7 articles
People like to talk about Anthony Joshua’s flaws. What he can or can’t do. There’s almost a snobbery attached to the fact that he can punch very, very hard. And the fact that when he hurts someone, he almost always finishes the job. In the hurt business, you can’t ask for much more. To beat […]
Some people balk at the suggestion of elite sport as an art-form. They balk even more at the suggestion that boxing could be one. “That thing where you beat each other about the head and body?” To a certain extent, I get it. I guess at times, when an opponent is fed to a young […]
Strip away the Sky Sports Box Office artifice and Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs, beforehand) vs Dereck Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) was a simple fight. The new, shiny prospect (or at least someone fresh to the division in Usyk) testing his credentials against an established gatekeeper in Chisora. And, come the night, the end result […]
One of the biggest boxing clichés is the ex-fighter who can’t let go of the game. They’ve still got it, they believe and have regrets that they want to correct. And, like many clichés, there’s plenty of truth in it. Every boxing writer has spoken to fighters who never truly walked away, mentally. So, it’s […]
The very best fighters, and even those who aren’t so great, often have a healthy regard for their own ability. It’s a type of radiant self-confidence, which provides a form of protection in the ring just as great as a well-timed slip or a subtle parry. Even at the age of 70, former lineal, WBC […]
If you’ve visited the boxing section of a bookshop over the past few years, you’ll have noticed the plethora of books devoted to Muhammad Ali. Understandable, perhaps, but there’s also been a need for a closer look at his greatest rival Joe Frazier for some time. Frazier, after all, handed Ali his first loss in […]
Boxing is a dangerous business. There’s no escaping that. The appeal of the sport to people, besides that danger, is myriad. The skill, the athleticism, the excitement, the feeling of being part of an event. They all appeal, all in different quantities, to different people. But it’s that danger, lurking behind every punch thrown, the […]