A comprehensive roster of boxers who dabbled in the darker arts of ring-craft would rival a catalogue of the soldiers who ringed the walls of Troy, or a ...
On August 24, 2020 / By Michael CarbertOne of the always frustrating things about boxing is that so many of the obviously great match-ups just never happen. It’s a shame Jack Dempsey never faced Harry ...
On August 21, 2020 / By Michael CarbertDoes Matthew Saad Muhammad qualify as, pound-for-pound, a truly “great” fighter in terms of skill and talent? Maybe not, but strictly in regards to heart, courage, excitement and ...
On August 18, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIt is often the case with dynamic brawlers who rely on physical strength, constant aggression, and a seemingly inhuman ability to absorb punishment that, like an engine habitually ...
On August 10, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThe Montreal Olympics in 1976 represented a galvanizing moment for boxing in America, an event that saw the sport gain new stars and new fans, as the U.S. ...
On August 3, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThey called it “World War II,” an odd if not slightly offensive billing, but the logic was undeniable. In 1980, no division in boxing mattered more or inspired ...
On August 2, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThe real Pancho Villa was a prominent Mexican revolutionary who won fame for his military victories during the early part of the 20th century. Exactly why Francisco Guilledo ...
On August 1, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThere is no disputing the oft-repeated truth that Benny Leonard will forever stand as one of the finest boxers who has ever lived. Not as well known is ...
On July 27, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIt takes more than strength, punching power and great conditioning to become a champion prizefighter. Mastery of footwork, angles, feinting, defense and the ability to adapt to an ...
On July 24, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThere’s that old 1960s query: what if they had a war and no one came? Considering the 1982 clash between featherweights Salvador Sanchez and Azumah Nelson, the better ...
On July 21, 2020 / By Michael CarbertWhen Sugar Ray Leonard, without a doubt the biggest star in boxing, retired for the first (but not the last) time in 1982, his departure left behind a ...
On July 18, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIt was legendary sports scribe Jimmy Cannon who famously stated that boxing was “the red light district of sport,” renowned for its corruption and ties to organized crime. ...
On July 13, 2020 / By Michael CarbertBy 1948, everybody knew the party was almost over for Beau Jack. The former lightweight king and the all-time champ when it came to headlining main events at Madison Square ...
On July 12, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThe year was 1921. Jack Dempsey, the heavyweight champion of the world, reigned as the most titanic figure in all of professional sports, though his public image had been recently ...
On July 2, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIn September of 1970, Scotland’s Ken Buchanan won the WBA version of the lightweight championship by close 15 round decision over Panamanian Ismael Laguna. He would defend his ...
On June 26, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIn boxing, as in other avenues of life, it is possible to be too good for your own good. Sugar Ray Robinson is regarded by many as the ...
On June 25, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIf one were to rank the finest performances of the great Roberto Duran, his ten round win at New York’s Madison Square Garden over former welterweight champ Carlos Palomino ...
On June 23, 2020 / By Michael CarbertTime waits for no one, as the old cliché goes, a statement whose meaning the young can barely grasp and alas, I am young no longer. But four ...
On June 20, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThink back, if you will boxing fans, and recollect those breathless days of yesteryear, when the young, can’t-miss prospect, the next great star of the ring, thrilled you ...
On June 19, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIn 1980, Roberto Duran‘s already legendary career reached both its zenith and its nadir. Having abandoned the lightweight division he had dominated for more than seven years, and ...
On June 16, 2020 / By Michael CarbertAt the time, the story lines had not yet become vivid, the true significance of what was unfolding not yet clear. The term “The Four Kings” had yet ...
On June 15, 2020 / By Michael CarbertIt was boxing’s biggest night, but for all the wrong reasons. In terms of sheer popularity, exposure, and the money that goes with it, the 1980s has to ...
On June 11, 2020 / By Michael CarbertWhile it might be going a bit far to classify Ken Norton as a “hard-luck fighter,” it’s difficult not to see him as such when one considers all ...
On June 9, 2020 / By Michael CarbertBy 1924, Gene Tunney, to the incredulity of American sports fans, had begun openly campaigning for a chance to face the heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Dempsey. ...
On June 5, 2020 / By Michael CarbertI guess you could say it’s in the blood. Boxing. The fight game. The crazy racket they call pugilism. Because the fact is both of my grandfathers were ...
On June 2, 2020 / By Michael CarbertBarney Ross was more than just one of the best boxers who ever lived. A Jew whose life was largely defined by anti-Semitism, he was a hero to ...
On May 31, 2020 / By Michael CarbertWe live in the age of the camera and mass produced, edited, precisely manicured images, when glamour, style and looks have never been more important. On this score, ...
On May 26, 2020 / By Michael CarbertLooking back, it’s easy to forget that until the early 1970s and his wars with Bonavena, Frazier, Norton and Foreman, many seriously questioned the toughness of Muhammad Ali. ...
On May 21, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThirty-five years ago today a crime occurred. It went largely unnoticed outside the world of boxing, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened. Or that nothing ...
On May 20, 2020 / By Michael CarbertThe career of heavyweight champion Larry Holmes is, among other things, a study in frustration. First, there was the struggle to establish himself as a serious contender in ...
On May 20, 2020 / By Michael Carbert“Boxing is the sport to which all other sports aspire.”
– George Foreman
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