Boxing and poker – maybe a start on something new?
Even though both sports are known for intense action and rough characters, boxing and poker aren’t usually combined. This didn’t stop Gus Hansen (known as one of the biggest full tilt poker names)and Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen from duking it out. Both know as skilled poker players in both the online poker and live tournament circuit, did quite well as shown in the video.
By John J. Raspanti: Filled with tears, memories, and glory, The West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame held its second annual event this Sunday at the Garland Hotel in North Hollywood, California.
An island thing:
By
Allan Cerf
Particulars: Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., October 8 LIVE on Fight Network.
The Story: This all Puerto-Rican battle is probably, sans those living on the boxing-crazy island...for boxing junkies only. And there’s only one outcome we ghouls, we hard-core adherents to the world’s hardest sport can hope for - a big KO.
Compiled by Allan Scotto:
Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Commission...
Alvarez stops Smith to win WBO title: By John J. Raspanti
Canelo Alvarez captured the WBO super middleweight championship by stopping game former titleholder Liam Smith (23-1-1, 13 KOs) in round nine at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas Saturday night.
Unlike some recent opponents, like Erislandy Lara and Floyd Mayweather, Alvarez (48-1-1, 34 KOs) didn’t have to chase Smith. The Liverpool native came right at him in the first few rounds.
By John J. Raspanti: After knocking out Amir Khan with a thunderous right hand four months ago, Canelo Alvarez spoke of fighting WBA and IBF titleholder Gennady Golovkin "later this year."
Apparently talk is cheap. The bout never materialized. Both sides blamed each other.
Instead of Golovkin, Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs), who’s now fighting as a junior middleweight, will face undefeated Liverpool native Liam Smith this Saturday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on HBO pay-per-view.
By Allan Scotto: Happy Wednesday fans!
Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below.
Now on to today’s question(s)...
Compiled by Allan Scotto:
Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Commission.
By Allan Cerf: Talented, tainted Willie Monroe Jr., a somewhat clever boxer with enough pop to annoy, fleetingly, GGG, the current middleweight monster, takes on uber-game journeyman, Gabriel Rosado in a fight Monroe must win convincingly to return to the Middleweight Big Picture.
By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below.
Now on to today’s question(s):
There was a big press conference this week to formally announce Sergei Kovalev vs. Andre Ward. This is a highly anticipated battle, but does
By Marc Livitz: Kell Brook showed tremendous heart, yet it was his trainer who made the call to stop his quest to unseat middleweight king Gennady Golovkin in round five in front of a raucous crowd at the O2 Arena in London, England.
By John J. Raspanti
Rattled at times by combinations, WBC and IBF middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) stopped IBF welterweight kingpin Kell Brook (35-1, 26 KOs) in Round five at a rocking O2 Arena in London, England Saturday night.
By John J. Raspanti: Most fighters hate the "R" word.
To them, retiring is akin to quitting.
Boxers fight to survive and refuse to give up. They spend their best days in the ring. Out of it, many of them feel lost.
It’s all they know.
Passionate as a boxer’s love affair with the ring can be, his career can be over in a flash. For most of us, it is hard to imagine being told to retire before reaching the age of forty.
Last Saturday night, I watched Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero
Compiled by Allan Scotto:
Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former
heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question
you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com
every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius
XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy
Commission.
The show airs every Friday on Sirius / XM Rush, Channel 93
By
John J. Raspanti:
Featherweight contender Guy Robb is keenly aware of the importance of his August 27 showdown with hard-hitting Miguel Marriaga.
“It’s the biggest fight of my career,” Robb told this writer via email a few weeks ago. ”I feel confident and excited about the things to come.”
The winner of the Robb-Marriaga match will likely get a shot at newly-crowned WBO featherweight champion Oscar Valdez.
Trainer Roy Woods, who has worked with Robb (18-1, 8 KOs) since the S
By John J. Raspanti: Muhammad Ali was gifted with a long and stinging left. It snapped out like a cobra’s tongue. When Ali was in his prime in the 1960’s, the blow was extremely quick. He would use it to set-up his rapid fire combinations.
The punch rendered heavyweight champion Sonny Liston impotent in 1964. After six rounds of action, Liston’s eyes were swollen from numerous jabs and hooks. The fight was over.
Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was the new champion. Within a three-
By John J. Raspanti: Raymond Merrill II will not allow the fact that he was born deaf to stop his dream of pursuing a boxing career. Merrill made a promise to himself.
No pity, no excuses.
Growing up, he participated in sports, while inside, he raged.
His father was sent to prison when he was two years old. He finally met him when he was seven. He watched his dad self-destruct on crack and PCP. He hated his father and began to rebel by taking to street fighting.
Merrill enrolled at Cal S
By John J. Raspanti: Former lightweight contender Ivan “Mighty” Robinson has dedicated his life to the sweet science.
