Known for its successful, talent-laden boxing history, Philadelphia breeds its fighters tough. The International Boxing Hall of Fame currently includes Philly legends such as Joe Frazier and Matthew Saad Muhammad. But those weren’t the na...

Making the walk to the ring as the challenger on enemy soil is daunting enough, with legs heavy and nerves visibly creasing every facial expression. It’s not fear. Fear is something different. It’s more the culmination of a life’s wor...

Tucked between deteriorating buildings, its chipped paintwork is splashed up and down the walls. Dusty, crooked seating sits empty, reserved for any loving, worried parents in attendance. The Rafael Trejo Gym in Old Havana, Cuba, is a far c...

With boxing experiencing an enforced hiatus, the importance of maintaining conditioning and ‘staying ready’ cannot be underestimated. Fighters are returning to local gyms and hitting the concrete, racking up miles of roadwork perhaps co...

When boxing returns to Britain, it will do so in a completely unfamiliar format. Shows are tipped to feature fewer bouts because of unconventional health and safety regulations due to Covid-19, placing increased importance on innovative mat...

The similarities between St. Louis’ native and former world champion Leon Spinks, and Uzbekistan’s diminutive talent Murodjon Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6 KOs) can hardly be described as ‘striking’.  Gap-toothed heavyweight (a...

As boxing begins to stagger back to its feet following the Coronavirus knockdown, forward-thinking promoter and former Detroit-based fighter Dmitriy Salita revealed official plans to stage fights in the city’s legendary Kronk Gy...

When he stepped up to bat, the young All-Star baseball player from the troubled town of South El Monte, California, always landed on ‘first’. Either hitting a single or making the walk, arriving at his desired destination was key – ta...

An education in the sport of boxing becomes extremely tough, very early. The young children spending hours staring at themselves in the mirror, perfecting their stance, or the older teenagers skipping rope until they’re all out of bounce,...

Peering in at boxing’s heavyweight division from a safe (and social) distance, it appears that most of its significant fights have taken place via email, telephone call or discarded, disingenuous contract. Champions and recently defeated ...

The locker room is suffocated by the disappointment of an unexpected defeat. It’s not unexpected due to the calibre of opponent, as such, but because of the steely self-belief that has carried the fallen prospect this far and is crushed, ...

It’s been over seven years since that long trip home from the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. The flight seemed to drag for Matthew Hatton (43-7-2, 17 KOs) and his team after suffering one, final defeat at the hand...

Between short, bridging spells of nervous laughter, the softly spoken Emilio Sanchez (18-1, 11 KOs) seems surprised. He’s surprised that he’s come this far as a boxer after previously pursuing a mixture of American Football and tra...

Listening to the deep, Southern drawl, you would be forgiven for thinking that former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder had picked up the phone. Instead, fellow Tuscaloosa native Deon ‘The Equalizer’ Nicholson (13-0, 12 KOs) spoke...

The evening’s main event wasn’t supposed to be this good. Sure, both men were battling for a belt they’d treat as their own world title, but York Hall shook unexpectedly. The balcony boomed as it gazed down upon a former Premier Leagu...

The crowd holds their breath in silence as another burst of fast-twitch muscle fibre results in a thumping connection. This is what they’ve come to see: the veins of their chosen athletes’ calves pulsing, shorts creased as they co...

The phone rings out, unanswered for a second time. Nothing. Fighters aren’t known for their timekeeping or their reliability, but when packing up, resigned to try my luck another day, an incoming call then flashes across the screen. The ...

Everything was still. Everything except the panicked, adrenalin-charged chest of the young criminal, struggling to reduce its trembling, staring up at the foundation of a stranger’s home. The teenager had covered himself in dirt, des...

Situated just over ten miles from Glasgow’s city centre on the North Bank of the River Clyde, Dumbarton has kept a low profile in recent years, smothered in the shadow of its own famous rock. Boxing hasn’t brought the town the s...

“What am I going to fight for? Unless someone comes over and says, ‘Andy we’re giving you four million dollars.’ Or stupid money that you could say, ‘Well, look it’s worth it.’ But otherwise youR...

Behind the scenes at a packed, vibrant York Hall, fighters are milling about, smashing pads or lightly jogging on the spot. Weeks, and often months of preparation have led to this moment, fighting at one of the sport’s historic venues...