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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Tuesday, 17 January 2012 09:50
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 On April 19, 1971, a little over five weeks after he lost a unanimous decision to "Smokin" Joe Frazier for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world, Muhammad Ali's appeal of his conviction for refusing to be inducted into the US military during the Vietnam war was argued before the Supreme Court. On June 28, 1971 the court ruled in Ali's favor 8-0 and reversed the conviction. Muhammad Ali won the biggest fight of his life outside the boxing ring. During the quickly assembled press conference after the ruling, the first question Ali was asked was whether or not he was going to sue the government for wrongly stripping him of his heavyweight title. Ali immediately responded, "No." And he went on to say that the fight was over and that he held no malice towards anyone. The government did what it believed in and thought was right just as... Read more...
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Written by Rick Folstad
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Tuesday, 17 January 2012 09:23
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 It wasn’t long ago when the best fighters in the world sought out the other best fighters in the world to find out who was the best of the best. It was a natural, easy thing to do, a way of finding out which fighter was the undisputed featherweight, bantamweight or heavyweight champion of the world. There was no need for discussion because we had watched the best fighters fight each other. We knew our champions. Making those fights never seemed to be that tough. They just seemed to fall into place, as natural as the two best teams playing in a World Series or a Super Bowl. To put those fights together, one guy from each camp – usually the fighter's manager - would meet with a promoter and after a little negotiating, they would agree on a time, a place and a purse. They’d end the conversation with a handshake and the nod of a head. A few months later, we’d turn on the TV and watch the... Read more...
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Written by Springs Toledo
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Monday, 16 January 2012 13:16
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![Lytell and Speed Riley[1]](/images/stories/Lytell%20and%20Speed%20Riley[1].jpg) PART 2: THE NATURAL “The joint always smells wrong,” A.J. Liebling said about Stillman’s Gym. Even so, he could look at the soot covering its brick façade and see ivy –-“The University of Eighth Avenue,” he called it. Joe Rein calls it “The Center of the Boxing Universe” but something stayed in his nose too. He remembers the windows, “opaque with thirty years of grime” and sealed shut. Gene Tunney once demanded that someone pry them open, figuring the fresh air would do some good. “Fresh air?” said one of the regulars, “Why that stuff is likely to kill us!” All the greats from boxing’s golden era trained at Stillman’s and thirty-five cents was all it took to rub shoulders with them all. Sometimes a king with an upcoming title defense would make an entrance and the price of admission would be raised. It was worth it.... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Saturday, 14 January 2012 23:41
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 Today, January 15th, light heavyweight champ Bernard Hopkins 52-5-2 (32) turns 47 years old. And at age 47 he's no doubt one of the top 10 pound-for-pound boxers in the world along with being the ruler of the 175 pound division. Hopkins is also among the top three successful world champions to fight after age 40, with Archie Moore and George Foreman being the other two. Foreman was a physical freak of nature aided tremendously by his overload of strength and punching power. George didn't out-box or fox any single opponent during his career. He walked them down and/or beat them down before he knocked them out. Comparisons between Foreman and Hopkins are never made because as fighters, outside of their great chins and toughness, they share nothing else in common. The old fighter Hopkins is most often compared to because of their ring acumen and guile is former... Read more...
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Written by Michael Woods
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Saturday, 14 January 2012 12:13
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 The flirtation considers. When, if ever, the act will be consummated, we don't know. Manny Pacquiao's advisor Michael Koncz told me that promoter Bob Arum left the Philippines on Saturday, after a final meeting. Koncz said he and Manny will chat about the foes Arum laid out before them for a late May-June Pacquiao bout, and that the Congressman will announce his next ring opponent perhaps by the end of next week. And, I asked Koncz, is Floyd Mayweather still in the mix? Or is Manny choosing from a list of Lamont Peterson, Tim Bradley and Miguel Cotto, with Juan Manuel Marquez seemingly out of contention for now? "No comment," Koncz said. So...the flirtation continues. By the way, I chatted with Freddie Roach Wednesday. Pacquiao's trainer said that in his view that troublesome on Manny's right eye which occurred in the November Marquez fight has healed well enough for... Read more...
