Boxing Analysis

On the last day of last year, super-flyweight Kazuto Ioka delivered a near-perfect defense of his title, dismantling Kosei Tanaka over eight excellent rounds at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Japan. That seems an apposite […]

“You have to be cruel to be kind.”—Martin Amis, Time’s Arrow   The celebration tempered once Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was announced the winner. As the ring cleared Alvarez removed his red and white hat, returned […]

  XXV They left the arena in silence, weaving determinedly through the shifting obstructions. They have their rhythms, conversations, that contrapuntalism has its tides. Their tide had gone out, leaving exposed in each man’s mind […]

SHEFFIELD, England—Unified junior welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford returned to the UK Saturday night and once again left with a title. His victim, IBF welterweight champion, Kell “Special K” Brook, now understands what most everyone […]

“It’s a lot to deal with.” Much praise was heaped on unified bantamweight champion, Naoya Inoue, during his seven-round razing of challenger, Jason Moloney, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday […]

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 […]