A Tribute To Ken Norton – 1943-2013

norton gang As fans have no doubt read by now, heavyweight legend and former world champion Ken Norton passed away earlier today. The magnificently conditioned former U.S Marine, most famous for his three epic fights with Muhammad Ali, suffered a stroke last year and had been in poor health since. Today, fans and former champions everywhere are sending out messages of condolence to Norton’s family.

I had the opportunity to meet Kenny last year, in Las Vegas.

By way of a tribute to the Hall of Famer who met such heavyweight titans as: Ali, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Gerry Cooney, Earnie Shavers and many, many more – I recall the short amount of time I spent with Norton during the Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto fight week of May 2012.

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Mike Tyson Exclusive Interview: Your Questions Answered

I have been a participating boxing fan, as well as somewhat of a journalist for a little over 15 years now. Being an admirer of the sport long before I started writing, as time went on, I had decided to try and get a little closer and really understand who these fighters were inside and outside of the fight scene. As I was able to successfully get more involved and become a candidate for media passes to various boxing events, my resume of video and phone interviews skyrocketed.

While I was star struck at first, this had faded fast, leaving me with only an emotionless professional approach. This is still generally the case, except when it comes to one name, one former world champion that evokes excitement and exhilaration whenever I am lucky enough to see or talk to the man.

‘Iron’ Mike Tyson is not just a celebrity, but is a personality; a character that never fails to entertain, keeping the public on the edge of their seats. Whether delivering knockouts or doing interviews, Tyson was always the favorite of the boxing community.

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How Great Is Floyd Mayweather? An Open Letter From An Open Mind

Last Saturday the world watched as Pound-for-Pound king, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather faced Mexican warrior, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Fans, media, skeptics, and beyond viewed this as a classic grudge match pairing “old school” vs “new school”. Narrow betting odds across the globe displayed what most viewed to be an inherent danger involved for the aging Mayweather. By the end of the night that same group of people would have paralleled thoughts yet again; only this time, of a vastly different variety.

When headlines around the world fell off the press, there was only one “shock” to be reported. That “shock” was the incredulous and utterly criminal scoring of female Nevada based judge, C.J. Ross. Many took it upon themselves to condemn her, but the greatest lesson to be taken from this spectacle was the fact that Ross wasn’t alone in error. We all were. Our biggest error as fans coming into the fight was viewing Golden Boy Promotions’ title theme, “THE ONE”, as a question; as opposed to comprehending the fact that it technically served as the answer. What we witnessed for 12 full rounds was a level of mastery demonstrated with ease in a way that few in the history of the sport could display at any point in their respective careers; let alone at the ripe age of 36.

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Nonito Donaire Interview; Top Rank Press Conference Photos

Nonito Donaire Interview with Adrian Hernandez in Corpus Christi, TX. Donaire talks about his up coming bout with Vic Darchinyan at the American Bank Center

Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs), a native of General Santos City, Philippines, now living in Las Vegas, Nev., has been a consensus top-10 pound-for-pound fighter for several years. His 12-year, 30-bout winning streak came to an end in his last fight, losing a decision to undefeated Cuban sensation and WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rogondeaux in a title unification bout last April. Trained by 2012 Trainer of the Year and former world champion Robert Garcia, Donaire is himself the reigning Fighter of the Year. 2012 was a career year for Donaire, winning four world title fights — all televised live on HBO. Highlights included capturing the vacant WBO junior featherweight title in February, winning a gritty split-decision battle over former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr.

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My Mom the Cut-Man: Old School Revisited

The year was 1960, my desperate trainer uncle entered our 3rd floor South Bronx apartment without bothering to knock. With him was his Lightweight prospect, Pablo Lopez, then undefeated in 8 fights. They had to be at Madison Square Garden in less than two hours for the noon weigh-in, Pablo was scheduled to fight on the undercard that night. BUT… there was one problem, Pablo had suffered a slight cut on his right eyebrow earlier in the week, bad enough to cause a cancellation. My uncle pointed to the cut, Mom looked it over, placed a chair close to the window and said, “Sit down”. My older brother and I watched as my mother pulled out her “cut kit”, mix shades makeup and “go to work”. I had heard stories about Mom working “wonders” on black eyes, shiners and nicks in the past. I was hypnotized. And then she performed an unforgettable “magical” trick. She cut hairs from MY UNCLE’S bushy eyebrows and masterfully glued/pasted them to Pablo’s brow, completely covering any evidence of a cut!! The fighter thanked my Mom and said, “Ï owe you, Eva”, and as they headed out my brother asked my uncle, “Why don’t you just cancel the fight?” My uncle looked at him as if he was crazy and said, “Nobody pulls out of a fight in the Garden. Nobody!!” Well, Pablo lost a rather unpopular upset decision that night to journeyman Tommy Nethercott, whom he later defeated. But by not ‘pulling out’ out he earned another Garden opportunity, which he won. There would be more, SIX more to be exact.