Robinson, now 45, started throwing punches forty years ago in Nicetown, a suburb of Philadelphia, PA.
The future contender, nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” engaged in his first amateur bout as an 8-year-old kid.
In 1990, Robinson won a silver medal at the Goodwill Games. He turned professional a few years later.
He went on to score two victories over International Boxing H
By John J. Raspanti: Andre Ward did what Andre Ward does Saturday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA. He won every round against overmatched Alexander Brand, but a knockout seemed to be what the former Olympic gold medalist really wanted.
The workmanlike 12-round unanimous decision set up his November 19 super-fight against undisputed light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, who looked on from ringside.
Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) controlled the fight from the get go, flashing speed and
Article and photo by John J. Raspanti: When Andre Ward returned to the ring in 2015 after a layoff of nearly two years, some boxing insiders said his performance was mediocre.
Seven months later, Ward was back, tangling with undefeated Sullivan Barrera. Ward knocked down Barrera and won the fight easily. Still, there were whispers that he had lost a step.
Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) fights Alexander Brand, winner of 25 of 26 bouts, with 19 knockouts, this Saturday at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA
By John J. Raspanti: Another weekend, another battle of undefeated champions. WBC super featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 18 KOs) meets former 122-pound titleholder Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Santa Cruz, 27, throws punches in bunches. He fights like a man with his car double-parked. He can leave his opponent feeling overwhelmed, and looking for a place to hide.
Two-time champion Frampton at 122 pounds is moving up in weight (four pounds)
By John J. Raspanti: WBO junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) added the WBC belt to his list of accomplishments by winning a wide 12-round unanimous decision over former champion Viktor Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Saturday night.
Crawford used speed and agility to frustrate Postol over the course of the bout.
After clipping Postol with a lead right hand in the opening round, Crawford switched to southpaw. He stuck with that
By John J. Raspanti: Is there anything better than a meeting between two reigning undefeated world champions? Not for a boxing fan.
Tonight at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV., WBO super lightweight champion Terence Crawford meets WBC titleholder Viktor Postol in a unification bout to determine superiority in the 140-pound division.
In 2014, Crawford (28-0, 20 KOs) captured the lightweight championship by beating on Ricky Burns for 12 rounds. A few months later(,) he stopped previously
By John J. Raspanti: Middleweight Paul Mendez will bring some extra motivation into the ring on July 21st when he meets 2012 Olympian Ievgen Khytrov at the Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut.
“In boxing you see a guy like me twenty and two, and they believe I’m a stepping stone,” Mendez told this writer via email. “I’m going to show the world on the twenty-first who Paul Mendez is and I ain’t no stepping stone.”...
Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Commission.
By
John J. Raspanti:
Nine world champions, a ground-breaking promoter, a talented writer, and a father-son team make up the 2016 class of The West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame Banquet of Champions.
Bobby Chacon, Mike Weaver, Lucia Riker, Israel Vazquez, Tony “The Tiger” Lopez, Henry Armstrong, Armando Ramos, Jerry Quarry, Fidel LaBarba, Genaro Hernandez, Aileen Eaton, Jose Sulaiman, his son Maurcio, and William O’Neill will be inducted September 25 at the Garland Hotel Event Center in North H
Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Commission...
By John J. Raspanti: Undefeated junior featherweight contender Manuel “Tino” Avila faces former world title challenger Prosper Ankrah July 9 at the Cache Creek Casino Resort in Brooks, CA.
Avila (20-0, 8 KOs) was last seen in the ring three months ago giving the more experienced Rene Alvarado a boxing lesson.
Many considered the bout a real test for the 23-year-old Avila. But after absorbing a few punches in the opening rounds, Avila dominated with lateral movement and nifty
Compiled by Allan Scotto:
Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Commission.
The show airs every Friday on Sirius / XM Rush, Channel 93 from 6
By John J. Raspasnti: Good friends Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter met in a boxing ring Saturday night. Thurman, the defending WBA champion, said yesterday he would knock Porter out. In the end he needed all his skills to win a close 12-round unanimous decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
All three judges scored the bout 115-113 for Thurman.
Maxboxing also had Thurman winning the bout by a couple of points.
Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) started the bout fast. He clipped the
By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below.
Now on to today’s question(s):
Saturday has shaped up to be an exciting day for boxing. In addition to the...
By John J. Raspanti: They’re young, talented and champions.
On June 25th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman and former champion Shawn Porter are set to let their fists prove who is the better fighter.
Thurman, 27, is undefeated in 26 fights, scoring 22 knockouts. He was last seen in the ring 11 months ago notching a difficult win over Luis Collazo. Many remember not the fight itself but the vicious body blow that Thurman survived.
