The 1934 Chicago Golden Gloves Team on the way to New York. Tony Zale, 19, is in the back row, second from left. Aaron Wade, 17,...
SERIES INTRODUCTION Many boxing historians will tell you the Golden Age began after New York passed the Walker Law in 1920 and ended in 1950, when local fight...
Adam Berlin’s “Both Members of the Club” When the grandfathers of today’s hand-wringers were running around with their hats pulled down over their ears hollering that...
Stillman’s Gym, 1947. Rocky Graziano was cutting figure eights in front of a drumming speed bag with a Chesterfield perched on his lip. It was lit,...
“Boxing doesn’t owe us; we owe it.” “Boxing is tainted,” said Floyd Mayweather a few weeks ago. “There are too many belts, too many champions.” Anyone...
The MGM Grand was a madhouse in the hours before Floyd Mayweather’s bout against Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez. By noon, thousands of Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and honorary Mexicans...
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I’m neither saint nor sinner. I’m a gladiator. —Sugar Ray Robinson Two thousand years ago, the first bell summoning gladiators to ring center wasn’t a bell...
Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez, Massachusetts super middleweight contender, sparred with Tamerlan Tsarnaev two years ago. “Today I find out he’s a terrorist and one of the...
When Nonito Donaire left his corner to face Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux at the first bell, he took two steps forward and spread his legs. That...