“When my manager told me I’ve got to do this interview, I didn’t want to do it. I understand that just because I go through adversity, and because I go through trials and tribulations, that my life cannot stop. But I’m still hurting.” Staten Island native James Wilkins (9-1, 6 KOs) doesn’t want to talk. It’s understandable […]
Less than two years ago, between a humid Christmas and the early signs of Central American summer, one heavily populated borough of Mexico City clocked a distressing 184 homicides. Iztapalapa, the ancient Aztec city, breeds its residents tough because anything else could see them vulnerable or in serious danger. Theirs is a life spent fighting […]
Fingers tap the walls of this cell; those hands that paid the bills are now redundant, marking every minute with the motioning of scarred knuckles. Regrets often weave their way between the bars, sleek and smooth, like sewing needles. Choices made – often in haste or fear – have led to an abundance of time. […]
As one severely disrupted sporting season draws to a disappointing close, another revs up, preparing to explosively recommence in unfamiliar surroundings. In a tale of two Eddies, struggling AFC Bournemouth look almost certain to plummet from the English Premiership – sending loyal manager Eddie Howe into football’s second flight for the first time in over […]
An engineers’ yard, a ballroom dance floor and a dusty, makeshift basketball court are all listed as venues on the professional record of unbeaten Nigerian boxer, Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab (19-0, 12 KOs). His first six opponents hadn’t won a fight between them, but as various parts of the world emerge from the initial wave of the […]
Pausing, thinking of an answer to the final question, Sergio Martinez (51-3-2, 28 KOs) tells Boxing Social, “I want to be remembered as a good champion, a good person, honest in and out of the ring. All I have done and all I am going to do is for the history of boxing, for my country and for […]
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 names that echoed through the phone, they were too big, too heavy and too obvious. “Jeff Chandler, now he was a […]
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 work; it’s that big moment that many fighters fear may never actually arrive in a sport as fickle […]
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 cry from the Island’s striking coastline, but it plays home to many of the country’s top amateur […]
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 conveniently forgotten about during the Coronavirus lockdown, with their next bouts – and in some cases their entire careers – cloaked in […]
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 matchmaking. But the most salient difference will be the lack of a live audience. One fighter heavily tipped to […]
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 (and part-time cruiserweight) Spinks – brother of Michael – toppled an ageing Muhammad Ali in only his eighth fight, seizing both the WBC and WBA crowns unexpectedly in […]