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February 16, 1964 (The Ed Sullivan Show)
The contrived scenarios in which Liston found himself were often discordant, (Getty Images)
He was the champion and the media, which then as now was willing to do just about anything to attract viewers, reluctantly embraced him as the celebrity he was and succeeded, to some extent, in humanizing the alleged monster in our midst… READ MORE
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…
April 21, 2020
The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds, but the two fighters needed just a third of that to imprint the memory of their bout in fight fans’ minds…
Joe Frazier vs. George Foreman 1
August 18, 2020
With Howard Cosell calling the action in his inimitable way, it was a memorable night, a memorable fight, and “Down goes Frazier…”
Blood, Sweat and Tears: Loma vs. Lopez Preview
October 14, 2020
ESPN is giving the fight the star treatment it deserves. Check out Parts 1 and 2 of Blood, Sweat and Tears before tuning in to Saturday’s pick ‘em title bout…
October 21, 2020
The media reluctantly embraced Sonny Liston as the celebrity he was and succeeded, to some extent, in humanizing the alleged monster in our midst…
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...
March 1, 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…
March 9, 2020
Appearances by former world-class pros like Max Baer and Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom add authenticity to the televised proceedings…
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…
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…
Charlie Chaplin vs. Buster Keaton
January 19, 2020
“The Great Stone Face,” as Buster Keaton was known, created a boxing template from which Charlie Chaplin drew inspiration in “City Lights”...
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...
Inside PBC Wilder vs. Fury II (Episodes 1-3)
February 11, 2020
Anticipating upwards of 2 million pay-per-view buys, if Wilder-Fury 2 achieves that lofty goal, it will be the highest grossing heavyweight fight of all time...
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…
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…
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....
Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. 1
January 6, 2020
The sport was mocked as being the stomping ground of morons. There is a special sneer reserved for boxing, generally speaking…
Naoya Inoue vs. Nonito Donaire
January 9, 2020
Twenty-six-year-old Naoya Inoue was undefeated at 18-0 coming in. Thirty-seven-year-old Nonito Donaire was 40-5. The Fight of the Year was scheduled for 12 rounds...
January 15, 2020
During the interview Ali riffed on going to Mars, how boasting got him to his first title, and why he learned how to box in the first place...
January 19, 2020
Popeye says to Olive, “That’s not so bad for the weaker sex.” Olive smells a rat and says, “She doesn’t look so weak to me.” Popeye harrumphs...
Jack Dempsey vs. Luis Angel Firpo
December 2, 2019
Jack Dempsey defended his heavyweight title against Luis Angel Firpo on September 14, 1923, at the Polo Grounds in New York City...
Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran 1
December 7, 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...
December 14, 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?"
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...
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...