As it stands right now, the Light Heavyweight division has two reigning and defending champions, a large talent pool of worthy competitors and no shortages of fights to be made in one of the sneakily deepest divisions in the sport. Normally, that would be a recipe that leads to big fights around the year which would ideally cumulate in a showdown for all the marbles between … [Read more...]
Boxing, TV, and You
by Eddie Goldman Repeat after me, ladies and germs: Boxing is a TV sport. Boxing is a TV sport. If you don't get that, you don't get boxing, especially its immediate future. Yes, streaming is growing, but it is still often a lousy, glitchy, unreliable substitute for ye olde televisione, and will remain so for at least a few years if not longer. Besides, the major … [Read more...]
Bernard Hopkins’ Final Lesson
by Danny Howard It really couldn’t have ended any other way for Bernard Hopkins. Ahead of what was billed as his retirement fight with Light Heavyweight contender Joe Smith Jr., Hopkins had shown a side of him that had not been seen at any other time in his career. He was dismissive of his opponent from top to bottom, labeling Smith as a “common” fighter going up against … [Read more...]
Watch: Boxing’s Best Knockouts of 2016
Everyone loves a knockout. Even the most boring, sleep inducing contest can be saved with a few concussive shots to the dome. There's rarely a debate when a fight ends in this manner; it's a punctuation on anything that had happened in the rounds prior. With that said, here’s a look at some of the year’s best knockouts, in reverse chronological order. You can decide for … [Read more...]
Joe Smith Jr. Ends Bernard Hopkins’ Career in Bizarre TKO
by Danny Howard Bernard Hopkins’ career began with calamity losing to Clinton Mitchell over 30 years ago, so it seemed almost ironic that it ended with calamity at the hands of Joe Smith Jr. inside The Forum in Los Angeles. In front of a very pro-Hopkins crowd, which included a Bernard Hopkins styled remix of Frank Sintara’s “My Way,” Smith started off strong only to find … [Read more...]