by Fox Doucette We've got a beauty of a main event tonight. The only man ever to beat Roberto Duran at lightweight, Esteban De Jesus, up against the slickest defensive fighter, certainly of his era, and possibly of all time, Pernell Whitaker, and it's a 135-pound contest, when Sweet Pea was at the height of his powers defensively and had much quicker hand speed than he carried … [Read more...]
Historical Fight Night: Carmen Basilio vs. Pernell Whitaker
by Fox Doucette Carmen Basilio was born on this day in 1927, and what better way to celebrate April 2 here in San Dimas than to put him into the ring with a worthy opponent? It's a birthday celebration in fisticuffs for the Upstate Onion Farmer, who takes on Pernell Whitaker in the main event. Yes, Whitaker, that fighter whose defensive wizardry never quite ran into such a … [Read more...]
What If Title Fights Were Still 15 Rounds?
Welcome to another edition of What If, the boxing column that always goes the full championship distance: When Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini killed Duk Koo Kim in a fourteen-round televised execution on November 13, 1982, the major boxing sanctioning bodies used that as the catalyst to reduce championship fights from 15 rounds to 12. The WBC acted immediately; their first … [Read more...]
The Sh-t List: The Greatest Middleweights That Were Lightweights
By Alphonso Costello A couple of weeks ago I answered an ad to fill the boxing historian vacancy left by the dearly departed Bert Sugar when The Sh-t List Makers Association of America commissioned a list for the 10 greatest middleweights who were lightweights. Since I have taken to smoking cigars and wearing fedoras, I am now The Boxing Tribune’s self-proclaimed … [Read more...]
Zab Judah: Overcoming a history of incomplete brilliance
by Tim Harrison When Zab Judah landed a hard left uppercut on the chin of Kostya Tszyu in the first round of their 2001 jr. welterweight title unification bout, causing the Russia-born Aussie to go into full retreat, it looked as though his speed and athleticism would make quick work of Tszyu. After dominating the first round, Judah moved around the ring in the second, … [Read more...]