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Written by Ron Borges
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Saturday, 14 January 2012 12:04
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 Does anybody ever just lose a fight any more? Must there always be some nefarious dealings, questionable scoring, incompetent refereeing or unsportsmanlike conduct to explain away defeat? Has anyone in boxing these days ever heard of the simple concept that your man lost? Not, apparently, in Los Angeles, where Richard Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions don’t have a gym but they do have a Whine Cellar. That’s where they too often seem to go these days when one of their fighters loses a close match, the latest example being their absurd protest of Lamont Peterson’s close but deserved victory over Amir Khan last month. Naturally, the World Boxing Association ordered a rematch because of “questionable refereeing.’’ If the NBA ordered a rematch every time there was “questionable... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Friday, 13 January 2012 14:41
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 Politics dictate boxing. Mention boxing to even the most casual fight fan and they immediately ask about Floyd “Money” Mayweather versus Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. Will it be made? Looking at that match as a neutral observer and with a purely financial perspective, there’s no doubt that it’s the biggest boxing match available for boxing fans, sports fans and even among the camera hounds of the day. But does it make sense for both parties? Mayweather probably rubbed his hands with glee while watching Pacquiao eke out a controversial win that 70 percent of the population surveyed felt he lost to Juan Manuel Marquez. Mayweather sees an easy victory and a monstrous payday to boot. The Las Vegas prizefighter with 2 million Twitter followers has no doubt of his boxing superiority over Pacquiao. That’s why he’s calling out Pacman. Meanwhile, Top Rank... Read more...
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Written by Frank Lotierzo
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Thursday, 12 January 2012 18:17
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 Let's just say for the sake of argument that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao actually face each other on May 5th of this year. If they do, and yes, it looks like they won't, it will in fact be Mayweather who again will have called the shots in dictating when the fight will have taken place. And to that I say, "Was there ever a doubt that when Manny and Money got together it would be only if and when Mayweather felt it was the right time for him?" If you think otherwise you've been living in another world. For the rest of my years, I'll marvel at Floyd Mayweather the manager and thinker more than I ever will him as a fighter. I've seen many fighters his equal or superior to him in the ring, but he's near the top of a very short list of great fighters who knew the business of boxing to the level that he does. Mayweather has used the 24/7 social media like no other athlete... Read more...
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Written by Springs Toledo
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Thursday, 12 January 2012 01:58
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 PART 1: CROSSROADS In the years after World War I, a ghostly lodge of southern terrorists reemerged as a movement with real clout. By 1924 it was at the peak of its power and Texas was the most infested state in America with 170,000 Ku Klux Klansmen armed and organized, every one of them a member of the Democratic Party. Republicans, the Grand Old Party of Lincoln (and then-President Calvin Coolidge) often failed to even muster a candidate for state and local elections. Like a cactus before the setting sun, fascism cast its lengthening shadow. Dissent wasn’t stifled so much as stomped to protect the interests, real and imagined, of white Protestant Texans. Those guilty of morals violations were taken from their homes and flogged, beaten, shot, or left blind-folded with placards leaning against their broken forms. “Undesirables” were ordered out of... Read more...
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Written by David A. Avila
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Thursday, 12 January 2012 01:50
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 You would never guess when speaking to Emanuel Steward that he’s tutored and prepared some of the fiercest and most deadly prizefighters of this and the previous era. Tommy “The Hitman” Hearns, with that paralyzing right hand, made the hair rise out of a whole generation of prizefighters. Lennox Lewis was no cream puff either and dominated the heavyweights until he retired. The list goes on and on. Many of his champions were taught at the Kronk Boxing gym in Detroit and now Steward owns the brand and rightfully so. Steward is Kronk and vice versa. Pechanga Resort and Casino host Kronk Boxing along with Roy Englebrecht Promotions on Friday, Jan. 13. A number of youngsters from Steward’s stable, including junior middleweight Tony Harrison, will be showcased. Fast and furious best describes Steward’s style of fighting, which prescribes... Read more...
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