalist for the best boxing match of 2008. That Adamek won and became the lineal cruiserweight (200 lbs.) champion of the world ultimately proved secondary; this was an exceptional fight in every imaginable way, […]

NEWARK, N.J. — This live blog could jump around the page a little bit as I post dispatches about the non-televised undercard, but please do join us later this evening as I file running commentary of the televised Versus card that starts at 8 p.m. (Since a couple undercard fights could end up making the […]

NEWARK, N.J. — We’re just getting underway as I write this. I’ve managed to snag a ringside media seat and I’ll keep a running diary/undercard results tally. To the right is a photo of my view. Since, as I said, some of the non-televised undercard bouts might make the Versus broadcast if things run short, […]

NEWARK, N.J. — Nothing for me to do before 4 p.m., when media check-in begins for this evening’s cruiserweight (200 lbs.) championship bout, so let’s work through the news with some Quick Jabs. Besides the items in the headline, we’ll hit Joe Calzaghe’s goofy pronouncements; some trainer switcharoos; and the Hall of Fame.

NEWARK, N.J. — During a weekend in which the heavyweights are again treading water, the cruiserweight division (200 lbs.), the neglected cousin among big men boxing divisions, are going for the gold on Versus Thursday night. Steve Cunningham, the #1 ranked cruiser, and Tomasz Adamek, the #2 man in the weight class, are squaring off […]

Most – including myself – view today’s heavyweight division with a sense of apathy.  Standing atop the mountain of mediocrity that is today’s behemoths is Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko.  After being written off following a devastating loss to Lamon Brewster in 2004, Klitschko has rebounded going undefeated since that loss. Thought many consider Wladimir to be […]

NEWARK, N.J. — Greetings from not-Asbury Park. As I write this, I sit in the Gateway Center near the Prudential Center, which will host a televised Versus show Thursday night headlined by a battle for the real cruiserweight (200 lbs.) championship of the world. I’ve just returned from the weigh-in for the card, consumed a […]