Robert Ecksel ... at The Sweet Science

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Features by Robert Ecksel

	[Feb 14, 2007] Norman Mailer, Hitler and Sonny Liston Mailer, with about 100 members of the press, visited Liston at Aurora Downs, a racetrack 35 miles west of Chicago.

	[Jan 24, 2007] HBO's B.A.D. Hits The Hammerstein On Saturday, Feb. 17, from the Hammerstein Ballroom, HBO's Boxing After Dark televises a bang-up DiBella Entertainment tripleheader.

	[Jan 3, 2007] No More Waiting for Travis Simms Travis Simms Jr. and his identical twin brother Tarvis were born in Norwalk, Conn. on May 1, 1971.

	[Dec 20, 2006] Larry Merchant: In the beginning was the word Larry Merchant was born on February 11, 1931, in New York City.

	[Dec 16, 2006] Miranda Rocks/Litzau Upset: Just like the BAD old days HBO's Boxing After Dark ended its tenth season and the year at the Miccosuke Resort & Casino in Miami Saturday night.

	[Dec 10, 2006] Lamon Brewster Wants Action Now Lamon Brewster has been the invisible man since he lost his title to Sergei Liakhovich in Cleveland in April.

	[Dec 5, 2006] Peter/Toney II: Somewhere Over The Rainbow Room Boxing press conferences, like boxing promoters, come in all shapes and sizes.

	[Dec 3, 2006] Oleg Maskaev Hits Moscow with a Bang WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev is in Moscow, Russia, for the first defense of his title against Japan-based Ugandan Peter Okhello.

	[Nov 26, 2006] Save Us Spike Lee, Budd Schulberg and Joe Louis When I heard that Spike Lee was developing a film on former heavyweight champion of the world Joe Louis, I was pleased as punch.

	[Nov 21, 2006] Johnny Bos: It Can Happen Here The legendary Johnny Bos (pronounced Boz), once known as the matchmaker's matchmaker, is a straight-up dude.

	[Nov 15, 2006] HBO PPV's Mark Taffet: Full Circle Taffet was born in Orange, New Jersey in 1957 to comfortable lower middle-class circumstances. "We lived in a very regular neighborhood, very...

	[Oct 31, 2006] Tom Hauser Gets Out The Vote In his latest essay, Hauser turns his gaze away from the vagaries of boxing to give his full attention to the vagaries of electoral politics.

[Oct 17, 2006]
Can Superfighter Save Boxing And The Day?
The first person who uttered the words "you gotta have a gimmick" was definitely onto something.  More ...

[Oct 2, 2006]
Nikolai Valuev: The bigger they are, the harder they punch
Everyone wants to see the WBA heavyweight king, the seven-foot-plus, 320-pound, undefeated behemoth named Nikolai Valuev.  More ...

[Sep 25, 2006]
Tommy Gallagher: All Things Must Pass
To the untrained eye, Tommy G comes off as the straight shooter's straight shooter, a guy who doesn't mince words or suffer fools gladly.  More ...

[Aug 31, 2006]
Don King Backs Bush On Katrina
King was on Fox News' "Your World with Neil Cavuto" on Tuesday and defended George Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina.  More ...

[Aug 27, 2006]
Salita/Santana: Boxing Prospects Make Good
Dmitriy Salita and Edgar Santana share top billing on a Broadway Boxing doubleheader scheduled for September 20 at the Hammerstein Ballroom.  More ...

[Aug 7, 2006]
Io Don King (Sweet Science Fiction)
Nobody in the whole wide world but yours truly knows the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the true Don King but me.  More ...

[Jul 8, 2006]
Spinks Jinxes Karmazin Out Of Title
The redemption-seeking Cory Spinks found what he was looking for in St. Louis and beat Roman Karmazin to win the Russian's crown.  More ...

[Jun 9, 2006]
It's Malignaggi Time Versus Cotto At The Garden
I caught Paulie Malignaggi and Billy Giles at Gleason's Gym where they were putting the finishes touches on their training for Miguel Cotto.  More ...

[Feb 3, 2006]
Losing Big in Atlantic City
Zachary Levin and I decided several weeks ago to travel to Atlantic City for last weekend's fistic doubleheader, Friday's card at the Trop, followed by Saturday's Gatti show at Boardwalk Hall.  More ...

