boxing Page 29 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Meaning Of The First Sonny Liston-Muhammad Ali Fight
Over on The Stacks, we're republishing Murray Kempton's classic dispatch from the first Clay-Liston fight, in 1964; you can find the story below. Kempton was an elegant columnist and essayist with a great ear for the overtones and undertones of any public spectacle—mob trials, nominating conventio...
The Champ And The Chump: The Meaning Of Liston-Clay I
Originally published on March 7, 1964, in The New Republic. Reprinted here with the permission of the author's family....
Ali In Exile: The Once And Future Champ Clowns In NYC, 1968
For several years in the late Sixties, while (largely) lesser fighters vied for the heavyweight title and while his great nemesis Joe Frazier was powering his way through the ranks, Muhammad Ali was effectively in exile. Barred from the prizefighting ring for refusing induction into the Army ("War i...
The Last Laugh: Mailer And Ali By George Plimpton
Norman Mailer went out running with Muhammad Ali one morning, a few days before the fight with George Foreman in Zaire. He asked me to go with him, but I thought of the long ride to Ali’s training camp at N’Sele in the darkness, and thumping along for five miles or so in the wake of the challenger, ...
Jack Davis' Uppercut
From The Bristol Board, a favorite spot, here is a page of original artwork by Jack Davis circa 1952....
G.O.A.T
It ain't cheap but Taschen Books' tribute to Muhammad Ali, Greatest of All Time, sure is fucking fabulous. ...
Jake Gets Hitched...Again
From the New York Times in 1985, here's Ira Berkow on Jake LaMotta's sixth wedding:...
Here's What A $40 Million Check Looks Like
This is just part of Floyd Mayweather's record-setting payout for his bout against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, a split majority decision for Mayweather....
Rest in Peace, Ken Norton
Ken Norton, a great athlete and formidable heavyweight boxer, is dead. He was 70. Here's a nice tribute by Hamilton Nolan. ...
Controversial Mayweather Judge Steps Down
Floyd Mayweather outclassed Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Sunday, landing twice as many punches over a 12-round dismantling. The AP's unofficial scorecard had it 119-109 Mayweather, and pretty much every observer was in agreement. Except for one of the three judges, C.J. Ross, who inexplicably had it a 1...
Mayweather Dominates Canelo In The Eyes Of Everyone Except One Judge
Floyd Mayweather is still unbeatable....
Tonight Is Not The Night Floyd Mayweather Loses
Every single time, you talk yourself into believing Floyd's lost a step. That every fighter has to fall off sometime. That this particular young, hungry, confident challenger will be the one to finally take Money down. ...
The Better Man: How Sugar Ray Leonard Handled Fear And Marvin Hagler
Originally published in the May 17, 1987, edition of The Washington Post Magazine. Republished here with the author's permission. His postscript follows. For more on Hagler-Leonard, check out Grantland's oral history....
Boxer's Dad Vows To Cut His Own Head Off If His Son Loses
This Saturday's junior welterweight title fight between undefeated champion Danny Garcia and top contender Lucas Matthysse is a big enough bout to headline a pay-per-view card on its own, but it's of course been overshadowed by the headliner, Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez. Apparently Garcia's ...
Body And Soul: The Blueprint For Raging Bull
The great John Garfield in Body and Soul (directed by Robert Rossen). ...
Great Men Die Twice: Muhammad Ali In Decline
Originally published in the June 1989 issue of Esquire. Republished here with the permission of the late author's son, Mark Kram Jr., a wonderful storyteller in his own right. His postscript follows. For a contemporary, but very different, glimpse of Ali, check out Davis Miller's story about his day...
The Man Who Doesn't Exist: How Canelo Álvarez Became A Myth
Juanacatlán, Jalisco, sits on the slopes of lush foothills, 20 miles southeast of Guadalajara. To reach the town from the highway, you have to pass through its industrial neighbor El Salto, then cross the Río Grande de Santiago, one of Mexico's most polluted rivers, on a two-lane bridge adorned with...