Sports Journalist · 257 articles
It was around 7am on the morning of June 14, 2017, when I first read the headlines of Grenfell Tower, still burning, with fighters and friends of mine from the local area staring on in disbelief; painfully unable to make a difference. I had to get up and go to work with my phone flooded. […]
It’s been a few days since Eddie Hearn’s interview with IFL TV and I’ve decided to let things marinate because, well, when in Rome, right? The Matchroom Boxing kingpin stole headlines when he explained how he’d been “naïve” and “too trusting” when dealing with Tyson Fury’s promoter/team, including rival promoter Bob Arum. It got me […]
Being eight-years old on the south side streets of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, can age a child in dog years. The colourful murals painted on the building exteriors distract from what’s happening behind some closed, unlocked doors. Children are left fending for themselves, exposed to a range of things even men shouldn’t have to see. But in […]
‘If you want loyalty then buy a dog,’ read an Instagram post from Shane McGuigan, reproducing an historic phrase famously coined by manager, matchmaker and promoter, Mickey Duff. It followed McGuigan’s abrupt and anything but amicable split from Edinburgh’s unified 140lbs champion Josh Taylor and was another reminder that relationships between fighters and their extended […]
To say it’s been a “long time coming” feels disingenuous. Ahead of Devin Haney’s bout with former three-weight world champion, Venezuelan road warrior, Jorge Linares, fans will claim its an overdue litmus test. But that’s boxing, right? Haney, remarkably still just 22-years old, enters his 26th bout looking to prove something once again to boxing’s fickle […]
It’s been a strange week for Olympic bronze medallist, Artem Harutyunyan (9-0, 6 KOs). At time of writing, he’s expecting to face his third opponent of the week, thanks to issues with flights out of Nicaragua (opponent number one) and COVID complications (the Argentinian who’d expected to fill in). Boxing in the modern era is […]
“I’ll never say never, and I never announced a retirement. In my head I want to do it, but my body, I don’t know… It’s heartbreaking when you think you’re training for a fight, you’re so looking forward to it and then you canny’ do it. But never say never. Fuck it.” Greenock’s John Simpson (26-11, […]
“That is the scariest part of my life,” admits the voice at the other end of a shaky, cross-continental Facebook Messenger call. It was a call intended merely to recap an experienced fighter’s career; to celebrate successes and ponder the future – inside or outside of the boxing ring. It ended up much more than […]
Every fighter worth their salt will inevitably face an acid test or navigate their way through a tricky, character-defining crossroads… It isn’t always when it should be. In fact, in boxing, it’s often too late or deemed insignificant. It also isn’t always a fight or an opponent; it can be a career-threatening injury or the […]
“The only thing I was really missing from that ‘star appeal’ was the teeth – but now I got ‘em! They can’t tell me nothing now, I’m red carpet ready!” jokes Brooklyn’s Chris Colbert (15-0, 6KOs), enjoying one of his own effortless transitions from mature, professional fighter to braggadocios entertainer. The teeth are sparkling, no […]
‘Another teen shot dead in Jersey City,’ reads the top story when searching for the second-most populous city in New Jersey, with ‘Jersey City man sentenced to six years in Newport mall shooting,’ resting ominously just below it. Both stories entirely unrelated, but a reminder of what it’s like to grow up tough in the ‘201‘. […]
“Here in Venezuela, you don’t live, you just survive…” A Scottish saltire flashes across the Instagram story of once-lost Cuban fighter, Cristhian Martinez. Now living in Slovakia, I’d managed to track down the star of Sons of Cuba last year to share his own story of defection – from Cuba, and then from boxing almost entirely. Surely, […]