0 comments by Alex McClintock on 4/26/2014
At their worst, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s fights can seem less like contest and more like a macabre, repetitive mechanical process. Jab, jab, right hand, step off, stiff-arm, jab, jab, right hand, rinse and repeat. It still might not have been sporting, but freed from the need to worry about being punched back by the hopelessly […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 4/24/2014
Protect yourself at all times. Halfway through the 5th round of a scheduled 10 round junior welterweight fight from the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Friday, Aron Martinez turned his back on his opponent Josesito Lopez, and referee Jack Reiss waved the bout off, saying (and then repeating ad nauseum) that Martinez […]
0 comments by Patrick Connor
Many of the greatest fighters in history had some sort of rival or antithesis that helped define their careers. Obvious examples would be Muhammad Ali having his Joe Frazier, or Tony Zale his Rocky Graziano. The list goes on. Why, though, are there pairs of men who faced each other numerous times without any sort […]
0 comments by Alex McClintock on 4/23/2014
The Queensberry Rules does not endorse street violence… unless of course it involves lightsabers, in which case, go for it. In this edition of the schedule, there’s lots to cover. A predictable heavyweight title fight, predictable fights on Showtime and some more rewarding fare. Let’s just get straight into the schedule-ising. Keith Thurman vs. Julio […]
Paulie Malignaggi; credit: Tom Casino, Showtime
0 comments by Tim Starks on 4/22/2014
Are there even enough words, enough “elephantiasis of the balls”-style puns? Or does one shake his head and offer none? If Paulie Malignaggi’s loss this past weekend leads to his retirement, as he has said he might, we can count on a lot fewer of these kind of stunts to brighten/sully/whatever the sport. It’s just […]
0 comments by Patrick Connor
If Bernard Hopkins were to go parasailing, we imagine him floating about to the tune of Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind.” Because he’s old. …because that’s what everyone wants to talk about when he fights. But thankfully us boxing fans seem to be barreling into a period of unrest for the sport, in a good […]
0 comments by Andrew Harrison on 4/20/2014
Six rounds in 28 months turned out to be insufficient prep-work for lightweight John Murray against his cross-town rival Anthony Crolla — who reached his peak in Manchester, Saturday. For a handful of rounds, Murray, in furious form, suffocated Crolla with a brand of total war that bordered on the psychotic. Crolla, though, showed courage, […]
Bernard Hopkins downs Beibut Shumenov; credit: Tom Casino, Showtime
0 comments by Jeff Pryor on 4/19/2014
The peerless Bernard Hopkins, still fighting at age 49, looked to unify two of the light heavyweight belts as he faced Beibut Shumenov of Kazakstan. He did just that, embarrassing his overmatched opponent on the way to an inexplicable split decision. The 1st round slipped away with little action, both men sizing each other up. […]
0 comments by Jeff Pryor
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A feisty and energetic 1st round saw Paulie Malignaggi bleeding early and vaseline slung from Shawn Porter’s face. A little wild and frenetic, both men opened up early and found success in an entertaining bout. In round 2 the two welterweights fought on even terms, but the latter’s punches were doing more damage. […]
0 comments by Alex McClintock
Is it Danny Jacobs? Is it Shawn Porter? No, when their powers combine, they form Danny Porter! Anyway, enough jokes at some poor digital producer’s expense, let’s get to the Round and Round — fights in the works, fights that might be in the works and fights that are definitely (maybe) going to happen. Some […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain
What a difference six weeks makes. Six weeks ago, Willie Monroe Jr. squeaked by Donatas Bondas in the 1st round of ESPN’s middleweight Boxcino tournament. He looked tentative and unsure of himself. On the same card, Ukrainian Vitaliy Kopylenko established himself as the favorite to win the tournament by blitzing Ceresso Fort in just two […]
0 comments by Jeff Pryor on 4/18/2014
Shortly after Beibut Shumenov was born in Kazakhstan, his aunt made a near fatal mistake and gave the new baby boy bad milk. The toddler turned blue, leaving his poor dad to rush him to the doctor. As Shumenov said recently, he is lucky to be alive after this kiddy calamity. At just about the same […]
0 comments by Andrew Harrison on 4/17/2014
The Murrays moved around a lot when their eldest son, John, was a kid. As perpetual newbies on a series of Manchester sink estates, the boys, predictably, caught the attention of Levenshulme’s local toughs and ne’er-do-wells — who were hell-bent on clarifying the area’s social hierarchy with them. The buck would usually stop with John; […]
Muhammad Ali signs autographs in Volendam, The Netherlands, 1976
0 comments by Alex McClintock on 4/15/2014
I’ve been telling you, get on to Flickr commons, because it’s full of amazing photos like the one above of Muhammad Ali meeting and greeting in the Netherlands. It has nothing to do with the week’s boxing schedule, but god damn, it’s cool. The schedule is also quite cool, with a few different things happening […]
0 comments by Tim Starks
Manny Pacquiao’s mom loves Jesus, but maybe she has a little bit of that Santeria in her. This is not a full-fledged Weekend Afterthoughts, really, because I’m in Indonesia for a spell (no pun intended) and some fights from the past weekend have been difficult for me to track down. So we’ll confine ourselves mainly […]
