Boxing Analysis

He calls his ascension “The Takeover,” a title that brings to mind fellow Brooklynite, Jay-Z, whose own “Takeover” also claimed an industry. Repeated ad nauseum the term loses its appeal, and what catchphrase isn’t beaten […]

“THIS IS BOXING” in neon lights pulsed behind the ring in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a backdrop to the impending attrition. That arrangement was reminiscent of a zoo exhibit, where an introduction to […]

It was hard to see anyone lasting twenty-four rounds with Deontay Wilder. Disparage his technique, those comical spasms of aggression carried on the ungainly stilts of a newborn giraffe; mock his mask fetish and affinity […]

Boxing’s end-of-year award season came and went without Jean Pascal receiving his due. No surprise there. Pascal isn’t one of the world’s best fighters, nor did he beat one in 2019. He also lacks the […]

There are people not yet sold on Terence Crawford. They must’ve been smiling in the second round on Saturday night, when the first meaningful punch of ESPN’s main event crashed into Crawford’s jaw, smiling when […]

It was over, more or less, at the weigh-in. When Andy Ruiz Jr. scaled 283 pounds the day before his scheduled rematch with Anthony Joshua, he did so resembling a tipsy tourist strolling along a […]

The dynamics of this weekend’s heavyweight title bout between WBA-IBF-WBO world champion Andy Ruiz, 33-1 (22), and the man he won the titles from via seventh-round TKO, Anthony Joshua, 22-1 (21), make it one of […]

LAS VEGAS—The boos never reached the ears of Jay Deas. If they did, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway to Deontay Wilder’s co-trainer. His fighter was sticking to the plan—no matter how ugly it looked. The […]

When was it supposed to happen? The sixth round? The third? The first? And yet in the twelfth, he was still upright, still fighting for a victory that was never supposed to be his, a […]