Boxing News

It has been announced that later this year on Saturday December 10th Muhammad Ali will make an ill-advised comeback against Kirk Johnson.

Now Johnson actually maybe that bad that Ali can win; but why is Muhammad doing this? His fights with the Klitschko brothers show his time has long since gone.

So I want to focus on the positives and rewind history, to show why Ali was perhaps like he states “The Greatest’!

Ali was born on 17 January 1966 in Louisville Kentucky with the name Cassius Marcellus Clay the ninth.

He became interested in boxing as a 12 year after taking up the sport, because he wanted to “whoop’ the person who had stole his bike.

Clay was so good, that he was chosen to represent his country in 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The decision was controversial as the more experienced and indeed then World Champion Tyrell Biggs was injured during the trials and thus was over looked. More...

Stepping out of the grotty, forgotten tube station, as a weary ten-year-old, my eyes focused on the mass of green that stood in front of me. Everywhere I looked, I saw the Irish tricolor waving. Perhaps this is not unusual for Dublin or Boston on St Patrick’s Day, but this was not March 17, and

I was not in the Emerald Isle or Beantown. The date was June 8 1985, and I had just stepped out of White City tube station, London! Gingerly, I walked amongst the masses; already my old man and his mates had perhaps had one or two too many pints of the “black stuff.” And this was only the second professional show I had ever been to. Previously, aged six, I witnessed the terrible scenes following Marvin Hagler’s decapitation of Alan Minter’s world middleweight title, when some idiotic “fans” of Minter rioted. But I could sense this was a very different atmosphere on the walk to Loftus Road. There was a real party atmosphere. You see, the Irish had come to see their very own “Clones Cyclone” Barry McGuigan attempt to go one better than the previous eighteen challengers (over the previous seven years) and wrest the WBA featherweight title away from the great Eusebio Pedroza. More...

Who was the best welterweight of the last twenty-five years? Below is my take on a mythical tournament between who I think were the eight best fighters at welterweight. The numbers in the brackets indicate the fighter’s record at welterweight from 1980. Note that it is the achievements at welterweight which I am looking at here, not at any other weights at which the fighters below may have fought.

Quarterfinals.

Oscar de la Hoya (10-2) versus Roberto Duran (3-1).

In the 1980’s, Roberto only had two fights of any importance at 147-pounds, but anyone who witnessed the first two fights of the Duran-Leonard trilogy, will never forget the “Brawl in Montreal” and the “no mas” fight. Two fights that showed everything that was good and bad about Duran. De La Hoya had most of his “super-fights” at the division, and in doing so suffered his first two defeats. He was maybe a little past his best, but came closer than anyone to beating Felix Trinidad at welterweight. The Duran that beat Leonard would be too intense for De La Hoya, he would not give him a moments rest, and if Duran was fast enough to catch Leonard, then landing punches on Oscar should be easy enough. De La Hoya always carried a will to win into every bout he had, which would mean, he would be competitive, but in the end, Duran takes the unanimous decision. More...

Who was the best junior welterweight of the last twenty-five years? Below is my take on a mythical tournament between who I think were the eight best fighters at junior welterweight. The numbers in the brackets indicate the fighter’s record at junior welterweight from 1980. Note that it is the achievements at junior welterweight that I am looking at here, not at any other weights at which the fighters below may have fought.

Quarter Finals.

Julio Cesar Chavez (33-3-1) versus Oscar de la Hoya (3-0).

De La Hoya briefly visited the division in 1996-1997, and one of the three fights he had was against Chavez; a fight in which Chavez choose to step into the ring knowing he was badly cut in sparring ten days before the fight. Sadly for everyone concerned, the eye opened up again in the very first minute, ultimately causing the fight to be stopped in the fourth. Chavez by this time was coming to the end of the road, indeed, from the moment he moved to 140-pounds and beat Roger Mayweather in a rematch, he never quite looked the force he was as a 130 and 135-pounder. By contrast, De La Hoya was perhaps coming into the prime of his career. So, although Chavez was a better fighter in 1989-1990, I still do not think the 140-pound version of Chavez beats Oscar at this weight. De la Hoya wins a fairly unanimous decision. More...

Who was the best lightweight of the last twenty-five years? Below is my take on a mythical tournament between who I think were the eight best fighters at lightweight. The numbers in the brackets indicate the fighter’s record at lightweight from 1980. Note that it is the achievements at lightweight, which I am looking at here, not at any other weights at which the fighters may have fought.

Quarterfinals.

Julio Cesar Chavez (6-0) versus Jose Luis Castillo (13-2-1).

Chavez was at the pinnacle of his great career on the night in 1987 when as an underdog, he destroyed Edwin Rosario to win a world title at lightweight. Castillo as a lightweight has only dropped two close/controversial decisions to Floyd Mayweather Jr. The problem Castillo has against Chavez is that he lacks the firepower to war with him, and he lacks the speed that gave Chavez trouble. Castillo is brave and seems to have a very solid chin, but Chavez would be far too good for him, pounding out a unanimous decision. More...

Who was the best super featherweight of the last twenty-five years? Below is my take on a mythical tournament between who I think were the eight best fighters at super featherweight. The numbers in the brackets indicate the fighter’s record at super featherweight from 1980. Note that it is the achievements at super featherweight that I am looking at here, not at any other weights at which the fighters below may have fought.

Quarterfinals.

Julio Cesar Chavez (57-0) versus Oscar de la Hoya (13-0).

Chavez put in some of his finest performances as a 130-pounder while De La Hoya was learning his trade. Chavez had legitimate one punch power as a 130-pounder while De La Hoya struggled to make the weight, and showed only an average chin. Their two meetings at higher weights would in no way dictate how this fight goes; Chavez to pound the young and brave De La Hoya to an eighth round retirement. More...

Who was the best featherweight of the last twenty-five years? Below is my take on a mythical tournament between who I think were the eight best fighters at featherweight. The numbers in the brackets indicate the fighter’s record at featherweight from 1980. Note that it is the achievements at featherweight, which I am looking at here, not at any other weights the fighters below may have fought at.

Quarterfinals.

Naseem Hamed (17-1) versus Marco Antonio Barrera (6-1).

Barrera beat Naseem, in his finest performance, but could he beat the 1996-1997 prime Naseem? Naseem had better reflexes in this period and generally better control of his performance. He showed in fights with Vazquez and Badillo that he could box in a disciplined style, when it suited him. But I just think that Barrera had Naseem’s number. The fight would have been closer, than their actual bout, but Barrera would still have won a comfortable twelve-round decision. More...

Last time out, I explained to you the beginnings of the period that brought us the heavyweights, known as the lost generation. I spoke to you about Leroy Jones, Tony Tubbs and Greg Page. This time I bring to you the careers of Michael Dokes, Tony Tucker and Pinklon Thomas. “Dynamite’ Michael Dokes began his career in 1976, defeating one Al Byrd in two rounds, slowly he built an eleven fight unbeaten record, before defeating (WU10) in March 1979, Wendall Bailey, who at the time had a 13-0 resume. Dokes followed this up in September 1979, by winning another ten-round decision over world ranked Jimmy Young. As the eighties began, Dokes at 13-0 was a hot prospect on the fringes of world class, and he beat future European Champion Lucien Rodriguez to solidify his ranking in February 1980. Dokes then had his first blip, drawing in April of 1980 with then heavyweight contender and future cruiserweight titlist Ossie Ocasio, but in their June 1980 rematch, Dokes redeemed himself, flattening the Puerto Rican in a round! In 1981, Dokes continued to gain experience beating the likes of Randall “Tex’ Cobb and Brit John L Gardner. In January 1982 Dokes won the NABF title in a round against Lynn Ball, before after one more successful defense of his North American title, Dokes got his world title shot against Mike Weaver in December 1982. More...

No matter how bad they look, like a moth is attracted to the light, heavyweights are always going to get more than their fair share of media attention. Everyone knows the heavyweights suck at the moment. But I want to go back to the eighties, when the division was in a similar situation and talk about the heavyweights that have become known as the “lost generation’ In a three part series, I want to tell the story of the men who made the lost generation of heavyweights. 1980: Larry Holmes was king, but at thirty, was considered as good as he was going to get, and although an honest worker, he was no Ali. Now Ali was coming to the end of an almost two-year retirement, which would result in a comeback defeat to Holmes. But there was hope; a new generation of heavyweights had hit the scene and were ready to take the boxing world by storm! More...

I could bang on about the injustices of the great black fighters of yesteryear who due to prejudice never got the opportunity to show their greatness on the big stages, fighters like Langford, McVey, Jeannette, Willis, Godfrey, Burley etc, etc. Or I could go on about the great modern fighters than we never really got to see; Galaxy, Yuh, Chang, Chitalada. But no I thought I would mention more modern/known fighters and my list is as follows:

Michael Spinks: Forever remembered for the Tyson fight and being Leon’s little brother which is a grave injustice for the only modern fighter to hold true undisputed status as the world light heavyweight champion. A man who never lost a fight at 175-pounds and beat the likes of Johnson, Muhammad and Qawi in the process. And then became the first reigning undisputed 175-pound champion to win the heavyweight championship of the world, by taking the “0’ away from the great Larry Holmes’ record. More...

The world amateur welterweight champion, for 1991, from the Soviet Union: K Tsziu. K Tsziu??? Just another footnote in amateur boxing right? Another thirty-something, steroid abusing, insignificant nobody from the mighty amateur program of the dreaded Red Empire? Well no,

K Tsziu would become Kostya Tszyu, the superb junior welterweight champion of the world. Two factors started this journey that turned Tszyu into the fighter he is today, the imminent crumbling of the Red Empire, and that promoter Bill Mordey was willing to fund Kostya Tszyu's defection to Australia on the strength of his performance in the 1991 world amateur championships that were held in Australia.

So in March 1992, Kostya Tszyu had uprooted from Siberia, moved to Australia, and despite being unable to speak hardly a word of English, was making his pro debut. As instructions were given, Tszyu was told though his translator that it was very important that he KO'd his tough-ish opponent in the first round; Tszyu duly obliged! But after the bout Tszyu enquired, why it was so important he won in a round? It turned out the translator had messed up, his trainer actually said it was important he made a fast/good start in the first round, not necessarily win! More...

As I lack any kind of originality, I thought I would put spin on an old idea, which I have written about before. A couple of week ago I "celebrated" my 30th birthday, so I thought I would do a little piece to assess the strength of boxing on July 23 2004 against the date of my birth; July 23 1974. So here is my take on contests from Flyweight though to Heavyweight. As the premier fighter from each division in both eras, clash in a mythical match up. More...

We all know boxing is great, and one of the reasons is, it is as a sport totally unique. And for all the massive advantages this “uniqueness’ gives the sport, there are some draw backs. One of the saddest is we often see our heroes of yesteryear destroyed in front of us. Saturday night in Mexico, hopefully the last ring appearance of Julio Cesar Chavez occurred. And as “last ring appearance’ go, it wasn’t a total humiliation, as Chavez won a points decision. It was of course helped that his opponent was former foe and equally ancient and shot Frankie Randall. But let’s not dwell on this; let’s look back in fondness at the great Mexicans legacy. More...

“There’s no way I could ever beat him. He’s just too big and too strong. I’m just glad he didn’t kill me. He’s a magnificent fighter.”

The words of a drug free; free thinking; lucid speaking Mike Tyson; after the bout with Lewis. High praise indeed from a fighter who despite massive flaws; knows his boxing history. So after his retirement where do you place Lennox in heavyweight history?

Below is my take on the 12 other “Greatest Heavyweights’ and how Lewis compares to them;
James J Jefferies; It is hard enough to compare fighters who fought within 10 years of each other, let alone in this case 100 years, but here goes. Jefferies was tough; he had a rock solid chin and would have been the first heavyweight champ to retire unbeaten, if not for and ill thought out comeback against Johnson. Jefferies was a national hero who dominated the division for 10 years, and turned back some serious opposition like Corbett (twice), Sharkey and Jackson. More...

The general consensus is that the 70s was the golden era of heavyweight boxing, and that this helps Ali be perceived as the “greatest’ champion of the division.

But some on this site claim Tyson as the best. So I thought I would put Tyson back 25 years, so that his career time mirrored Ali, and see in my opinion how he would of done, against the fighters of the Ali era.. It also helps that Tyson’s career length, nearly mirrors that of Ali.

So here goes; fight 1, Tyson makes his pro bow on March 6 1960, against Colin Dunston, winning in a round. For the rest of the year Tyson fought mostly (1 or 2 exceptions) non descript 4 and 6 round opposition. Listed below are the dates and opponents; More...

Who wins in a battle of the class of 2004 against the class of 1994? Below is my take on the battle from 126 up, as my current knowledge of anyone 122 and under is criminally poor.

Pacquiano-Johnson at 126

Boom Boom Johnson was at his pomp around this time, in the middle of 12 successful defences of his IBF title. A lot quicker and less mechanical than MAB, Johnson would not offer Pacquiano a target. But Pacquiano is more naturally talented and possesses a fight ending power, which would be a concern for the slightly soft chinned Johnson. Johnson would build an early lead, but Pacquianos frightening physical presences would get him level by the middle rounds. Eventually by round 10 JohnsonÂ’s resistance would give way leading to a Pacquiano forcing the ref to jump in with the brave Johnson out on his feet. More...

Below is my all time Heavyweight tournament;

What if a mythical tournament could be made up of all the heavyweight champs since the use of Queensberry rules started the modern era of boxing?

Now there have been 35 champions since Corbett took out Sullivan in 1892; to win the first World Title, so to make it easier, I have taken out who I consider were the worst 3 title holders (Hart, Carnera and Briggs). And then seeded the other 32 fighters, so in theory seeds 1 and 2 meet in the final.

Below is my take on who would win; if all the bouts were scheduled for 15 rounds, and more importantly all the fighters weighed 210lbs and were being considered fighting at their very best. More...

So after 19 years “Iron’ Mike finally has decided to hang up his gloves. We all know that he has pretty much been in semi-retirement for the last 3 years, but I think the death of his manager Bill Cayton was the final straw.

But what a career! Tyson leaves us with a 64 fight career record with 59 wins, 47 KO’s, just the 4 defeats and that controversial draw with Holyfield.

And like Ali and Frazier will be forever linked so will Tyson and Holyfield after their 4 epic battles.

Now we all know about Tyson’s career in the 80’s the glorious run he went on, as he built up a 37-0(33) record, but it is the 90s that I want to focus on. More...

Who produces the best boxers in UK is it the south? Is it the rest of the country? Below is my take on a South of Britain verses the rest of the UK. The fighters are in my opinion the best produced by the respective area in the last 30 years or so.

Frank Bruno Vs Horace Notice
Horace might not of ever lost a fight; but he never met anyone even in Franks class; Bruno in 4.

Sammy Reeson Vs Johnny Nelson
Sammy was our first world class cruiser winning the first Euro 190 title. But he was not in Nelsons class; look at their respective results against DeLeon. And that was arguable Nelsons worse ever performance; Nelson in 8. More...