[Dec 27, 2005]
Nicolay Valuev: At least the Beast from the East
Ruiz is gone (but not forgotten), Valuev has arrived (but is untested), I have seen the future and it's as I feared.  More ...

[Dec 16, 2005]
Lennox Lewis Talks Boxing
Lennox Lewis used to be master of the long silence. He kept quiet during his reign and let his fists do most the talking ... after which there was nothing much left to say.  More ...

[Nov 30, 2005]
Hopkins Heals the Sick
Listening to Bernard Hopkins is like taking a trip into a vast spectacular unknown. You stand in line, pay your money, get a ticket, grab a seat, and hope the airbags don't fail.  More ...

[Nov 29, 2005]
Ten-Count for Pat Putnam
We shared an almost mystical belief in the power of language to diminish the filth in the game, against all odds, even with the inmates running the asylum.  More ...

[Nov 18, 2005]
"Global Warfare" in miniature
It was supposed to be your typical everyday boxing press conference, an opportunity for the media to meet the stars of Warrior Boxing's "Global Warfare."  More ...

[Nov 2, 2005]
Jaidon Codrington Goes National
Jaidon Codrington makes his ShoBox debut on Friday, November 4, against Tulsa's Allan "Sweetness" Green.  More ...

[Oct 14, 2005]
Raging Bull: 25 to Life (Act 3)
Jake LaMotta gets his shot at the middleweight title. It's on June 16, 1949 in Briggs Stadium, an open-air arena in Detroit, against the champ Marcel Cerdan.  More ...

[Oct 12, 2005]
Raging Bull: 25 to Life (Act 2)
"They got some balls," Jake says after the bout with Billy Fox. "Some balls. I take the dive. What more do they want? They want me to go down too? I ain't goin' down for nobody!"  More ...

[Oct 10, 2005]
Raging Bull: 25 to Life (Act 1)
In celebration of its first quarter-century, "Raging Bull" was re-released in theaters and has appeared on DVD, making this the perfect time to revisit the best boxing movie.  More ...

[Oct 2, 2005]
Abuse Excuse: Tarver Decisions Jones
Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver met for the third and final act of their trilogy at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Florida Saturday night.  More ...

[Aug 24, 2005]
Return of Paul Malignaggi
With his trainer Billy Giles by his side, Malignaggi returns to action this Thursday night, August 25, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, after a long layoff due to injury.  More ...

[Aug 18, 2005]
Boxing Trainer Freddie Roach
Freddie Roach is a great trainer. His base of operations is the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. He is 45 years old and was born in Brockton, Mass. in 1960.  More ...

[Aug 13, 2005]
Thell Torrance Keeps Rock Steady
Torrance trains Montel Griffin, Audley Harrison, Duncan Dokiwari and David DeFiagabon. He also trains Hasim "The Rock" Rahman.  More ...

[Aug 9, 2005]
Roy Jones No-Show in New York
Roy Jones Jr. was a no-show at the press conference at the Copa today in New York announcing his third fight with Antonio Tarver.  More ...

[Aug 3, 2005]
Shelby Walker Fights for Title in Providence
Shelby Walker was born in Kingsville, Texas on February 27, 1975 and was athletic as a kid. She told me she was "sort of a tomboy."  More ...

[Jul 18, 2005]
Keeping the Faith with Lamon Brewster
Brewster can be ferocious in the ring Golota can attest to that but there's another side to "Relentless" Lamon Brewster.  More ...

[Jul 6, 2005]
Travels with Johnny Tapia
He's a five-time world boxing champion and future hall of famer with two of the speediest fists in history. But he's also this troubled soul with this troubled life and his story is the stuff of tabloids.  More ...

[Jun 30, 2005]
Newton Kidd Isn't Kidding
Newton Kidd is an interesting case. He's 30 years old. His record stands at 5-3-1. And all he wants to do is fight. Kidd meets Joseph Gusman this Friday, July 1, at the Orleans in Las Vegas.  More ...

[Jun 22, 2005]
Boxing, Boston and Tony DeMarco
The Mohegan Sun fights got a special charge when a special award was given to a special fighter named Tony DeMarco.  More ...

