The relationship between mixed martial arts and boxing has had an intriguing evolution in the past decade. The boxing establishment has viewed MMA with equal parts ambivalence, hostility, envy and sometimes grudging respect. The MMA world has sometimes seen boxing as a kindly old uncle that you respect for its past, but snicker a bit…
What took David Haye and his braintrust so long to figure out that he was a lot better off fighting Nikolai Valuev for a world title than he was fighting a Klitschko? If David had come to this realization earlier he would have spared us the charade of pulling out of the Wladimir fight and…
OK, this is a little awkward. When the news broke this week that Showtime has created a six man tournament in the super middleweight division I was, well, ecstatic. I love the talent in super middleweight division, and I think boxing needs something fresh and daring like this tourney. Now those are my honest, gut…
A week and a half ago, I finally got a chance to see “King” Arthur Abraham fight in front of his loyal subjects in Germany. It was a fun and exhilarating experience, but I realized while watching King Arthur beat a better than advertised Mahir Oral that the venue is not the deciding factor in…
When an athlete or any celebrity writes a book, an all important element is the title. And over the years, many projects have had titles that did not make the final cut. I had a book project that had an original title that I thought was inspired–“My Life As Boxing’s Sex Symbol.†For some unfathomable…
While we all wait for the apparently inevitable announcement that Manny Pacquiao will fight Miguel Cotto, I think it’s wise to really sit back and try and put the Pacquiao story in perspective. Our goal here is to come up with some historical perspective that is reasoned. In doing that you would think that the…
“This Is Not Time For Humor!” Imagine, if you will, this scene. In a slightly run down urban neighborhood, a huge truck with an ESPN logo on it is parked behind a concert venue. Several police cars surround the truck and officers exit their vehicles and approach the truck very carefully. They have already called…
I want to thank all of you for the comments and observations you sent in on last week’s column. I am sure this week’s column will spark some debate. Also, I would love to get your opinion on the “mythical†fight that is highlighted on one of the video pieces below from The Al Bernstein…
As we bask in the glory of great fights already held this year and look ahead to bouts like Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Juan Manuel Marquez in July and Manny Pacquiao vs. Somebody in October, let’s not forget a fight that is just upon us; the battle between Miguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey on June…
SaddoBoxing has the honor of introducing Al Bernstein and his new exclusive column, “Al Bernstein On Boxing”! Al is unquestionably the top television analyst in the sport today, appearing on Showtime since 2003 along with stints at ESPN and NBC and currently hosts the Internet’s premier boxing channel on iBN Sports. A winner of the…