By Robert Ecksel on April 27, 2020
Human Rights Watch described Ortega’s decision as “reckless.” (Reuters/Oswaldo Rivas)
“Popular celebrations, massive funerals, marches and similar activities increase the risk of multiple simultaneous outbreaks in the whole country. I still don’t understand what the government is betting on…” READ MORE
April 27, 2020
Daniel Ortega is a former revolutionary turned strongman who believes in power, but is wary of testing and what it might reveal…
Kubrat Pulev maps Redemption Road
April 8, 2020
Stealing a kiss used to be poetic, like a lyric from the Great American Songbook brought to life. Nowadays—forget about it...
Rules of the Game: Exclusive Inside CSAC Boxing Officials Training
April 13, 2020
“Can this guy mathematically win at this point?” asked Reiss. “Does he have a real puncher's chance?”
April 15, 2020
I got to see close up and personal how ambition, toadyism, and lack of principle could be the foundation of a beautiful career…
The incredibly shrinking Harry Wills
April 17, 2020
“If I had told the boys about my fasting they would have said: ‘Harry is daffy. Taking socks on the chin has made him goofy...’”
April 20, 2020
“You could hear Emanuel in the corner. He was imploring. He said, ‘Lennox, just fight like a little bitch.’ Those were his exact words. I got it on tape…”
Wilder Bobblehead Dolls for Sale
March 24, 2020
“The referee did him a massive favor and the cornerman chucked in that towel,“ said Froch. “It couldn’t have come at a better time…”
March 25, 2020
While growing up in the Sugar Hill section of Harlem, New York, in the 1940s and 1950s, Sigmund Wortherly had no shortage of positive role models...
On the QT: Tarantino's top 5 fight flicks
March 29, 2020
Can a factual story can be mythical? Maybe cinema makes it so. But De Niro, Scorsese, Jake LaMotta, Joe Pesci—bring it on…
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Diddly boppers Pete and Nick Spanakos
April 2, 2020
“I’m very appreciative that I’m here and my brains are unscrambled enough where I can ask those kinds of questions…”
April 3, 2020
Forty men worked all night to erect a suitable ring, the sand packed hard, covered with boards, and blanketed with a resin-coated canvas…
The World According to Amir Khan
April 5, 2020
Amir and Faryal reconciled. In February she gave birth to their third child. It’s a boy. Khan is pleased to have a son, but he is restless…
O Lord, save us from the Boxing Promoter...
March 13, 2020
They are utterly ruthless, money-driven, emotionless, reptiles, with no heartbeats or the ability to taste anything other than fresh blood…
Ring of Fire—The Emile Griffith Story.
March 18, 2020
“Ring of Fire” tells the harrowing story of former welterweight, junior middleweight, and middleweight champion Emile Griffith…
Ten-Count for Roger Mayweather
March 19, 2020
There’s no better way to disrupt the solemnity of his passing, not to mention the tragedy having befallen the world, than to promulgate fake boxing news…
Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
March 20, 2020
The State sought to destroy Jack Johnson out of fear that some Americans might get the wrong idea…
Charley Green: The Devil Made Him Do It
March 22, 2020
Although there was overwhelming evidence to suggest otherwise, Charley “Devil” Green always insisted he was not a triple murderer…
March 9, 2020
“For Ali to compose a few words of real poetry,” said Mailer, “would be equal to an intellectual throwing a good punch...”
Twin Peeks: Reggie and Ronnie Kray
March 9, 2020
They lived a life of fast cars, fast women, hot blood and easy money and left countless busted noses in their wake…
Chauncy and the Chocolate Factory
March 10, 2020
Chauncy was learning on the job and was quickly gaining a following, more as an oddity than as a boxer. He should have been the first Butterbean…
125 Must-Read Boxing Articles (Part 5)
March 12, 2020
You find this sublime and sordid sport mentioned in politics, philosophy, business, fashion, the arts, religion, and in medicine…
Stevenson vs. Marriaga Preview/Cancelled
March 12, 2020
In an empty Hulu Theater, WBO featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson will defend his title against perennial contender Miguel Marriaga…
Saturday Review: Kownacki vs. Helenius
March 6, 2020
“I respect him for taking this fight, but he chose the wrong opponent. This is not going to be a fight; it’s going to be a war…”
Is it one and done for Wilder?
March 5, 2020
If Wilder loses the third fight with Fury, proving once and for all that he can’t compete with an elite heavyweight, one and done seems a real possibility...
