(Originally Published March, 2012 in RockCellar Magazine) Absolutely the hardest thing to do in boxing is to get noticed. Boxing people are cynics; their default position is to either ignore you or say no to you. Bert Randolph Sugar, who died on March 25, 2012, didn’t know much about boxing and he didn’t know much about writing. But, for over forty years, he managed to … [Read more...]
Bernard Hopkins and Meta Boxing
I’m not sure that by using conventional boxing methods, Bernard Hopkins, at nearly 50 years of age, could beat any of the bigger, stronger, faster, harder punching opponents that his own demanding Old School self-image requires him to face. As the years have passed, Hopkins has systematically jettisoned one standardized boxing form after another, replacing each with … [Read more...]
Inflatable Dolls, Twin Chinless Wonders, and an Elderly Black Gentleman: Involuntary Visual Requirements for the Contemporary Boxing Fan
Today’s boxing rings are cluttered up. There are now three mandatory fixtures viewers are obliged to watch before the referee can give instructions and free us to move on to the fight itself. Occasionally there are a couple of additional mandatories, depending on who’s fighting. The most visually arresting of this group is the matched set (and occasionally trio or quartet) … [Read more...]
Rogue Media Roundtable: Round Four (All Things Mayweather)
The Rogue Media Roundtable was founded on the premise that boxing’s media, on almost all levels, is a dung heap of a mess. So, we’ve assembled a crew of iconoclasts, savvy old-timers, and fearless writers to present thoughts and ideas rarely shared in the mainstream media. Welcome to the counter-culture of boxing media… Round Four Panelists: Johnny Walker has been … [Read more...]
Rogue Media Roundtable: Round Three
These are the voices of the boxing scribe underground-- Writers who have disdain for the glad-handing media-types who now populate the scene and would just as soon face stomp a metrosexual faux-expert than scoop up the free flan at a media buffet. Welcome to the growing counter-culture of boxing media. Welcome to the Rogue Media Roundtable—an ongoing feature that will … [Read more...]