Sports Journalist · 257 articles
This weekend, Anthony Joshua attempts to regain his heavyweight titles when rematching Oleksandr Usyk on one of boxing’s biggest cards of the year. Fans’ favourite Buddy McGirt is in Jeddah and is ready for a ‘first’ in boxing. It’s significant for the man, fighter, and coach that has almost done it all. He has captured world titles […]
Anthony Joshua is within punching distance of his 27th professional fight where he’ll try to avenge his loss to unified, Ukrainian heavyweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk. Boxing Social take a look at Joshua’s five defining victories – one of which will almost certainly be demoted should he upset the odds in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Anthony Joshua v […]
“How did I meet Buddy McGirt?” the extremely well spoken Ziyad ‘Zizo’ Almaayouf asks, rhetorically. “I spent months and months studying only his jab. Before I even knew he was a coach. Then I open up Instagram and I say that I’ve been studying him, I tagged him on my story two years before he […]
Cleland’s Stephen Newns Jnr has been waiting four years for this. Since exiting the Commonwealth Games in Australia’s Gold Coast back in 2018, he’s been thinking, learning, improving, and maturing. Now, just days away from the opening ceremony of the prestigious sporting event’s next edition, Newns knows he’s as ready as he’ll ever be. The […]
There are rumours swirling on Trip Advisor that a “champion boxer from the Sydney Olympics” has been hanging around the streets of Cienfuegos, Cuba, interfering in the hospitality sector as a clever side hustle. He’d block the path of tourists en-route to restaurants of their own choosing – good ones, recommended by friends or websites – […]
Fear no death – but defeat. Those five words, emblazoned on the back of one of Siphesihle Mntungwa’s old ring vests, worn as he paced through another passionate South African crowd on a previous fight night, described the mentality that all professional fighters assume they must possess. Mntungwa (7-1-2, 4KOs), who hadn’t tasted victory in any of his […]
Shortly before the evening’s main event, a women’s super-welterweight world title fight between Scotland’s reigning WBA and IBO champion, Hannah Rankin, and Tijuana’s travelling challenger, Alejandra Ayala, I walked the outer perimeter of the ringside seating section. There, sitting peacefully, were two Mexican fight fans – one male, one female. As I wandered over to […]
“I’ve just walked in the door; they’ve just come back from nursery, the two kids. Dad life’s good, you know. I do everything for these two little boys – everything. That’s why I’m doing this, for these boys and for me’ missus…” It’s just shy of five years since I last spoke to Josh Kelly (10-1-1, 6KOs), and […]
Excitement can make or break a fighter’s career. With plenty of it, they’ll attract fans in their droves, gaining a reputation for value, and becoming icons of snappy social media sites in the modern era. Big knockouts, unrelenting, brutal combinations, stalking and savaging their opponents, and displaying their own sense of vulnerability. Without it? Boxers can […]
‘Little G Man’ wasn’t there the night his world was turned upside down. He was at home, probably playing with friends or counting the minutes until his dad, champion of the world, his hero, returned to Freeport, Illinois. And although Gerald McClellan eventually made it back, some six months after his infamous, fateful fight with […]
Have you ever been to the theatre when one of the lead actors has forgotten their lines? The quiet uncomfortably seeps in and, though it may last for just a handful of seconds, everybody watching knows that something is afoot. This character, this actor so accustomed to playing this role, seems to shrink before your […]
The canvas? That wasn’t where Dee Allen (1-0, 1KO) expected to find herself a mere 20 seconds into her professional debut. Years of questioning her own dedication to a craft that rarely offered reward, and it took just seconds to realise that anything worth having doesn’t come easy – especially as a pro. Allen, from […]