[Jun 13, 2005]
The Third Man Eddie Cotton
Eddie Cotton is a quiet ref, an unobtrusive ref, a ref with a light touch. He sometimes needs to disentangle grapplers, but Cotton tries to be a shadowy presence.  More ...

[May 25, 2005]
Don Elbaum Mixes It Up
Someone had to give Don King his first big break in boxing, and that person is Don Elbaum. The first time they spoke on the phone, King shouted "DON EL-BAUM!"  More ...

[May 16, 2005]
Is Tex Cobb the Real Contender?
Although he fought for the WBC heavyweight title in the Houston Astrodome against Larry Holmes in 1982, Tex Cobb never wore the crown.  More ...

[May 5, 2005]
Julio Gonzalez: Nice Guys Finish First
Julio Gonzalez fights Montell Griffin in an IBF light heavyweight elimination bout from the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, California.  More ...

[Apr 28, 2005]
Was James Toney Ever Young?
James Toney is a man on fire. Volatile, explosive and incendiary, he is in New York for his Saturday night showdown with John Ruiz.  More ...

[Apr 24, 2005]
Klitschko KOs Castillo
HBO Boxing After Dark presented Wladimir Klitschko vs. Eliseo Castillo from the Westfalenhallen Complex in Dortmund, Germany.  More ...

[Apr 21, 2005]
Boxing Writer Mladinich Wins CJ Award for March from The Sweet Science
Robert Mladinich captured the March 2005 CJ Award for his profile of "Irish" Bobby Cassidy.  More ...

[Apr 20, 2005]
Is Boxing Called The Sweet Science Because of Emile Griffith?
USA Network broadcasts "Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story" without commercial interruption tonight at 9:00 PM/ET.  More ...

[Apr 14, 2005]
George Plimpton vs. Archie Moore
In 1959 the writer George Plimpton challenged light heavyweight champ Archie Moore to three rounds of sparring.  More ...

[Apr 10, 2005]
Barrera Breaks Fana in Two
Marco Antonio Barrera carved another notch on his holster Saturday night by dropping Mzonke Fana to the canvas and out of contention at 1:48 of round two.  More ...

[Apr 5, 2005]
Mohegan Sun's Main Event Is Boxing
The Mohegan Sun in association with Cappiello Promotions presented a six-bout card on April 1, 2005, broadcast on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights.  More ...

[Mar 30, 2005]
Wayne Braithwaite Keeps On Big Truckin'
WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne "Big Truck" Braithwaite meets WBA cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck in a unification bout.  More ...

[Mar 27, 2005]
The Contender Spotlights Tommy Gallagher
Pop art genius Andy Warhol's vapid dictum - "In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes" - has finally come true.  More ...

[Mar 26, 2005]
Vargas Wins Tough Decision Over Joval
Fernando Vargas returned to the ring after a long layoff and decisioned Raymond Joval over ten rounds Saturday night in Corpus Christi.  More ...

[Mar 23, 2005]
Matchmaker Chris Middendorf
Middendorf is old school at heart, but digital at his fingertips, and he swears by the internet when it comes to matchmaking.  More ...

[Mar 16, 2005]
Joe Louis: Brown Bomber Bombs Bums
Former heavyweight champion of the world Joseph Louis Barrow was born in a shack in Lafayette, Alabama on May 13, 1914.  More ...

[Mar 11, 2005]
Boxing Honor Roll: Mailer Covers the First Ali-Frazier
The opening words of Norman Mailer's "King of the Hill" raise the bar for those who write about the fights.  More ...

[Mar 7, 2005]
Trainer Ray Arcel: Ring Poet and Doc of Sock
Ray Arcel was born to Russian-Jewish immigrants in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 30, 1899. When he was four he moved to New York.  More ...

[Mar 2, 2005]
Boxing History From Round One
Boxing was here before we were and will be here after we're gone. Boxing has legs. Boxing has a good chin. Boxing is here to stay.  More ...

[Feb 26, 2005]
Friday Night Fights at The Blue
The fight brought to mind a quote from former light heavyweight champion Bob Foster: "He hugged me even more than my wife."  More ...