Movie review: "Body and Soul" starring John
Garfield
March 6, 2020
He wins a trophy in an amateur boxing tournament, and realizes that fighting is his ticket out of the slums…
Underdog Helenius stops Kownacki
March 7, 2020
In round four, Helenius dropped Kownacki with a right hand that was ruled a slip, but he was hurt and his defense, never his strong suit, was nonexistent…
March 9, 2020
Appearances by former world-class pros like Max Baer and Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom add authenticity to the televised proceedings…
The Set-Up is arguably the greatest boxing movie ever made
March 3, 2020
“I remember the first time you told me that. You were just one punch away from the title shot then…”
March 2, 2020
The fight, which was called “the greatest fistic upset since the defeat of John L. Sullivan and Jim Corbett,” was scheduled for 15 rounds...
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Resurgent Chocolatito Stops Yafai
March 1, 2020
Yafai would have been smart to box and move, instead of hoping to make a statement, a statement which blew up in his face...
March 2, 2020
“I've been very unlucky,” the elder Fury told the BBC, “but very lucky as well…I’ve been a naughty boy and there is no point hiding it…”
March 3, 2020
Pulev is a top-10 fighter, but falls short of being elite. A victory over Joshua, who we know can be beaten, would alter that perception dramatically…”
Garcia decisions Vargas in barnburner
February 29, 2020
“I think I’m ready to get back in with the best. I want Manny Pacquiao or a rematch with Errol Spence. This is a great option to continue at 147…”
Andy Ruiz Jr. wants Tyson Fury
February 29, 2020
Fury will fight anyone. Atlas, God, Zeus, Hercules—Bring ‘em on, all on the same night. Oh, and if Joshua has time, Fury would love to fight him...
Saturday Night Fights: Garcia vs. Vargas
February 27, 2020
These guys are solid professionals. They will touch gloves before the opening bell and embrace when it’s over. Good sportsmanship is in their DNA. ...
Star clothier in Wilder's corner
February 26, 2020
Cosmo + Donato avoided incoming fire. They spoke with Wilder by phone. He said he doesn’t blame them. He wants them to design his next masquerade...
Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson 1
February 26, 2020
On September 25, 1962, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson defended his title against fearsome Sonny Liston...
Don't Punch a Gift Horse in the Mouth
February 24, 2020
That’s the last thing fight fans want to hear. Hopefully it’s the last thing Tyson Fury wants to hear. But John Fury can be persuasive...
February 25, 2020
Wilder’s right hand could topple anyone, on any given day. His only flaw, seemingly unnoticed by the legions of his followers, was simple...
Fury clobbers KO King to regain title
February 22, 2020
With nowhere to run or hide and lacking the innate ability to fight back, Wilder was a sitting duck whose goose was cooked...
February 23, 2020
Deontay is the kind of guy that’s a ‘go out on his shield kind of guy’ and he will tell you straight up don’t throw the towel in...”
February 24, 2020
He first looked old and beaten like a rich man who had just lost his fortune in the stock market and did not know how to get the money back...
Out of shape Fury weighs 273 lbs.
February 21, 2020
Even if the British beef is as pure as his intentions, Fury’s hamming it up might not help when it comes to defeating Deontay Wilder...
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Rules of the Game: Jack Reiss Exclusive on Bryant Perrerra Stoppage
February 19, 2020
“I can’t say, ‘Let’s let the clock run out. Let’s go to the scorecards.’ I would be cheating the other fighter…”
Wilder Quizzed Ahead of Fury Rematch
February 19, 2020
“The first fight was an amazing fight. It was a very controversial fight. We left people confused about what happened or who won. This is judgment day…”
Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo 1
February 21, 2020
Nonstop action and rugged noncompliance with basic survival instincts, it was boxing at its most primordial, the very essence of a sport still full of surprises…
February 21, 2020
Fury can be seen sitting in a restaurant, reading the menu, trying to decide what to order, when the maître d' approached with a live lobster in his hand...
February 18, 2020
We’re not talking about Nobel Prize winning lectures here. This is Sell, Sell Time and this is P.T. Barnum’s sexiest dream…
Plant/Feigenbutz Final Presser
February 14, 2020
“If you want to take the belt back to Germany, you have to kill me. I don’t think he’s man enough to do that. This belt’s staying right here in Nashville...”
