A Boxing Memory: John H. Stracey John H. Stracey was born in Bethnal Green in 1950, near where the great Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis called home. The East End of London is the ideal place for an aspiring boxer, Stracey grew up on a council estate, and he learned to use his fists from an early … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: John H. Stracey
A Boxing Memory: Maurice Hope Maurice Hope was just nine when he left his native Antigua and grew up in Hackney, London. Inspired to take up boxing by his elder half-brother Lex Hunter. Hunter was a decent enough professional, and Hope followed his older sibling by joining the Repton Amateur Boxing Club when he was … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Maurice Hope
A Boxing Memory: Tony Sibson vs. Alan Minter "Sibson hit me with a blinder of a punch. I think it would have knocked out any fighter in the world." Alan Minter Boxing rarely allows a former champion to leave the sport without shedding at least some semblance of their dignity. Very few leave boxing on … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Tony Sibson vs. Alan Minter
A Boxing Memory: Pat Cowdell When I remember Pat Cowdell, I think largely of three fights. That almighty struggle with the brilliant Mexican Salvador Sanchez in 1981 for the WBC featherweight championship of the world. The mind also flickers back to two nights when Cowdell didn’t see out the opening three minutes. The big punching … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Pat Cowdell
A Boxing Memory: Miguel Cotto Miguel Cotto didn't get the fairytale finish to his quite magnificent sixteen-year career. But in truth, it didn't matter. Cotto still had his peace. At 37, his time was up. He knew it. His body knew it. Like virtually every fighter before him, Cotto went out on a defeat. It … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Miguel Cotto
A Boxing Memory: Edwin Rosario A life cut short. A career cut short. It is a story we hear far too often in boxing. Edwin Rosario was only 34 when his life ended in 1997, just a few months after his final fight. Rosario was a two-weight world champion, winning titles at lightweight and super-lightweight, … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Edwin Rosario
A Boxing Memory: Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley It does seem somewhat bizarre that a fight that turned out to be every bit as one-sided as most imagined it would be, still touched a million PPV buys. Harry Mullan ringside for Boxing News wrote, “The affair was a disgrace, an embarrassing pantomime masquerading as a … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley
1982: Boxing’s Five Weeks of Chaos By Cain Bradley 1982 was the year of Thriller and ET. The Spanish World Cup took place, and Bjorn Borg retired. Boxing was emerging from the dark state it had ended the 70s in. The MLB experienced strikes to begin the 80s, and the NFL also missed time due … Continue reading 1982: Boxing’s Five Weeks of Chaos
A Boxing Memory: Mike Tyson vs. Marvis Frazier 'Please go check on him. I'm sorry it happened like this,' Mike Tyson said to Joe Frazier, showing the passion that was missing just a few seconds earlier. Tyson had just bludgeoned Frazier's son Marvis to a crushing defeat in just thirty seconds. Joe Frazier, in a … Continue reading A Boxing Memory: Mike Tyson vs. Marvis Frazier
Muhammad Ali: The Twilight YearsMuhammad Ali carried on way past the point of no return. We can debate when he should have called time on his quite remarkable career. Arguably, it could have been after his 'Rumble in the Jungle' with George Foreman in 1974. More than arguably, it should have been after his near-death … Continue reading Muhammad Ali: The Twilight Years
