Boxing History

Boxing history articles

Evander Holyfield retires at age 51 – “The Real Deal” goes down in history as a true great

Evander Holyfield retires at age 51 - “The Real Deal” goes down in history as a true great

Living legend and huge overachiever Evander Holyfield has officially retired from boxing at the age of 51. “The Real Deal” said that he has been unable to get fights and that he “don’t want to get hit.” The announcement will no doubt come as a relief to Holyfield’s fans and friends, as it looked until quite recently that the former four-time heavyweight ruler would stick around for what he hoped would be one last big fight.

Now that he has realised he has done more than enough in boxing, Evander can sit back and let the historians decide where they will rank him amongst the other boxing greats that lit up the sport. It’s almost a gimme that Holyfield – who retires with an overall record of 44-10-2 – 1 no-contest (29 KO’s) but a spotless 18-0 (14) as a cruiserweight – will go down as THE greatest cruiserweight of all-time. As to where he will be placed amongst the heavyweight immortals, the 1984 Olympic bronze medallist will probably be placed somewhere in the top-10, or at the very least just below the top-10.

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Mike Tyson vs. The Early Heavyweight Legends

Mike Tyson vs. The Early Heavyweight Legends

When many consider a fighter like Mike Tyson against the early heavyweight greats they either dismiss the ability of the old-timers and consider them “too small” or go the other way and canonize them above modern fighters. The critic will weigh the likes of Jim Jeffries, Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey in their day versus Tyson under modern rules. The first misconception that the old timers couldn’t fight is simply not true and while size does matter it can be trumped by ability. The latter point of comparing fighters under different rules is just not a level playing field. Let us consider then that we had a time machine and propelled Mike Tyson back in time to fight these men during their heyday. There are two important considerations besides the ability of the fighters themselves and those are: 1) the rules of the period and how the referees handled the fights and b) the gear that the fighters used.

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What If A Fight That Never Happened Actually Did Happen? Joe Frazier Vs Ken Norton

What If A Fight That Never Happened Actually Did Happen? Joe Frazier Vs Ken Norton

There are some fights that were possible but they never happened. In the case of Joe Frazier verses Ken Norton a little bit of alternative revisionist history is needed to set the stage for the fight to have happened. The following, of course, is fiction and it is my take on how such a fight may have transpired.

It is May 1974 and former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier is in training to fight fellow highly ranked contender Jerry Quarry who had defeated up and coming contenders Earnie Shavers and Ron Lyle the previous year. Frazier, who was fresh off a loss to fellow ex champion Muhammad Ali, knew a win over Quarry would solidify another heavyweight title shot against the man who had brutally taken his title from him, George Foreman. But as luck would have it Quarry, who was prone to cuts, was cut while training and the injury was severe enough to sideline him for the next couple of months. Frazier was told by several promoters and by representatives of the major sanctioning bodies that he had to beat a top ranked contender in order to be considered for another title shot. But the problem was that if Quarry, who fit the bill, was not available, and both Lyle and Shavers who had already been beaten by Quarry had slipped in the rankings, who was available for Frazier to fight?

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Ten years ago today: Oscar De La Hoya scrapes past Felix Sturm in Las Vegas

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A decade ago today, Oscar De La Hoya, the number-one star and Box Office draw of the sport, fought a then largely unknown Felix Sturm in what was “The Golden Boy’s” first fight up at middleweight.

For De La Hoya, the fight, held at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was supposed to be a high-level “warm up” for an assault on world middleweight king Bernard Hopkins’ belts (B-Hop defeated Robert Allen on the same card that June night in 2004), but the fight turned out to be much more than that.

Challenging the 20-0 German for the WBO belt, De La Hoya came in looking overweight and sluggish and he came within a whisker of paying the price and blowing the Hopkins mega-match. Sturm may have been unknown, but he had behind him a superb amateur career and he unveiled his skills against the 36-3 superstar who, at age 31 was six years his senior. Sturm boxed behind his superb left jab, out-punched De La Hoya, marked him up around the eye and generally appeared to boss the fight.

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Kings of the Ring: A Conversation with Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes at Turning Stone

Kings of the Ring: A Conversation with Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes at Turning Stone

VERONA, NY (June 4, 2014) — Turning Stone hosted “Kings of the Ring: A Conversation with Mike Tyson and Larry Holmes” today to promoted this week’s ESPN Friday Night Fights (see fact sheet below), promoted by Iron Mike Productions, at the resort casino in upstate New York.

