The once great and future Hall of Famer James Toney (76-10-3) will be 49 in august and is now reportedly scheduled to fight 41-year-old Mike Sheppard for something called the “vacant WBF heavyweight title on May 13 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It will be a 12-rounder. In his last outing almost two years ago, “Lights Out” was beaten by journeyman Charles Ellis (9-3-1) in St. … [Read more...]
Old School: Part One
By Ted Sares Back in the day, Joe Louis was everyone’s hero. When he lost to Rocky Marciano, many wept, for Joe had transcended the sport and was viewed as America’s fighter. Fact is, Joe Louis was neither brown nor white; he simply was the most beloved champion in boxing history. Old school Boxing, thanks to television, was big in the ‘50s. Names like Stillman’s Gym. … [Read more...]
What if Marvin Hagler Beat Sugar Ray Leonard?
One of the most controversial decisions and biggest upsets in boxing history came on April 6, 1987, as Sugar Ray Leonard outboxed Marvelous Marvin Hagler over 12 rounds en route to a split decision win that ignited a firestorm of dispute at the time but which was, strictly speaking, in line with the press row consensus scoring (Wikipedia, aggregating the scores of the major … [Read more...]
The Boxing Tribune Year-End Awards: 2013
There were a lot of bright, glowing moments in 2013 for long-suffering hardcore boxing fans. A return to stacked (or semi-stacked) undercards saw some solid PPV co-features as well as some genuinely entertaining triple and quadruple-headers on HBO/Showtime. The cold war between Top Rank-Golden Boy and HBO-Showtime, instead of "ruining" the sport, actually saw all parties … [Read more...]
James Toney… Lights Out!
The lights have been dimming for James Toney for quite a while now; it’s a long time since he last shone as the great boxer, which he once was, perhaps as far back as his fight with Evander Holyfield way back in 2003. In the decade since the Holyfield fight, Toney’s nickname of ‘lights out’ has gained a sad irony as his life in and out of the ring has become progressively … [Read more...]