Hagler vs Leonard: The Night Leonard Defied Boxing Logic By Garry White It was perhaps inevitable that Leonard would win. The bookmakers may have made him the outsider, but they should have known that athletes like ‘Sugar’ Ray have always been impervious to their mathematical logic. It is a minimum requirement to be made of … Continue reading Hagler vs Leonard: The Night Leonard Defied Boxing Logic
Foreman vs Ali: The Rumble For The Ages By Garry White What was the biggest fight in history? How do you define it? There were quite a few people at Boyles Thirty Acres -at least 90,000 to be more exact- all crammed into a Jersey City outpost like matchstick heads in those famous overhead pictures. … Continue reading Foreman vs Ali: The Rumble For The Ages
Hagler vs Hearns: An Unforgettable 8 Minutes By Garry White The trunks were blue: Oxford with a thin Cambridge stripe. The shades fully appropriate for a professor of pugilism. Menacingly he stared out, his shoulders rolling but his eyes never blinking, across the ring as a trumpeter in a sequined Phoenix Nights jacket carefully blew out the Star Bangled Banner to a … Continue reading Hagler vs Hearns: An Unforgettable 8 Minutes
Sugar Ray Leonard: The Demons & The Final Victory Harry Mullan, the former editor of Boxing News, once wrote of Sugar Ray Leonard: "The last thing a fighter loses is his punch. It is not true: the last thing he loses is his ego, which in Leonard's case is gargantuan." Leonard did have an ego … Continue reading Sugar Ray Leonard: The Demons & The Final Victory
The Story of Edwin Valero By Cain Bradley It’s the eyes. A window into the soul they say. Some eyes have a sparkle that draws you into the person. Edwin Valero had wide, dark eyes. Eyes that had no emotion. Eyes that scare you. When his aggressive, power-punching propelled Valero up the ranks, his violent … Continue reading The Story of Edwin Valero
Duran vs Leonard 2: 'No Mas' Hugh McIlvanney was a true heavyweight of his craft. So eloquent and powerful with his words, he had few equals. The great wordsmith said of Sugar Ray Leonard after his frightening ordeal from the fists of Roberto Duran in their first meeting that Leonard had gone to a bad … Continue reading Duran vs Leonard 2: ‘No Mas’
A Boxing Memory: Muhammad Ali No fighter is bigger than the sport itself. Many have often claimed to be, often in their own delusion of self-importance. Only one fighter has ever come close to being bigger than boxing. At one time, he might even have saved it. Muhammad Ali gave us so many memories with … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Muhammad Ali
Leonard vs. Duran 1: The Brawl in Montreal Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran shared a ring on three different occasions. We remember the second fight for the wrong reasons. We barely remember the third and final meeting. In many ways, a fight too many. But the opening chapter in their personal rivalry is a … Continue reading Leonard vs. Duran 1: The Brawl in Montreal
The Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Duran & Hearns It was an almost mythical time, perhaps only now do we truly appreciate what we had. They were called the four kings for a reason. They fought in an era where avoidance was a crime. They didn't build their reputations by avoiding each other. They built it … Continue reading The Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Duran & Hearns
Leonard vs Duran 3: A Rivalry That Deserved Better If ever a rivalry deserved a better send-off, it was the one that featured Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. Montreal gave us one of the greatest fights in history, New Orleans served up one of the most controversial. But we went from 'No Mas' to … Continue reading Leonard vs Duran 3: A Rivalry That Deserved Better
