Upon learning of George Groves’ plans to take on Carl Froch, the overwhelming reaction amongst the British contingent seemed to be one of joy. It was a childlike emotion for many, one that could be traced back as far as the early 1990s when British super middleweights regularly squared off in megafights commanding television audiences […]

Curtis Stevens has been pining for a showdown with middleweight monster Gennady Golovkin, and he did his part in making people want to see it with a 1st round Knockout of the Year candidate Saturday on NBC Sports Network. Stevens hurt Saul Roman immediately, and while Roman's not as sturdy as NBC Sports made him […]

There aren't any match-ups on the calendar quite as epic as the protagonist and antagonist of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! — nor the artwork that piece above (via, h/t) is based upon, the cover for Muhammad Ali Vs. Superman — but there are some awfully good ones. The men in the headline are involved, as are Adrien Broner, […]

The scores were all over the place for the judges assessing Javier Fortuna vs. Luis Franco on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, which was fitting, considering how everyone else in the world had such wild scores. One judge saw it 99-91 for Franco; ESPN2's Teddy Atlas had it 99-91 Fortuna. The truth was somewhere in between, […]

That's your cover for the first book from David P. Greisman, which I can only heartily endorse. "But Tim," you say, "Aren't you buddies with Dave?" I am. I suppose that gives me a certain bias. But let's go back in time. Mr. Greisman and Mr. Starks are friends in part because we came to […]

Usually with this annual exercise that's modeled after what writers do in other sports — akin to, say, write-ups of "power conferences" for the NCAA — it's all spread out, with some bigger boxing divisions mixed with some smaller divisions at the top. Not this time. The highest-graded weight classes all inhabit one particular range, […]

Here’s a rabbit wearing a sombrero. Enjoy. The week’s boxing schedule is kind of low key, with a brace of shows on ESPN2 and NBC Sports Net with some mid-level names along with Polish heavyweight Tomasz Adamek. Let’s get straight to it. Javier Fortuna vs. Luis Franco, Friday, ESPN2, Miami Okla. Friday Night Fights continues […]

(The cast of “The Walking Dead” at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con, probably NOT talking, laughing about this upcoming episode of TQBR Radio; photo credit: zombiesurvivalguide.us) One excellent week in pugilism doesn’t mean us boxing fans should be popping champagne corks and throwing our collective bongs out of highrise windows — we leave that […]

Every bout on ESPN2, HBO2 and Showtime this past weekend was, at minimum, quality, but they came in two varieties: good, and competitive; or good, and one-sided. The Juan Carlos Burgos-Yakubu Amidu, Keith Thurman-Diego Chaves and Juan Francisco Estrada-Milan Melindo were the close kind. The best of them, somehow, was of the one-sided variety — […]

The scorecards didn't always show it on the HBO2 tripleheader, but nobody had it easy in the ring in Macau, China on Saturday. Headliner and ex-Olympic gold medalist, flyweight Zou Shiming, in his second pro fight and first six-rounder, came out super-aggressive but couldn't stop Jesus Ortega (3-1 in his career) and got hit a […]

(Jesus Soto Karass, right, knocks down Andre Berto; photo credit: Darren Abate; AP) It’s one thing for a fight card to kind of, sort of live up to potential. In the pugilistic world, that’s normal. There’s a reason why we say “…on paper.” Fights on paper might be much better than how they actually play […]

(Yakubu Amidu, left, Juan Carlos Burgos, right; via) Top junior lightweight contender Juan Carlos Burgos was taking what had the air beforehand of a stay-busy affair on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights, yet ended up nothing like it against his short-notice opponent Yakubu Amidu. After the naturally larger, relentless Amidu took the fight to Burgos for […]

After news broke earlier in the week that MGM had green lit “Creed,” a Rocky spin-off with acclaimed rookie director Ryan Coogler at the helm, Balboa fans went into overtweet. Coogler is reportedly planning to direct Michael B. Jordan (of “The Wire” fame) in the part of Apollo Creed’s grandson, heir to the Muhammad Ali-esque […]

(Aug 11, 2012; London, United Kingdom; Shiming Zou [CHN] celebrates after receiving his gold medal after winning the men’s light fly 49k final bout during the London 2012 Olympic Games at ExCeL. Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports) Quickly, name a few of the most difficult or loathsome professions in the history of history. Sin-eater, coal […]