Featured Articles
RASKIN’S RANTS: Wlad Makes Like Kimbo, Bogere Makes Like Popo

We’ve reached the point where unless Wlad announces that he is fighting Vitali, the boxing world responds with a yawn.
For those readers who are tired of me referencing the Philadelphia sports scene in my boxing column, good news: You’ll be getting a reprieve until April. The Phillies’ season ended in disaster on Friday, the Eagles’ season effectively ended on Sunday (although you could argue that it was killed, just like the previous 12 seasons, back when Andy Reid was first hired in 1999), and I lost the patience to follow regular-season hockey about 10 years ago. So I have no emotional investment in any professional sports for the next six months.
Boxing’s detractors can detract all they want, but it’s a sport that gives its fans something to look forward to almost every single week of the year, and you don’t have to worry about “your team” being in the playoff hunt to keep you interested. Even in a slow week like the one that just concluded, there’s still enough going on to warrant some Rants. But before we get to those, I’ll answer two quick emails following up on a couple of topics left over from last week.
Eric,
The Marquez-Pacquiao Face Off was just horrible, but considering how the fights of some of the good ones they did turned out—Hopkins-Pascal, Klitschko-Haye, Mayweather-Ortiz—this might actually be a good omen.
—Steve The Greek
Steve,
You know I love you (to the extent that a boxing writer can love a mailbag contributor), but I disagree with you on a couple of fronts here. First, I wouldn’t say the Pacquiao-Marquez Face Off was “horrible”; it was the worst in the series so far, but it was by no means an unwatchable 12 minutes of television.
Second, I thought Hopkins-Pascal II and Mayweather-Ortiz were both entertaining fights. Neither one was a Fight of the Year candidate, of course. But Hopkins-Pascal featured pockets of excellent action, the stirring intrigue of Hopkins chasing history, and, of course, The Push-Ups. And Mayweather-Ortiz was the most memorable fight Mayweather has been in since rising above lightweight, it ended with a contender for Knockout of the Year, and it gave us Larry Merchant’s “I wish I was 50 years younger” moment.
I’ll grant you Klitschko vs. Haye. That was a very good Face Off and a fairly abysmal fight. But otherwise, I don’t see anything to suggest the quality of the fight is inversely proportional to the quality of the Face Off.
Hi Ya Eric,
What’s the deal with the boxing press jumping all over Sergio Martinez for not blasting out Darren Barker in a couple of rounds and instead of saying what a good fight it was and how well Barker fought, they have jumped all over Martinez? What gives? He fought through a broken nose and a tough, skilled opponent to kayo him in the championship rounds, what’s wrong with that? Some people are just never satisfied, I guess. And a perfect example of what’s wrong with boxing, Tony Thompson-Eddie Chambers gets a Showtime date while Marquez-Concepcion II doesn’t. That’s just wrong on so many levels.
Cheers,
Nicholas
Nicholas,
Good to hear from another one of my regular mailbag pals. And unlike my buddy Steve The Greek, I think your observations are pretty well on point. