Boxing News

Taking very little chance in his return to the ring, Acelino "Popo" Freitas stopped thirty-eight-year-old Panamanian journeyman Fabian Salazar inside of a minute in a lightweight battle on Saturday. The fight, held in Freitas' home of Salvador, Brazil, held absolutely no suspense, as Freitas bulled forward throwing haymakers in the style of his early career, while Salazar ducked, covered and clinched. A cuffing right to the side of the head started Salazar on the way down and a follow-up left to the midsection was enough to keep him there. Frietas improved to 37-1 with thirty-two knockouts and recorded his second consecutive victory following his disappointing tenth-round stoppage at the hands of Diego Corrales last year. Freitas spoke of a potential rematch with Corrales, or fights with WBA champion Juan Diaz or IBF champion Leavander Johnson. Salazar falls to 21-13-1 with five knockouts, having now lost his last three fights. Salazar had been stopped by WBO champion, and former Freitas victim, Jorge Barrios in four rounds in April 2003.

I still have very little trouble listing off the linear heavyweight champions all the way back to John L. Sullivan. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Jim Jeffries, Marvin Hart, Tommy Burns, Jack Johnson, Jess Willard, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Max Schmeling, Jack Sharkey, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, James Braddock, Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Joe Walcott, Rocky Marciano, Floyd Patterson, Ingemar Johansson, Floyd Patterson, Sonny Liston, Cassius Clay, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Leon Spinks, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Michael Moorer, George Foreman, Stiffy McGee, Strom Thurmond, Felipe Fantastico, Lennox Lewis and Glass Joe. More...

The year was 1913 and Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the modern era, fled his country, the United States of America, after he was convicted of a violation of the Mann Act. What was Johnson’s violation? According to the Mann Act, it is the

transportation of an individual across state lines for the purpose of illegal sexual activity: “Whoever knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any territory or possession of the United States, with intent that such individual engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” Johnson’s crime? Messing around and marrying white women. More...

As far as television is concerned, the Golden Age of boxing was in the1950s. There was boxing on every night, with fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta, Archie Moore and countless others headlining the cards. Being born in the late-

1960s, I missed it, but I can’t help imagining it was nirvana. Of course, I didn’t grow up at too bad a time for boxing. Back in the late-seventies and early-eighties, when my interest in boxing was being formed, I got to witness fantastic fights on the big-three U.S. television networks –ABC, NBC and CBS. Usually there was at least one major fight with an under-card fight or two guaranteed on Saturday and Sunday. And they weren’t just fights, mind you, there were some classics. I remember Andy Ganigan blasting out Sean O’Grady in two rounds. Alexis Arguello taking out a game and brave Ray Mancini in the thirteenth. Duk-Ko Kim earning boxing immortality by fighting to his death against Mancini. Then there were Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Bobby Chacon, Rolando Navarette and Bazooka Limon fighting each other seemingly on a monthly basis with every single one of the fights being brilliant. More...

Walking through Barnes & Noble with my wife, we happened upon a boxing record book. My wife, having listened to my pontifications on boxing for many years, decided to put me to the test. “What boxer suffered the most knockdowns in a title fight?” she asked smugly. “Danny O’Sullivan was dropped fourteen times by Vic Toweel, a South African,” I answered. “Who held the middleweight championship the most times?” “Sugar Ray Robinson. Five separate times he was the undisputed middleweight champion.” “Who defended the heavyweight title the most?” “Joe Louis, twenty-five times. He used to fight what the press nicknamed “the bum-of-the-month club,” guys like Tony Galento and Buddy Baer.” “Who was the tallest heavyweight champion?” “Primo Carnera, a six-foot-eight-inch Italian who couldn’t fight a lick and was managed by mobsters,” I answered. “He won the title from Jack Sharkey in a fight many believe was fixed. He later lost the title to Max Baer, who knocked him down eight times. Baer was good-looking and popular but didn’t take fighting seriously enough. He was out-pointed by Jim Braddock in his first defense. With that upset victory, Braddock was forever known as the “Cinderella Man.’ Braddock sat on the title for a couple years before giving Joe Louis a shot. Louis, while still considered fantastic, was coming off his knockout loss to Max Schmeling. So, while Schmeling was more deserving of a title shot, the fact that he was German led Braddock to fight Louis. Of course, Braddock was extremely intelligent and got a percentage of Louis’ future fights in the contract. Louis went on to KO Braddock in the eighth round, beginning his amazing reign.”

My wife was long gone at this point and I was lecturing a sales girl. More...