Plant Devours German in Nashville
February 16, 2020
Music blares from every doorway. The siren song of commerce beckons. And in the midst of it looms Breakstone Arena…
Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 1
February 17, 2020
The bull/matador, hunter/hunted comparisons still suffice when discussing the first fight as their different styles meshed as though made for each other…
Fury Talks the Talk before Wilder Rematch
February 17, 2020
“I learned he can be hit, and he can be hurt quite regularly. That's the biggest thing that I learned about Deontay Wilder. Nothing I didn’t already know…”
125 Must-Read Boxing Articles (Part 4)
February 10, 2020
The sweet and sour science is omnipresent—universal—and comes with spiritual overtones; it touches upon science, and it is, arguably, an art form…
Inside PBC Wilder vs. Fury II (Episodes 1-3)
February 11, 2020
Anticipating upwards of 2 million pay-per-view buys, if Wilder-Fury II achieves that lofty goal, it will be the highest grossing heavyweight fight of all time...
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Boxing's Disinformation Dilemma
February 12, 2020
We’re heard the excuses for inexcusable decisions, which range from boxing is subjective to “Boxing is the red light district of sports,” a million times...
Plant/Feigenbutz Media Workout
February 13, 2020
“I want to be first undisputed super middleweight champion. I want to be pound-for-pound. I want to be an immortal in the sport, a name that never fades…”
The Meteoric Rise and Fall of "Big" John Tate
February 13, 2020
He wanted the world to know that beneath the great big welcoming Southern smile was a good and decent man who deserved another shot at life…
Saturday Night Live: Russell vs. Nyambayar
February 7, 2020
“I think Tug is a lot more technically sound than a lot of the guys who I have competed against. He’s another guy with everything to gain and nothing to lose…”
Russell outpoints game King Tug
February 8, 2020
“He is a great champion who fought a great fight. I made a mistake by waiting for him during the fight. I’d love the rematch if I can get it…”
Sugar Ray Seales: Blind Man's Bluff
February 10, 2020
“Sure, you can love to box but as a professional you need to earn a living wage. No one will take care of you in your old age. I learned that the hard way…”
February 4, 2020
“I want to make a statement and solidify my legacy as one of the best Cuban fighters ever. I want the boxing world to be talking about me…”
February 6, 2020
“It’s me,” said Wilder. “I believe in myself, strongly. While I’m the heavyweight champion of the world, I display this to people. I lead by example...”
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Jarrell "Big Baby"Miller—Free at Last
January 30, 2020
When the news of his failed drug test originally broke, Miller, having forgotten that denial is the most sincere form of admittance, went on the defensive...
January 31, 2020
Delgadillo has also fought mostly winning opponents, the bouts staged in Texas where tough boxers abound. This bout promised to be all action...
Duane Ford—a Lifetime in Boxing
January 31, 2020
A short, soft-spoken man with a lovely wife, he sits in the lobby of the Legends Casino in Toppinesh, Washington nursing a cup of coffee...
Ordenis Ugas TKOs Mike Dallas Jr.
February 2, 2020
“The most important thing was to get the victory. The main goal now is to keep winning and fight for a title. I’m ready for all of the top welterweights…”
Joe Louis vs. Jersey Joe Walcott 1
February 3, 2020
The Brown Bomber was approaching the end of his singular career and would retire, albeit briefly, after the rematch with Jersey Joe in June of ‘48...
Boxing by the book, Garcia schools Redkach
January 25, 2020
"A lesser man than would have hightailed it out of there once the beating began. Not Redkach. He stuck it out to the bloody end..."
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January 26, 2020
Santana thought an upset was in the cards. He was sure he was catching Hurd at the perfect time. Look what happened when he fought J-Rock...
125 Must-Read Boxing Articles! (Part 3)
January 26, 2020
The tug-of-war moral ambivalence of boxing is one reason why media coverage of boxing goes well beyond sport pages and Ring Magazine…
Tyson Fury—The Boxing Superhero
January 28, 2020
Someone like Tyson—brave, dedicated, skilled, tough, talented—is paid millions to show us all that superheroes might just exist for real…
Wilder-Fury 2: Knock Yourselves Out
January 29, 2020
“I’m the Gypsy King. There’s only been one and there’s only likely to be one going forward. That’s one belt that Deontay Wilder can’t ever win...”
Coach Kay Koroma: Training Jarrett Hurd & the USA Amateur Boxing Team
January 25, 2020
Koroma and Hurd completed part of their training camp in Colorado Springs, at the Olympic Training Center...
Saturday Night Fever: Garcia vs. Redkach
January 21, 2020
“I know Ivan is coming to fight. We’ve followed each other’s careers. I know he’s hungry and he wants to show the fans that he belongs on this level...”
Charlie Chaplin vs. Buster Keaton
January 20, 2020
The filmmakers' parodies of the sport are flawless. Boxing is no laughing matter, were it not for slapstick, were it not for old masters...