Longtime sports columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard and Syracuse.com, Bud Poliguin, served as the moderator, asking the two Hall of Famers and world heavyweight champions a series of questions, before the floor was opened for the many fans in attendance to ask Tyson and Holmes questions.

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How would a near-prime Joe Calzaghe fare today?

How would a near-prime Joe Calzaghe fare today?

With bated breath, the entire boxing world is looking forward to the eagerly anticipated rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves. The sheer energy and excitement that will undoubtedly be unleashed by 80,000 screaming British fans is so electric it can practically be felt already. Their first encounter was incredible, and there is every reason to believe that this time the action will be every bit as intense, with the possibility of even exceeding the former’s fireworks. The atmosphere being generated is so fiery and profound and explosive, that it is totally reminiscent of the mood often created during the lead-up for fights involving the soon-to-be Hall of Fame inductee, Joe Calzaghe, the greatest super middleweight boxing has ever known. Makes you kind of wonder how Joe Calzaghe would do if he was fighting today at or near his best?

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Matthew Saad Muhammad Obit – Matthew: You Gave Us Everything You Had!

Matthew Saad Muhammad Obit - Matthew: You Gave Us Everything You Had!

Matthew Saad Muhammad, perhaps the most entertaining light-heavyweight in boxing history, passed away over the weekend at the age of 59. Promoter J Russell Peltz, International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2004, recalls his days with Saad.

Matthew: You Gave Us Everything You Had!

I was in my car Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh with my wife, Linda, and our grand-children and we were on our way to see the Pirates play at PNC Park when the call came in over the car-phone speaker. It was Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, calling from Las Vegas, to tell us that Matthew Saad Muhammad had passed away the night before.

Eddie boxed several times for me in the 1970s and 1980s and we have a friendship based on mutual respect. Eddie has become a keeper-of-the-flame for the fighters of his era and in January, 2011, he and his wife flew from Las Vegas to Philadelphia to attend Bennie Briscoe’s funeral, something I will never forget.

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R.I.P Matthew Saad Muhammad – 1954-2014

R.I.P Matthew Saad Muhammad - 1954-2014

In sad news, it has been reported how Matthew Saad Muhammad, the former light-heavyweight king from the 1980s, yesterday passed away in hospital in his hometown of Philadelphia from unknown causes. Saad was just 59-years-old.

An absolute warrior in every sense of the word, Saad – born Matthew Franklin but changing his name for religious reasons in the ‘80’s – was known for taking unbelievable punishment in fights and somehow coming back to win. Turning pro in January of 1974 at the Spectrum in Philly, Saad would go on to capture the NABF 175-pound title with a 1977 stoppage win over Marvin Johnson (these two would meet again). In April of 1979, in Indianapolis, Saad TKO’d Johnson in the 8th to win the WBC crown. A number of thrillers already on his resume, Matthew would engage in plenty more.

His wars with Johnson, Yaqui Lopez and Dwight Muhammad Qawi are legendary, even if Saad was past his best a by the time of his first rumble with Qawi. Losing the WBC title to Qawi after having made eight retentions, Saad wasn’t ready to quit. Sadly boxing on way too long, losing a return to Qawi, again by stoppage, Matthew would lose 11 further bouts before finally hanging ‘em up at the age of 47 in 1992. Nothing can ever take away from Muhammad’s epic battles however.

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Ron Lipton remembers ‘Hurricane’ Carter

Ron Lipton remembers 'Hurricane' Carter

By Kevin Gleason, recordonline.com – Ron Lipton asked about the photo of the guy up on a wall at the famed Mooksie’s Gym in Newark, N.J. “That’s Hurricane Carter,” said Lipton’s trainer, who had also trained Carter.

“Why don’t you get him to come to the gym?” Lipton asked.

“Because he doesn’t like white guys,” the trainer said.

The trainer set up a meeting anyway. Lipton, a talented boxer with 145 amateur bouts, was young and fearless and crazy, apparently the perfect combination for middleweight title contender Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. “I hear you need to beat up another white guy,” Lipton said when Carter showed up, “and I’m here for the job.”

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