0 comments by Steve Hunt on 5/7/2022
How should we remember John Tate? We could argue all day about how much control we have over the paths that our lives take, but one thing that we have little control of, is how people choose to remember us. Take Big John Tate, for example. Two boxing fans are chatting away in a bar… […]
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao waves to fans after losing in a world welterweight championship bout in a decision to Yordenis Ugas at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 9/30/2021
One of the best ever, Manny Pacquiao, retired this week. He ends his 26-year career with a record of 62-8-2. The TQBR gang examines him and his legacy. What was the first time you saw Manny Pacquiao fight, and what was your impression of him? Tim Starks: It was the Lehlo Ledwaba fight he […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 11/1/2020
Eleven years ago, David Haye challenged Nikolai Valuev in Nuremberg, Germany, in a heavyweight title bout that likely represented the greatest size disparity in modern boxing. Valuev, “The Russian Giant,” stood 7′ tall and weighed in well north of 300 pounds. Haye, a former cruiserweight, who had blown himself up to a career-high 217 pounds […]
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 11/24/2019
As I watched Luis Ortiz crumble to the canvas Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, something struck me as familiar. It was his face. Not the unique contours of Ortiz’s cinder block head or Chubby Thanos chin — but his expression. Eyes slung sideways. Lips drawn tightly over teeth. Neck flexing vainly […]
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 Brent Hedtke on 4/6/2019
Let’s just get this out of the way right off the bat: It’s OK to cry. It’s good to cry. I’m crying right now, mostly about Verne Troyer’s death and how I never got to prove my theory that with enough duct tape and personal lubricant you could fit him inside a Pringles can. But […]
0 comments by Kevin Canfield on 8/30/2018
In December 1966, Howard Cosell opened a boxing press conference with a nod to the literary arts. “To my right is the author of a great new poem,” the sportscaster said. This was Muhammad Ali’s cue. He leaned into the microphone, pointed at his opponent and reeled off a series of rhymes. “I’m not here […]
0 comments by Cathal McGuigan on 8/24/2017
If those long-promised time machines ever come out and you get bored of dinosaur safari trips or punching a young Hitler in the ribs, you could do worse than take a ride back to early 2015. Back then Donald Trump was still a relatively harmless figure of fun, the U.K. was still safely in the […]
at StubHub Center on June 4, 2016 in Carson, California.
0 comments by Tim Starks on 12/30/2016
Crown him: Orlando Salido is THE boxing action hero of his time. From 2011 to 2016, he’s waged war in a whopping six Fight of the Year candidates. The workmanlike Mexican — he moonlights as an Uber driver — secretes grit. And no one alive gives a damn that his record is 43-14-4. When he […]
LAS VEGAS, NV – NOVEMBER 07: WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko prepares for his fight against Romulo Koasicha at the Thomas & Mack Center on November 7, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
0 comments by Calum Ennis on 7/15/2016
Olympic gold has traditionally been seen as a route to professional stardom. But for every Michael Spinks there’s been a Odlanier Solis, for every Cassius Clay a Rakhim Chakhiev. With an eye on the stars to come out of the upcoming Rio games, this list looks to rank those men who picked up gold in […]
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: A statue of Muhammad Ali on display in front of posters – at the preview of the ‘I Am The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali exhibition on March 3, 2016 in London, England. The exhibition showcases the life and career of heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali and features over more than 100 artefacts including personal memorabilia, unseen footage and photographs. It is open to the public from Friday March 4, 2016 at the O2 in London. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images)
0 comments by Tim Starks on 6/4/2016
I’ve got a remembrance of Muhammad Ali, who passed away Saturday, over at The Daily Beast. Rest in peace, great one. (LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 03: A statue of Muhammad Ali on display in front of posters – at the preview of the ‘I Am The Greatest’ Muhammad Ali exhibition on March 3. The exhibition, […]
0 comments by Andrew Ryan on 4/15/2016
A plank of wood is an unexpected start to “I Am The Greatest,” the much-hyped Muhammad Ali exhibition at London’s O2 Arena. It’s the door header from 3302 Grand Avenue in Louisville, Ali’s childhood home and the label suggests that a teenage Ali would surely have reached up and touched it on coming home from […]
0 comments by Mike Ricciardelli on 12/30/2015
Sports columnist Jerry Izenberg has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I grew up with Izenberg. Like almost everyone else in New Jersey, where he is as much an institution as corruption and pork roll, he came to my house a couple of days a week in the pages of the Newark […]
0 comments by Springs Toledo on 12/21/2015
Tyson Fury knows what the alphabet gangs do not: They don’t decide who the real champ is. Showtime’s Brian Custer recently referred to Deontay Wilder as the “world heavyweight champion” and so contributed to the mass confusion in boxing. Would-be fans —precisely the demographic the sport needs to attract— scratched their heads and wondered […]
0 comments by Andrew Ryan on 11/15/2015
Vulgarity makes an easy news story. Promoters have always known it. Insults, expletives and occasionally even racism and homophobia have long been go-to methods for convincing fans to spend. Media outlets, desperate for content to fill 24-hour channels and websites, have little choice but to play along. Yet for much of the boxing public, a […]
