Paul Williams’ steamrolling of a legit middleweight (160 lbs.) on Versus Network Thursday night provoked in me a fresh round of outrage that a Williams rematch with Antonio Margarito for clear welterweight supremacy (147 lbs.) still isn’t on the map. It isn’t alone among important, exciting bouts that boxing’s powers-that-be — and in some cases, […]

The post-Bob Arum era of Versus arrived with five straight early knockouts, none more mind-bending than Paul Williams’, which is not going to help his whole “most avoided boxer in the world” title. Chris Arreola was the other featured star, but three prospects got some air time, too. It wasn’t bad entertainment, not at all, […]

Usually the best stuff in a Ricardo Mayorga fight comes beforehand. Maybe he’ll mock his opponent’s dead mother, or perhaps he’ll step on the scale at the weigh-in with a slice of pizza in hand. But boxing’s ultimate villain has been rather tame this time around. That means we’re left with the actual in-ring business. […]

I used to be one of them.¬† I used to be one of those fight fans who looked down on the sanctioning bodies, chiding them and harping atop my soap box about how they should be abolished.¬† In my eyes, the sanctioning bodies were the physical manifestation of all that was evil.¬† I mentioned their […]

From the onset, Oscar De La Hoya had made it clear that he wanted his long time trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. to be in his corner December 6 when he tackles Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.¬† However, as fate would have it, Mayweather will be busy training Ricky Hatton for his November showdown with Paulie […]

Tickets for December’s Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao fight sold out today, thereby producing the second-richest live gate in the history of boxing. Did you hear that, peoplewhothinkboxingisdead? You just got VINDICATED. It was ONLY the SECOND-biggest live gate in the history of the sport. Oh, I could make excuses — the economy’s not doing […]

Some random blurbs from within the world of boxing: Diaz Emerges from Coma We here at the Ring Report couldn’t be happier to hear the news of Oscar Diaz’ emergence from his coma.¬† The San Antonio welterweight had been in a coma for over two months with a brain injury suffered in a televised fight […]

In “A Fish Called Wanda,” John Cleese’s character offers the following apology to Kevin Kline’s character for calling him stupid, after Kline’s character hangs Cleese’s out the window upside down: All right, all right, I apologize. I’m really, really sorry. I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without […]

Four hundred or so comments and two posts later, there’s still plenty left to discuss about this past weekend. And then there’s that Golden Boy/Affliction Frankenstein. And my boy YURIORKIS GAMBOA! signing with Don King. And more. “Quick Jabs” covers it all like the giant dress Bjork wore at the 2004 Olympics. (But not like […]

To be perfectly honest, I was never really that high on Juan Manuel Marquez.¬† Sure I believed he had considerable talent and potential but truth be told he never really captured my imagination the way his countrymen Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera did.¬† It was nothing personal against the Mexico City boxer, I like […]

Saturday night, Juan Manuel Marquez became the lightweight (135 lbs.) champion of the world. Let me correct that. Saturday night, Juan Manuel Marquez became the lightweight champion of the world, securing Ring magazine’s belt, which traces its lineage back to the days when there was only one champion. He didn’t do it by chasing the […]

It’s time for “Round and Round,” where I take a look at developments in upcoming fights. Bigger names and/or more important combatants get top billing, so stop reading at any time your head gets too full of info.

First order of business, check out Tim‚Äôs comprehensive look at Saturday‚Äôs lightweight match up between Juan Manuel Marquez and Joel Casamayor.¬† To put it bluntly, it‚Äôs the bee‚Äôs knees. Up to this point, lightweight Nate Campbell‚Äôs career could be illustrated by the late Rodney Dangerfield‚Äôs famous line, ‚ÄúI get no respect.‚Äù¬† Despite ascending up through […]

OK, obviously I’m into the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez lightweight (135 lbs.) fight this weekend, if you read the preceding post, but… well, I don’t want to get downright sappy… is it possible that Sportscenter actually deserves my unabashed praise for calling attention to it? A couple hours ago, I watched ESPN’s Brian Kenny do […]

Never before have I had the pleasure or frustration of watching my favorite fighter do combat with my least favorite fighter. The time is nigh this Saturday night, when my beloved Juan Manuel Marquez battles the villainous Joel Casamayor. That’s my stake in it, and so interested am I in seeing Marquez thrash Casamayor that […]