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Dahou and Dodze set for Friday night fight in Accra

All is set for the epic clash for the WBC Youth Welterweight championship in Accra on Friday night after a successful weigh-in by Frank Dodze of Ghana and his Algerian opponent, Nasreddine Dahou Thursday morning at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The unbeaten Dahou has sworn to return home as the new WBC Youth champion but Dodze is equally adamant the title is staying right here in Ghana after Friday night, setting the stage for a thriller at the Will Power Boxing Gym after both boxers weighed exactly 147 lbs under the supervision of WBC Africa President, Houcine Houichi of Tunisia.
“Ghana is my country, they like me and they like my team. I personally love the (Ghana national soccer team) Black Stars and I’m very happy to fight here in Ghana. I thank my team, Box Office Promotions, Mr. Otoo and the GBA for bringing me this title fight. It’s my dream to win the WBC title and I promise to give you a good show with a good fight,” Dahou told the Ghana based website, www.sportsinghana.com after clearing his weight.

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Labaran in SA ready for WBF Cruiserweight title fight Saturday

Ghana’s Ibrahim Labaran has arrived in South Africa full of confidence ahead of Saturday’s fight against local hotshot, Kevin Lerena at the Heartfelt Arena, Thaba Tshwane, Pretoria, Gauteng. At stake is the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Cruiserweight belt.

World title chasing Labaran has earmarked victory against Lerena as the platform to announce himself to an audience outside Ghana and consequently unto the international stage, why his camp have provided incessant training and preparatory rudiments sure to power him to victory on Saturday night.

“We’ve trained really well and the boxer is in the shape of his life. The world title is our ultimate target so this fight in South Africa is a test for the boxer and we are confident he will win to bring this title home.

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Billy Joe Saunders Interview

Big time boxing debuts at the futuristic Copper Box Arena – home to handball at the 2012 Olympics – this Saturday evening, and Queensberry Promotions has assembled a talent stacked card to honour the occasion.

Headlining is Billy Joe Saunders’ lip smacking second defence of his British and Commonwealth middleweight strap against fellow unbeaten southpaw John Ryder from Islington.

Tensions are sure to be high with both principals committed to attack and bringing large vocal followings, it can’t fail to be a humdinger. But who will depart with ‘bragging rights’?

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Hall Flags at Half-Staff For Ken Norton

CANASTOTA, NY – SEPTEMBER 18, 2013 – The International Boxing Hall of Fame announced its flags will fly at half-staff in memory of heavyweight champion Ken Norton, who passed away today in Las Vegas. He was 70.

1992 Hall of Fame Inductee Ken Norton

“Ken Norton was one of the standouts of the talent-filled 1970s heavyweight division,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Edward Brophy. “He was a great fighter in the ring and a great person outside of it. The Hall of Fame joins the worldwide boxing community in mourning his passing.”

Born August 9, 1943 in Jacksonville, Illinois, Norton was a gifted football, basketball and track star in high school. He began boxing while in the Marine Corps where he compiled a 24-2 record. After turning pro in 1967 Norton quickly became a key player in the heavyweight division. He engaged in a classic three-fight series with fellow Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali (W 12, L 12, L 12). Norton captured the NABF title twice (1973 and 1975) and held the WBC heavyweight championship (1978).

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Record numbers in Mexico! “The One: Mayweather vs. Canelo” bout was the biggest boxing event ever on Mexican television

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 18) – Nearly 8-out-of-10 households in Mexico with a television set tuned into last Saturday’s “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” mega-fight live on Televisa’s Channel 5. The 12-round majority decision fight, which Mayweather won, garnered a national rating of 41.1 points, which equates to a 77 percent share, 22.1 million viewers and 5.9 million television households, making it the highest-rated boxing program ever on television in Mexico. The telecast peaked with a National rating of 42 points (78.4 percent share/22.6 million viewers6 million television households) and the total program average from 8:00 p.m. CT to 12:30 a.m. CT was 30.1 points (16.2 million viewers/4.3 million television households).

“Boxing fans demanded “THE ONE” and when we gave it to them they responded with these record ratings,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “This proves that great fights with great fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez will always strike a chord with viewers and that Canelo is undisputed as the biggest star Mexican boxing has today.”

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