Dannie Williams on the Comeback Trail
January 17, 2020
Keys clearly had the better skills. Trouble was, he did not throw enough of them. Someone forgot to tell him that throwing punches is a big part of boxing...
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Shock Upset! Rosario dethrones J-Rock
January 17, 2020
"The cut blurred my vision a little bit, but it wasn't the reason why I lost. He was the better fighter tonight. We've got a rematch clause. I'll see him again soon..."
125 Must-Read Boxing Articles! (Part 2)
January 13, 2020
Boxing is a bloody ballet—a compelling, captivating, and enthralling business. The reporting of this insane sport goes well beyond sport pages and The RING…
January 11, 2020
Steve Nelson is another Midwest boxer, the new hotbed since Bud Crawford proved one does not have to be born in L.A., New York, or Las Vegas…
Joe Smith Jr. wins Philly grudge match
January 12, 2020
The judge who scored the fight for Hart needs to have his head and eyes examined. Seeing the fight as close is bad enough. Scoring it in Hart’s favor was still worse…
They came; they saw; they concurred
January 14, 2020
Wilder,'s power is primordial, the stuff of the gods. Fury is an anomaly. He’s as big as a tree but emulates Ali and Willie Pep...
January 15, 2020
During the interview Ali riffed on going to Mars, how boasting got him to his first title, and why he first learned how to box....
Friday Night Fights: Shields vs. Habazin
January 9, 2020
“She talks about disrespect, but doesn't have a clue what that means. Every time she opens her mouth, she's disrespectful. In fact she's all bark and no bite…”
Conflict (Cash with no questions)
January 8, 2020
Eddie Hearn says the “Hospitality out there (Saudi Arabia) is first class…” He doesn’t seem to be a man to ask questions while the drinks stay iced…
Jesse Hart vs. Joe Smith Jr. Preview
January 10, 2020
“That shit was hurtful to me. This is not business. This is not for bragging rights neither. This is something that my family put on me…”
Claressa clobbers Habazin, makes history
January 11, 2020
As history has shown, patriarchy has its limits, and anything which keeps women down needs to be dispensed with while there’s still time…
January 11, 2020
Jaime Munguia, in his debut at 160, stopped Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan via 11th-round TKO to capture the vacant WBO Intercontinental middleweight title…
January 6, 2020
There are no words to describe Bob Lafrate. I refuse to use the title “judge” with him. To use the term judge implies some kind of competence, something he lacks...
Plotting the Rise of Gervonta Davis
January 6, 2020
There has been talk of a possible unification bout with WBA/WBO champion Vasiliy Lomachenko or IBF lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez. …
Matchroom lock out the Heavys?
January 6, 2020
The sport was mocked as being the stomping ground of morons. There is a special sneer reserved for boxing, generally speaking…
January 6, 2020
On Saturday, February 15, IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant (19-0, 11 KOs) will defend his title against Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2, 28 KOs)…
The Great Rollino, Strongest Man in the World
January 8, 2020
Rollino’s love affair with boxing reached its apex in 1919, when his brother took him to Toledo, Ohio, to see Jack Dempsey knock out the gargantuan Jess Willard…
The loaded handgun and Errol Spence Jr.
January 2, 2020
The cops failed to determine, according to a spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department, whether it belonged to Spence or not.
January 3, 2020
Paying $50 a month for that which rarely feels like a deal at $19.99 a month seems like a boondoggle, given the hit or miss quality of the fights DAZN streams…
125 Must-Read Boxing Articles! (Part 1)
January 3, 2020
The ring is a violent place where skin, bone, and brain are damaged. But it is also a place where a boxer discovers, deep down, who he, or she, really is…
January 4, 2020
Only one current boxer’s name springs out from the garbage heap when I think about dumbness in all its crass and predictable and foul forms: Adrien Broner…
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. 1
January 6, 2020
On June 1, 2019, WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua defended his titles against last minute replacement Andy Ruiz Jr…
Crawford nixes Shawn Porter...for now
December 27, 2019
"If we had to fight and if it made sense, then that would be a fight that we would both agree upon. But right now, I feel like that’s not something we should discuss..."
It's Official! Wilder-Fury II on February 22
December 28, 2019
"I proved myself the first time and I’m ready to do it again. It was a very controversial fight. I promise my fans that there won’t be any controversy with this one..."
December 28, 2019
Klitschko can be seen riding through the streets of Kiev on a quad bike dressed as Santa Claus, his long white beard flowing in the wind...
