0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 10/30/2019
Watching a man die isn’t as difficult as you’d imagine. Show up to the arena a little late — before the big fights start, but after the clubbers have taken their clumsy swings. Climb into the rafters and putter around the empty rows in search of a suitable view. Fall into your seat and scan […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 10/29/2019
The gap between belief and knowledge can be vast. Or it can be 12 rounds. Last Saturday night, the World Boxing Super Series junior welterweight final on DAZN produced a compelling case study in what the difference looks like. American Regis Prograis entered the bout eager to test himself so that he could find out, […]
0 comments by Tim Starks on 10/19/2019
For the second time in as many years, a rising contender violently ripped away the lineal light heavyweight championship with a late round knockout. Artur Beterbiev became the king vs Oleksandr Gvozdyk Friday night in an excellent match-up square in the middle one of boxing’s periodic hot streaks, and Beterbiev didn’t just get the championship, […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 10/16/2019
You have some thoughts. You can no longer be alone with them. They involve boxing, so all of your loved ones abandoned you years ago. What to do? Well, you could go out and make some new friends. Haha, just kidding! You’re going to die alone in your parents’ basement, just how god intended. Ha, […]
0 comments by Tim Starks on 10/14/2019
Boxing is the toughest sport. Science says so! That means if you’re doing something really badass in pugilism, you’re multiplications of badass. It’s one thing to be in the toughest sport. It’s a whole ‘nother level to be the most badass within the sport. Just last month, welterweight Shawn Porter delivered a really cool moment […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 10/13/2019
Oleksandr Usyk contains multitudes. Scratch that. Not multitudes. Magnitudes. The 32-year-old Ukrainian lineal cruiserweight champ-turned-heavyweight contender is guided by two indomitable polar forces, and he brings them to bear with magnetic energy, a twinkle in his maniacal eyes, and a gnashing of his gap-toothed grin. He’d be as comfortable wearing a Kievan Rus war helmet, […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 10/6/2019
Just because the ball dropped doesn’t mean the party’s over. And let’s be clear, the party most definitely rages on for middleweight star Gennadiy Golovkin, but it’s the part of the night where the soundtrack is a skipping Bongzilla record and all that’s left to drink is peach flavored Boone’s Farm with a garnish of […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 10/3/2019
Boxing is one of the most physically degrading sports in the world. It’s not just the fights themselves, but the rigors of making weight and training that accumulate over time. Elite athletes are left, often at a young age, in a diminished state that cannot be reversed. Common also, to the point of being stereotypical, […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 9/29/2019
Scoring a Shawn Porter fight is a thankless job. Over the course of his career, Porter (30-3-1, 17 KO) has developed an in-ring style seemingly meant to scramble the brains of anyone tasked with judging his performance. His mauling, face-first approach can appear as high-octane button-mashing until you glance down at your scorecard and realize […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf
It’s hard not to think about Michael Grant. Two decades ago, Grant was boxing’s latest next big thing. A chiseled, athletic 6-foot-7 250-pounder with an 86-inch reach, Grant was a radioactive-spider-bitten unicorn — a powerful, athletic American heavyweight. Born in Chicago, he would have appeared just as formidable a figure rushing the quarterback off the […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 9/25/2019
Sometimes, the forming of a more perfect union requires the separation of a rib or three. At least that’s what our politicians would have us believe. Bureaucrats, wonks, and snake-oil salesmen love nothing more than co-opting the language of boxing (“I’ll fight for you!”), but believe it or not, some pols have actually gone so […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 9/18/2019
You do the crime, you do the time. That’s the law of personal accountability on the streets, and in boxing, it’s no different. Ok, it’s somewhat different. You piss hot, you miss your shot. Or something. This is the situation that Brooklyn based heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (23-0-1, 20 KO) found himself in April […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 9/15/2019
It’s tempting to view boxing as the ultimate meritocracy. On Forbes’ annual World’s Highest Paid Athletes list, a fighter routinely cracks the top five — and often leads the way, with Floyd Mayweather recently banking nearly a third of a billion dollars in a single calendar year. Social media directly connects fans to fighters, promoters […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain
Boxing is a cruel sport. We love to tell ourselves that it’s poetic and has the power to uplift its participants, but at its core, boxing is about hurting another human being with your fists. Obviously, there are rules, and we expect them to be enforced, but it’s always enjoyable to see a serial rule-breaker […]
September 13, 2019; New York, NY, USA; Devin Haney and Zaur Abdullaev during their bout at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom Boxing USA
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 9/14/2019
Achievement Unlocked: Contender Status Acquired Welp, make it a hat trick for Devin Haney in 2019. Three fights, three impressive beatdowns. After a one-sided shutout decision over outgunned Xolisani Ndongeni in January and a Knockout of the Year contender over rugged Antonio Moran in May, Haney (23-0, 15 KOs) put the finishing touches on his […]
