At the dawn of pugilism’s gloved era, championship claims were difficult to prove or sustain absent reliable record-keeping and a means to ensure prizefights could happen without police interference. ...
On February 7, 2021 / By Patrick ConnorFlyweight wasn’t much of a division until Jimmy Wilde came along. While not the first of the little champions, “The Ghost With the Hammer in His Hand” showed ...
On January 21, 2021 / By Patrick ConnorWith boxing still profoundly affected by the ongoing pandemic, we will continue to periodically revisit some of our past feature articles. Today, on the anniversary of the great ...
On January 12, 2021 / By Patrick ConnorIn decades past, when undisputed heavyweight champions were the norm and not the exception, they inevitably created a great vacuum of power upon retiring. It was a mad scramble ...
On November 30, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorIn boxing history, there are the champions and there are those who fight among them. For every Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey, there were hundreds of ...
On October 26, 2020 / By Patrick Connor“I would have quit, but I didn’t know how to do anything else but fight.” Beyond the mythologies and whimsical fairy tales full of heroes who sneered at ...
On September 29, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorMore than nine decades have passed since the rematch between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey took place on a brisk September evening at Chicago’s Soldier Field in 1927, ...
On September 22, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorIn the 1920s, “Cauliflower Row” became a popular appellation for the fight racket. It was the perfect name, referring to the disfigured ears boxers often wind up with, ...
On August 31, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorFor Elio Ortiz the end came in round four after he visited the canvas a fifth time at the hands of Teddy Reid. Reid himself had been rocked ...
On August 9, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorThe phrase “hot Latin blood,” coined to describe the alleged fiery temperament of Spanish speakers on the planet, goes back well into the 19th century. So maybe it ...
On July 28, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorThere really was nothing left to prove. Why Mickey Walker felt an assault on the heavyweight division was necessary, nobody still living knows. It likely had much to ...
On July 22, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorThroughout boxing history, world titles have assumed various levels of worth, some about as valuable as your proverbial wooden nickel. It’s a process unlikely to ever stop, as ...
On July 15, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorSeems like we had just finished celebrating the 40th anniversary of the first great Duran vs Leonard battle when the awful news came that the man they call ...
On July 3, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorLegitimate superfights in boxing tend not to just happen spontaneously, but instead are built up over time. The first bout between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali was years ...
On June 8, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorCuba’s messy political issues in the last half-century have made for countless stories of struggle and triumph, though more the former than anything else. From rafting across shark-infested ...
On June 4, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorIn one corner is a bigger-than-life character, a two-division titlist and miniature wrecking ball defeated only by himself in two disqualification losses. And in the other corner, an ...
On May 29, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorThe rise of Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez as a rare flyweight superstar put the nation of Nicaragua on the boxing map again, but in fact it was some four ...
On May 22, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorFrom the embers of the Great Boston Fire of 1872 rose a man not small of frame and stature like his 5-foot, 2-inch father, but instead heavy and ...
On May 14, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorBoxing has always been able to create superstars, even if those days seem to be slowly drawing to a close. Only time will tell whether the sport can ...
On April 8, 2020 / By Patrick Connor“If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he’s dead, then maybe he was a great man.” — James ...
On March 16, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorHeading into tonight’s much-anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, the man they call “The Gypsy King” has repeatedly promised an action-packed war, a heavyweight version of ...
On February 22, 2020 / By Patrick ConnorWhen the United States Olympic Boxing Team sauntered away with a staggering nine gold medals in 1984, Pernell Whitaker was actually lost in the shuffle. First came an ...
On July 15, 2019 / By Patrick ConnorIn the newest episode of “Boxing With The Beard,” illustrious fight pundit Patrick Connor of Knuckles & Gloves Boxing Radio breaks down Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs Rocky Fielding, ...
On December 14, 2018 / By Patrick ConnorPatrick Connor is a contributor to this site, as well as many others, and he has also been known to make videos to discuss current boxing news. Herewith, ...
On December 9, 2018 / By Patrick ConnorA rematch between David “Red Flag” Benavidez and Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril would be main event material during an average boxing weekend. But this Saturday night, it’s a ...
On February 15, 2018 / By Patrick ConnorIt’s been nearly 12 years since the city of Portland, Oregon played host to a professional boxing card. Few people around the “Rose City” actually remember its bustling ...
On October 23, 2017 / By Patrick ConnorWhen little-known Srisaket Sor Rungvisai tabbed a controversial upset win over four-time champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez last March, a first round knockdown in favor of the challenger was ...
On September 10, 2017 / By Patrick ConnorBecoming a star in contemporary boxing isn’t the easiest thing to do, and it’s especially difficult when a fighter scales in far below more popular divisions like middleweight ...
On September 11, 2016 / By Patrick Connor“Before each round Ricardo looks up at the heavens, then goes out to kill, kill, kill. It’s like he’s asking permission from God to annihilate the other guy.” ...
On August 24, 2016 / By Patrick ConnorThe entire boxing world may be in a state of mourning, but the sport must continue to function, even if only to distract the masses. Thankfully two Mexican warriors, ...
On June 5, 2016 / By Patrick Connor“Boxing is the sport to which all other sports aspire.”
– George Foreman
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