0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 6/21/2021
So much of what we think we know about sports legend is bullshit. Babe Ruth’s called shot? Just as likely a mosquito swat. Larry Bird’s predicted 43-point night? John Stockton loves to tell the story, but it changes with every telling. Brett Favre’s unsolicited dick pic text? OK, that probably happened. But the truth is, […]
0 comments by Tim Starks on 5/31/2021
By age 38 — more like age 50 at 118 pounds, where fighters get older faster — Nonito Donaire should be well into the part of his career where he gets by on veteran savvy, if he gets by at all. Coming off a two-year rest, after the most grueling fight of his life, no […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 5/26/2021
Imagine you’ve had a goal since childhood. It doesn’t matter what it is, but it becomes the critical motivator in your personal and professional life. Now, imagine you acheived it. And imagine if you failed. Beyond the elation and heartache in the immediate aftermath is a central question that no one can answer but you: […]
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 21: Jose Ramirez(L) and Josh Taylor(R) pose during the weigh-in for the Undisputed junior welterweight championship at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas on May 21, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Im
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 5/21/2021
The entire point of competition is to determine who is the best. Singular. However, over the last several decades, the word champion has become almost meaningless in boxing through the proliferation of alphabet participation trophies. In this era it’s always refreshing when the two best fighters in a division not only want to render those […]
May 8, 2021; Arlington, TX; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeats Billy Joe Saunders and becomes the Unified WBC, WBA and WBO Super Middleweight Champion at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Mandatory Credit: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom.
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 5/9/2021
Let’s talk about quitting for a moment, shall we? Boxing fans, writ large, are all but genetically incapable of nuance. When it comes to the dreaded Q word, however, a bit of it is desperately required. Quitting, or the perception thereof, is tantamount to surrender in boxing, and for an industry built almost entirely on […]
0 comments by Tim Starks on 4/26/2021
It’s fair to assume that there’s ample overlap between boxing and people who have dark senses of humor. So one could be forgiven for laughing when hearing Christopher Diaz’s trainer tell him just before the final round of his Saturday war with Emanuel Navarrete: “There is no pain.” Buddy. Navarrete is nothing BUT pain! Easy […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 4/17/2021
Just a heads up, I’m about to say a whole bunch of stuff that sucks. And not in the way I normally say stuff that sucks. This will not be fun or funny. This will hurt. We might not be friends after this. Hopefully you will find room in your heart for forgiveness and reconciliation […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 4/11/2021
Joe Smith Jr. works in construction. Did you guys hear about this?! The boxing media writ large has proven themselves wholly incapable of discussing Smith without mentioning it. You won’t read an article about the Long Island light heavyweight that doesn’t include the word “jackhammered” or “lunch pail” somewhere in the headline. Right now someone […]
0 comments by Tim Starks
We can all agree Jaron “Boots” Ennis is pretty good, right? Like, that’s the minimum he is. And we can agree that knockout power hanging over his opponents as if a delayed blast fireball, simply waiting for the moment to detonate — along with his willingness to mix it up and prioritize offense — make […]
0 comments by Jamie Rebner on 4/9/2021
Concussive power is the ultimate equalizer in boxing; It can rescue a fighter from the jaws of defeat. Look no further than Randall Bailey’s victory over Mike Jones in 2012. Bailey was down on all scorecards in the eleventh round and looked to be heading home beltless. That is until he completely turned the tide […]
0 comments by Tim Starks on 3/28/2021
You don’t often see a rematch where one guy is on the receiving end of a Knockout of the Year-caliber obliteration, and it’s the deliverer who looks like he’s the one who’s in complete shambles. Enter Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 2. There was an excitement about that heavyweight sequel Saturday on DAZN that, it […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 3/23/2021
Let’s start off with a quick math problem. What’s sixteen divided by eight? Take your time. If you came up with two, congratulations, your relationship with your Alexa is in a good place. So what’s the significance of those numbers? Besides highlighting the fact that you went to public school, they represent the average number […]
0 comments by Brent Hedtke on 3/21/2021
What were you doing when you were 22? I was living in what was ostensibly a crackhouse with two of my best friends just outside of Minneapolis. We had no running water and survived mainly on dollar store beer and the charity of friends who worked in restaurants. Bands practiced in the basement where an […]
March 13, 2021; Dallas, TX; Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez during their WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine Super-Flyweight unification fight at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchr
0 comments by Jason Langendorf on 3/15/2021
For such a tiny man, Roman Gonzalez has a surprisingly easy time lugging around a legacy large enough to exert its own gravitational force. The phrase “first-ballot Hall of Famer” was practically an official honorific in the lead-up to Saturday’s junior bantamweight unification fight between Gonzalez and Juan Francisco Estrada — a nod to Gonzalez’s […]
0 comments by Matthew Swain on 3/12/2021
“When we are no longer able to change our situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” —Viktor Frankl You could waste a thousand lifetimes trying to describe life more succinctly than that. Ultimately, we submit, are destroyed, or we adapt. It happens a thousand times a day, and we either don’t realize it or try […]
