Browsing Category Columns

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  Columns 6

  Eddie Hearn Has No Morals

  I’m out on my patio enjoying a late summer’s afternoon on the chaise, catching up on my sports news, and I’ve just read, with disgust, the announcement in ...

  On August 12, 2019 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 2

  On Eddie Futch

  Perhaps it’s just me but I get the feeling Eddie Futch , who was born 108 years ago tomorrow, wouldn’t be too comfortable in today’s boxing world. I ...

  On August 8, 2019 / By Sean Crose
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  Columns 2

  The Baleful Look In The PacMan’s Eyes

  During all the weeks of pre-fight hoopla and the long promotional tour, Manny Pacquiao, a nice man with a lot of class, quietly took a whole lot of ...

  On July 22, 2019 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 0

  The Crowded Road To Tokyo

  Is it just me, or does there seem to be a lot of amateur boxers in Canada claiming to be Tokyo 2020 bound? What strikes me as odd ...

  On July 20, 2019 / By Steven Green
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  Columns 2

  Why “One Time” Will Never Be “The Best”

  I direct these remarks, without anger or malice, to fellow contributor James Simpson, whose column “Don’t Sleep On Keith Thurman,” was published on this fine website last month. ...

  On July 17, 2019 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 0

  Barriers To Entry: Why Superfights Are So Difficult To Make

  To say that boxing is not as popular as it once was is to utter an obvious truth to those that know and understand the history. I’m referring ...

  On July 10, 2019 / By Alden Chodash
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  Columns 0

  Don’t Sleep On “One Time”

  For my money, there is no hotter and more tantalizing division in boxing today than the welterweights. Historically, the 147 pound weight class has been the home of ...

  On June 13, 2019 / By James Simpson
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  Columns 0

  It’s Your Move, Bud!

  If we say it too loudly we might just jinx it, but we have to give credit where it’s due: Al Haymon’s PBC at long last figured out ...

  On May 17, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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  Columns 0

  Turning Defeat Into Victory

  “A rose is a rose is a rose,” writer Gertrude Stein once famously claimed. Likewise, a loss is a loss is a loss. Nothing more. Nothing less. One ...

  On May 17, 2019 / By Sean Crose
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  Columns 4

  Canelo vs Jacobs: Praying For A Miracle

  There are journalists and there are fans. I periodically write about boxing, but I don’t claim to be a serious reporter and I hope I never do. You ...

  On May 3, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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  Columns 3

  The Rainmaker

  At 28 years old and in his physical prime, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is a boxer of many qualities. Some attributes he has worked on for years, molding them ...

  On April 30, 2019 / By Rafael García
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  Columns 0

  When Fighters Fought: Time for a Welterweight Renaissance

  Speaking for fans of a certain vintage, we all have a special set of boxers, the ones that forged our love for the sport, the ones on those ...

  On April 29, 2019 / By Matt O'Brien
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  Columns 0

  A Blow To The Balls

  It was fitting that Bob Arum concluded the in-ring portion of ESPN’s Crawford vs Khan main event. There he was: a shrunken, bleary-eyed 87-year-old, howling about Al Haymon ...

  On April 24, 2019 / By Eliott McCormick
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  Columns 0

  Rungvisai vs Estrada II: Unfinished Business

  This Friday, fourteen months after their first fight, Thailand’s prodigal son, Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, and Mexico’s own Juan Francisco “Gallito” Estrada, will meet again to settle some unfinished ...

  On April 23, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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  Columns 0

  Enigmatic To The End

  Amir Khan may be the nicest man I’ve spoken to in the entire fight game. If I had to consider all the people I’ve shared a few words ...

  On April 22, 2019 / By Sean Crose
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  Columns 4

  If Only … Hagler vs Leonard In 1983

  Back in 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler threw down in a highly-advertised middleweight championship fight in Las Vegas, a glorious spectacle which captured the attention ...

  On April 17, 2019 / By James Simpson
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  Columns 6

  The Portis Pound-For-Pound

  The other week Max Kellerman, currently pugilism’s premier talking head, released his new, updated pound-for-pound rankings and it sent all the hardcore boxing geeks into a tizzy. For ...

  On April 6, 2019 / By Robert Portis
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  Columns 0

  Like It Or Not, The Throne Is Empty

  A few months ago we witnessed one of the more memorable heavyweight battles of recent years as alphabet titleholder and top-two contender Deontay Wilder faced off against the last ...

  On March 20, 2019 / By Hunter Breckenridge
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  Columns 0

  Method To The Madness?

  I’m moving up two weight divisions, and not just to fight any welterweight, but Errol Spence. At first glance, it seems nuts. –Mikey Garcia Four-division titlist and counter-puncher ...

  On March 15, 2019 / By Rafael García
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  Columns 8

  The Legacy of Douglas vs Tyson

  What is the legacy of James “Buster” Douglas’ astonishing knockout of Mike Tyson? Perhaps an impossible question to answer, though we’ve had almost three decades to digest its ...

  On February 12, 2019 / By Eliott McCormick
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  Columns 2

  Kovalev Returns! (With Some Help From “Buddy”)

  The bell had yet to ring to start the fight, but the outcome was already decided. Sergey Kovalev was finished and about to get his butt kicked for ...

  On February 3, 2019 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 7

  The Case Against Big George

  In a recent article contemplating a fantasy rematch between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, esteemed boxing writer Thomas Hauser stated that people who “really know” boxing regard Foreman ...

  On January 31, 2019 / By Michael Ezra
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  Columns 0

  The End Of An Aura

  It’s surprising how far and how fast a fighter’s star can fall when a once-fearsome aura is finally burst. It’s just a few short years ago that Sergey ...

  On January 30, 2019 / By Matt O'Brien
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  Columns 0

  Pacquiao vs Broner: Prelude To MayPac II?

  It’s the big showdown in Vegas tonight, Pac vs Broner, but don’t be fooled fight fans. What it’s really all about is Floyd “Money” Mayweather. That’s right, people; ...

  On January 18, 2019 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 0

  Back To Vegas

  This Saturday night, ring legend Manny Pacquiao will hear the opening bell as a pro for the 70th time in his career. He will do so at a ...

  On January 16, 2019 / By Rafael García
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  Columns 2

  Manny Pacquiao: The True Believer

  Manny Pacquiao dances with boxing like a jilted lover. The twists and turns retain their technical grace, but lack the fluidity and passion as when the love was ...

  On January 15, 2019 / By Craig Scott
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  Columns 1

  Adrien Broner: Behind The Smile

  “The Problem” actually poses very few these days. But in the last five years, Adrien Broner has been the one looking for a solution. A solution to himself. ...

  On January 3, 2019 / By Jeremy Melton
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  Columns 2

  The Myth of the Charlo Brothers

  This past Saturday the Charlo brothers boasted massive reputations, certainly among the highest and most respected in the sport today. Both unbeaten champions, born one minute apart from one ...

  On December 24, 2018 / By Alden Chodash
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  Columns 0

  Fury Only Played The Fool

  (Before I get to the matter at hand, something infinitely more important need be said: A shout-out to the wife and family of Adonis Stevenson. As in no ...

  On December 17, 2018 / By Ralph M. Semien
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  Columns 0

  Five Myths About Judging

  In the aftermath of the controversial draw verdict for Saturday’s huge heavyweight showdown, attention has once again turned to the ancient question of how boxing matches are scored ...

  On December 6, 2018 / By Matt O'Brien