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Gervonta smokes Gamboa in final round
December 28, 2019
"I couldn't put pressure on it. I wanted to keep going. I told my corner it was a problem, but I wanted to keep going because I'm a warrior...”
Chavez Sr. and Jr. unite to fight "haters"
January 2, 2020
"I don’t eat meat, clenbuterol or [fail] doping exams for my fight—myself. That’s not legal! They are natural and do not come from meat…"
December 24, 2019
Sonny Liston came up the hard way. He thought Clay was soft, the pampered fair-skinned momma’s boy from the other side of the tracks....
December 23, 2019
We hear a man describe this historical event as it unfolds in front of him, just a few feet away from the microphone. He has no idea what’s going to happen...
December 24, 2019
"I’m always going to be me in the ring and do what Gervonta Davis does. That’s be explosive, be fast, and if we go 12 rounds, I’m definitely here for it..."
Jermell Charlo Wants to Make History
December 25, 2019
He wanted no judges involved in the decision and decided to throw as many ineffectual punches as he could hoping he might miss the air...
December 25, 2019
"Every time I go to another country, the people are so passionate, they embrace you. They lift you up. It’s almost like the opposite back home…"
When Tyson dissed Mayweather
December 19, 2019
"Greatness is not guarding yourself from the people. It's being accepted by the people. He's a little scared man. He's a very small, scared man..."
December 20, 2019
Boxing, it seemed, was the only Quarry family business. The patriarch, Jack, who was 81 when I spoke with him, wouldn’t have had it any other way…
Chavez Jr. flops in “No mas” against Jacobs
December 21, 2019
Security pushed Chavez through the crowd by forming a phalanx to protect him. The guards used round cards to shield the fighter from incoming...
Jack Johnson vs. James J. Jeffries
December 22, 2019
With 10–7 odds favoring Jeffries, 20,000 fight fans crammed into a specially built arena in downtown Reno to watch history being made...
Charlo blisters "Super Bad" to regain title
December 22, 2019
The fight changed hands several times. Sometimes it seemed Harrison wouldn’t be denied. Other times Charlo’s single-mindedness was flammable...
Crawford-Kavaliauskas tonight on ESPN
December 14, 2019
"They can criticize me all they want. I’m going to get that. I’m not worried about what the critics say, or how they feel I should go with my career..."
December 15, 2019
He was redeemed by earning a 10-round unanimous decision over Vladimir Nikitin to retain his WBO Intercontinental featherweight belt...
Crawford Dismantles Kavaliauskas
December 15, 2019
Kavaliauskas came to fight and came to win and gave as good as he got during the back-and-forth exchanges in the first half of the bout...
Friday Night Fights: Jacobs vs. Chavez
December 17, 2019
"This is the right fight to get me back to the top. It’s a big risk because of the activity he’s had, but I am not a steppingstone for him…"
Preview: Harrison vs. Charlo II
December 18, 2019
"I don’t want it to go the judges. That’s my worst nightmare. If it does go 12 rounds, he’s going to be very injured at the end..."
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran 1
December 3, 2019
The difference between the two men, in and out of the ring, couldn't have been more stark, and the result shocked the world...
Preview: Joshua vs. Ruiz 2
December 5, 2019
Ruiz has been feted for striking a blow for fat men around the world. Everyone said it could be done and he proved everyone wrong…
Joshua outpoints Ruiz to regain titles
December 7, 2019
"I think the partying and all that stuff got the best of me. I gained too much weight. It affected me a lot. Next fight I’m going to be prepared..."
December 9, 2019
"The media had said so many bad things about me and I kept trying to defend myself. What better way to defend yourself than to prevail in a fight like that?"
I’m Dreaming of a Whyte Christmas
December 11, 2019
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) withdrew its accusation against Whyte, who failed a pre-fight urine test when trace amounts of a banned substance were found...
A dull fight for fans, a great fight for Canelo
November 7, 2019
"He was defensive, he was closing up his guard. All he was doing was trying to establish points, but we knew what was coming..."
Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Angel Firpo
November 18, 2019
Jack Dempsey defended his heavyweight title against Luis Angel Firpo on September 14, 1923, at the Polo Grounds in New York City...
Revisiting the Heartbreak of Sonny Liston
November 20, 2019
"Someday they’ll write a blues song just for fighters. It’ll be for slow guitar, soft trumpet, and a bell."—Charles "Sonny" Liston...
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Tortoise vs. Tortoise: Wilder stops Ortiz again
November 24, 2019
Today’s boxers live in fear. They are afraid of stiff competition; they are afraid of losing; they are afraid of getting hurt...