Porter, 28,
Unbeaten Londoners Ohara Davies and Craig Richards will box at York Hall in Bethnal Green on Tuesday June 21 as part of the free-entry public work-out ahead of Anthony Joshua’s IBF World Heavyweight title defence against Dominic Breazeale at The O2 on Saturday June 25, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Davies landed the English Lightweight title in Greenwich in April when he stopped Andy Keates in four rounds on the undercard of Joshua’s World title win over Charles Martin at The O2. Davies
By John J. Raspanti: Two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (6-1, 4 KOs) knocked out overmatched WBO junior lightweight titleholder Rocky Martinez (29-3-3, 18 KOs) in Round five at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY. last Saturday night.
With the victory, Lomachenko, in only his seventh professional bout, becomes the fastest fighter to capture world titles in two divisions.
The 28-year-old southpaw opened the fight by popping Martinez with stinging jabs.
By John J. Raspanti (Image Left to Right: Ali - Frazier): When the news broke, that arguably the most extraordinary person of the 20th Century was in the hospital, I felt a sense of dread.
I muttered to myself, "He can’t die,"- yet knowing that we all do-even ,"The Greatest,“ Muhammad Ali.
Ali first basked in the international spotlight when he won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. His name wasn’t Muhammad Ali then. It was Cassius Clay. He was brash, handsome, and charismatic.
By Ken Hissner: Friday night the King of Boxing, the most recognizable person to have walked the earth Muhammad Ali has passed at the age of 74 in a Phoenix, AZ, hospital. He set as good an example out of the ring as he did in the ring. Known as the “Greatest” and the Louisville Lip Ali was a 1960 Olympic Gold winner as a light heavyweight from Louisville. This writer first met Ali in 1973 right after the first Ken Norton fight when Ali not only lost but suffered a broken jaw. It would take
By John J. Raspanti: Tony Bellew, whose dream was to capture a world championship, lived it this past Sunday night by knocking out hard-punching IIunga Makabu in the third round to capture the WBC cruiserweight title at a raucous Goodison Park Sadium in Liverpool, England. Bellow, a native of Liverpool, did well for most of the first round. He used his advantages in height and reach to outwork his shorter opponent. Makabu, a southpaw, absorbed the blows without incident. With roughly 10
Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week.
Each week, Gerry will answer two of your questions during Sirius XM radio show “At The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy Gordon, the former Commissioner of the New York State Athletic Commission.
By John J. Raspanti: When last seen in the ring, six-foot-eight-inch giant David Price stood in his corner with a dazed expression on his face, tears rolling down his cheeks. For the third time in his career, Price, 32, had been knocked out in a professional boxing match. His fall from grace had been swift and dramatic. Only three and a half years ago, Price, of Liverpool, England, appeared to be on his way to a shot at the heavyweight championship of the world. ESPN named him "Prospect of the Y
By John J. Raspanti: Rising New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker (19-0, 16 KOs) likely earned a shot at current IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua by winning a hard-fought 12 round unanimous over tough Carlos Takam (33-3-1, 25 KOs) at a rocking Vodafone Events Centre in, Manukau City, New Zealand Saturday night. All three judges had Parker the winner by scores of 116-112 (twice) and 115-113. Parker said earlier this week that he would start the match boxing, and in the opening stanza...
By John J. Raspanti: Moving up from the minor to the major leagues, undefeated heavyweight Joseph Parker is hopeful he won’t strike out on May 21st) when he faces ranking contender Carlos Takam at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau City, New Zealand. “My goal is to box smartly and use my distance and reach and move around,” Parker said in an article written by Duncan Johnstone of www.stuff.co.nz. Takam is by far the most established fighter that Parker has faced. The native of Cameroon...
By John J. Raspanti: Losing a fight can change everything in a boxer’s career. His or her confidence can be shattered. Promoters might reconsider their investment. Fans can get ugly. But a loss can also motivate a fighter to work harder. Super middleweight Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez was undefeated when he rolled into Las Vegas, NV. to face Jessie Hart last year. He left “Sin City” with his first loss. Though disappointed, Jimenez, 28, got right back to work. He traveled to Australia to train, and
By John J. Raspanti: Amir Khan has always been something of an enigma. Nobody doubts his skills. Khan is a former Olympic silver medalist as well as a two-time world champion. =He can punch (23 knockouts in 31 professional fights) and box. Khan is athletic. He can use the ring when needed. His jab can sting. But there are flaws in his game. Khan has lost three fights, two by knockout. He’s kissed the canvas many times...
His chin has been suspect for years. He takes too many chances,
By John J. Raspanti: Revenge is best served cold. Former welterweight champion Andre Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) was icy in knocking out Victor Ortiz (31-6-2, 24 KOs) in round four Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, CA. Berto, 32, came out jabbing in the opening stanza. Ortiz surprised many, including Berto, by boxing from the outside. By the end of the round, Ortiz, 29, was bleeding from his hairline courtesy of an accidental head butt. Ortiz circled to his right in round two...
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