James Slater

James Slater has been a respected voice at Boxing247.com (formerly East Side Boxing) for over twenty years. Known for his deep knowledge of the sport, he covers everything from breaking news and historical features to exclusive fighter interviews. Throughout his career, Slater has spoken with world champions, rising prospects, and boxing legends alike, offering readers trusted insight and genuine passion for the fight game.

The Hardest Punchers In Boxing Today: From Heavyweight On Down!

wlad45Last night in Atlantic City, in “The House That Gatti Built,” we all saw a brutal and highly efficient display of what all boxing fans both love and, deep down, crave: KO punching power. Argentine 140-pound KO King Lucas Matthysse blew away the previously unstopped Lamont Peterson, in so doing giving the sport a high-energy jolt of excitement.

For as much as we can appreciate a master boxer, like, say, a Floyd Mayweather Junior, there is nothing quite like a lights out master such as Matthysse. That said, who are the single hardest punchers in boxing today from heavyweight on down?

The Guillermo Jones-Denis Lebedev War: The Good And The Bad Side Of Boxing

lebedev3Bottom line, boxing is entertainment. That is why fans in their droves pay big money: to be entertained. But yesterday in Moscow, Russia, cruiserweights Guillermo Jones and Denis Lebedev gave way, way, way too much in the name of entertainment; the beaten and savagely beaten up Lebedev in particular. Looking like the Elephant man or actor Eric Stoltz in the film ‘Mask’, Lebedev, the entire right side of his face swollen, his eye perhaps permanently damaged, should have been pulled out long before he was counted out in the 11th-round of an absolute slugfest.

Forget the fact that veteran Jones – who showed an amazing chin, taking flush bombs to the head again and again – regained the WBA 200-pound belt and became the first man to halt southpaw Lebedev, the talking point of this fight was and will continue to be the sickening eye injury Lebedev sustained.

Who Will Floyd Mayweather Junior’s Next Five Opponents Be? Who Should They Be?

05 So much for Floyd Mayweather Junior slowing down even a little due to age/inactivity/jail time. “Money May” may be 36-years-old now and he may have fought just four times in the last three years, but, as he showed last night in totally dominating a tough but outclassed Robert Guerrero, Mayweather is as great as ever. The two months in jail proved to be totally irrelevant, and any suggestions Guerrero or anyone else might have made about Floyd having slowed down a little were blown clean out of the water.

In short, Mayweather made it look easy last night. Looking as razor-sharp as ever, his right hand especially, “Money” made “The Ghost” look like a somewhat clumsy amateur on occasion. The problem, once again, was Mayweather won so easily the fight became boring for many fans; some of them leaving The MGM Grand before the fight ended. These people may be guilty of failing to appreciate a master at work, but fans want entertainment and, bottom line, there is no fighter out there capable of making Mayweather work hard enough for a thrilling, competitive fight to break out. Floyd is simply head and shoulders above everyone else at 147 and 154-pounds. It might be that Mayweather will have to take on a big name from the talent-rich 140-pound weight class soon.

Predictions For Tonight’s Fights! Fury/Cunningham, Cleverly/Krasniqi, Alvarez/Trout

613 Not long to go now until tonight’s action packed evening of boxing action gets underway!

We have heavyweight action with Tyson Fury Vs. Steve Cunningham, we have an important light-heavyweight encounter between Nathan Cleverly and his mandatory, Robin Krasniqi, and we have a massive, tough-to-call light-middleweight unification bout between future megastar “Canelo” Alvarez and Austin Trout.

The action takes place in New York, London and San Antonio, Texas. All three cards have some interesting supporting bouts, but it’s the big three that are most exciting for fans.

Here, and for what it’s worth, I give my three fight predictions:

Dereck Chisora Still Angry At Wladimir Klitschko For Pulling Out Of Defence!

British heavyweight bad boy Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora is not making any predictions ahead of his ring return tonight – against Argentine Hector Alfredo Avila – merely stating that he will “enjoy it.” However, the former WBC title challenger is not holding his tongue on the subject of world heavyweight number-one Wladimir Klitschko.

As fans may recall, Chisora was twice set to challenge “Dr. Steel Hammer” some months back, only for Wladimir to twice pull out of the fight. This still angers Chisora, the first cancellation especially.

R.I.P Carl Williams, “The Truth” Passes Away At Age 53

williams4By James Slater: In sad news, it has been reported that former top class heavyweight contender and former two-time world title challenger Carl “The Truth” Williams has passed away. Williams, just 53, lost a long battle with oesophageal cancer, passing away on April 7th.

Best known for his losing challenge of a peak Mike Tyson – when Williams was somewhat controversially stopped via TKO, when up and on his feet, in the opening round – Williams fought a number of other notable bouts.

His best performance was undoubtedly his close 15-round decision loss to an unbeaten Larry Holmes for the IBF title back in May of 1985. The long-armed Williams used his superb jab to great effect especially, with a good number of people feeling the challenger had done enough to have upset “The Easton Assassin.” Carl also fought notables such as Jesse Ferguson (WTKO10), Mike Weaver (LTKOby2), Bert Cooper (WRTD8), Trevor Berbick (WU12), Tim Witherspoon (LS12), Tommy Morrison (LTKO8) and Frank Bruno (LTKO10).

Kennedy McKinney: “How Come I Ain’t In The Hall Of Fame!”

mckinney56564Former IBF and WBO super-bantamweight ruler “King” Kennedy McKinney feels he is more than deserving of being enshrined in The Boxing Hall of Fame. An Olympic gold medallist, McKinney made a name for himself by showing he was a warrior willing to go anywhere to fight anyone at pro level.

With a number of highlight reel moments to choose from in his thrilling, up and down career, it’s a tough job picking where to start when speaking with the 47-year-old who walked away with a 36-6-1(19) ledger in the spring of 2003.

A good enough place to start is Kennedy’s 1992 IBF title win over Welcome Ncita: a fight that saw awesome two-way action, an incredible turnaround and a truly epic one-punch KO.