[Feb 21, 2005]
Edgar Santana Learns Boxing from Hector Roca
Describing Edgar Santana, Hector Roca says "He's a kid from the barrio, from Spanish Harlem, a tough kid from the streets."  More ...

[Feb 9, 2005]
Jake LaMotta: Bullish on the Bronx Bull
Not every prizefighter gets to watch the movie of his life.  More ...

[Feb 1, 2005]
King Fuels Spinks-Judah Call
The conference call between Cory Spinks and Zab Judah in anticipation of Saturday's rematch ended in a shouting match.  More ...

[Jan 31, 2005]
"Million Dollar Baby" (Clint Eastwood's Boxing Movie)
The screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby" is based on a book of short stories called "Rope Burns" by F.X. Toole, aka Jerry Boyd.  More ...

[Jan 25, 2005]
Joyce Carol Oates On Boxing
Joyce Carol Oates has three names and deserves every one of them. She is a savvy critic of the fight game.  More ...

[Jan 16, 2005]
Jack Johnson Documentary on PBS Tonight
Ken Burns' documentary, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, airs tonight, Monday, and tomorrow night, Tuesday on PBS.  More ...

[Jan 4, 2005]
Brian Adams Fights, Writes, Speaks
Brian Adams is a man of many talents. He was a fine boxer. He is a fine writer. He is a fine commentator.  More ...

[Jan 3, 2005]
Panama Lewis Zone
The boxing trainer Panama Lewis has been fighting forever.  More ...

[Jan 1, 2005]
The Great John L. Sullivan
During his reign as heavyweight champion of the world from 1882-1892, and for many years thereafter, John L. Sullivan was iconic, larger than life.  More ...

[Dec 28, 2004]
Emile Griffith Goes the Distance
Former welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith punched his way into the Boxing Hall of Fame.  More ...

[Dec 22, 2004]
Naming Names in Boxing
Prizefighters, no matter their religion, change their Christian names, the names they had at birth, into something suited to a hands-on profession.  More ...

[Dec 17, 2004]
Antonio Tarver Talks the Talk
Antonio Tarver got to Roy Jones first. Glen Johnson got to Roy Jones second.  More ...

[Dec 15, 2004]
Boxing in Brighton Beach
Sal Musumeci's Final Forum and matchmaker Sampson Lewkowicz brought boxing to Brooklyn's Russian émigré community in Brighton Beach Saturday night.  More ...

[Dec 13, 2004]
Dr. Margaret Goodman Makes a House Call
Boxing is no game. The stakes are too high, the losses too finite, the terms too extreme to take lightly.  More ...

[Dec 8, 2004]
Boxing's Black and Blue Horizon
The Blue Horizon is to boxing what Valley Forge is to nation building: battlefields' battlefields where blood was spilled for a noble cause.  More ...

[Dec 7, 2004]
Danny Williams Hits Vegas and Klitschko
When most of us on this side of the pond think of British heavyweights we think of Lennox Lewis. No one used to think of Danny Williams.  More ...

[Dec 1, 2004]
Taylor and Joppy Headline DiBella's Season's Beatings
Taylor is the up-and-comer, the pug with the future. Joppy is the underdog, the ex-champ, the old pro on the comeback trail.  More ...

[Nov 29, 2004]
Rocky Graziano: Remembering Da Rock
Former middleweight champion Rocky Graziano personified Nu Yawk.  More ...

[Nov 23, 2004]
Is Jack Johnson Free at Last?
Jack Johnson was a figure of historical significance, in boxing and beyond.  More ...

[Nov 18, 2004]
Winky Wright and Sugar Shane Meet Again
Winky Wright speaks to TheSweetScience.com about his showdown with Shane Mosley.  More ...

[Nov 12, 2004]
Jameel McCline Believes It's His Time
Jameel "Big Time" McCline is fighting for the heavyweight title against Chris Byrd at Madison Square Garden tonight.  More ...

[Nov 10, 2004]
Andrew Golota - South Pole Meltdown
Some think Andrew Golota redeemed himself when he fought Chris Byrd for the IBF title last April in the Garden. Some think Golota is a joke.  More ...

[Nov 6, 2004]
Don't Bleed For Me Bayonne
According to legend, Sylvester Stallone was a starving artist when he caught a fight on closed-circuit that changed his life.  More ...