Sports Journalist · 33 articles
1) SUGAR RAY ROBINSON KO 5 GENE FULMER May 1, 1957, Chicago Stadium. Universally acknowledged as the greatest left hook that ever landed on one unfortunate mandible or simply the greatest punch ever thrown. What Robinson described as Fulmer’s ‘bar room brawler’ style always gave the original Sugarman problems and this second meeting of their […]
A CUT SOURCE: BBC Sport A frequent cause of postponements and cancellations, fighters and trainers dread the possibility of sustaining a bad cut in preparation for a big fight. Head guards are designed to prevent this manner of injury but, while they greatly reduce the likelihood of a fighter sustaining cut eyes, they are not […]
1/ ‘Keep your hands up’ is the most overrated advice in boxing beyond novice level. Punches are best delivered from shoulder level and good head movement can be more effective than a tight high guard. 2/ Rest days are important. Lazy fighters need a task master but the fitness fanatics require reigning in on occasion. […]
Over the weekend, I watched a documentary dedicated to Colin Jones. In particular, it focussed on his two WBC titles fights with Milton McCrory. Re-watching the footage of Jones destroying Kirkland Laing caused me to wonder when we last saw a domestic title fight between two fighters of equivalent quality? And how good a fighter […]
Like no other category of men, boxers have a mammoth capacity for self delusion. It’s a necessary requirement for what they are compelled to do, since a truly candid man would probably turn around, mid ring walk, and head back to the safety of the locker room. Mention a loss to a fighter and he […]
Frankie Carbo And The Mob Stranglehold On Boxing In ‘The Good Old Days.’ Boxing aficionados, those long time devotees known as ‘die hards’ have frequently been known to lament the cynical shenanigans of the sanctioning bodies that blight the world boxing landscape today. Whilst decrying the logical insanity of an industry that entertains up to […]
Urbane and good looking with an appearance more commensurate with that of a real estate broker than a professional prize fighter, Dan Sherry was once hailed as a future world champion. The 1986 Commonwealth Games gold medallist ultimately decided to pass on the opportunity to replicate that feat in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, opting instead […]
It has always gleaned my contempt when a journalist or armchair fan who has never been in receipt of cultured leather refers to a world class fighter as ‘feather fisted’. Other sages from the sofa will gleefully proclaim that one top flight boxer or another ‘couldn’t crack an egg.’ While I have little time for […]
1/ Jack Johnson took a dive vs Jess Williard – Johnson sold his confession to former Ring editor, Nat Fleischer when said to be down on his luck many years later and cited this picture of him shielding his eyes from the sun as supporting evidence. But as Mike Tyson said to Harry Carpenter in […]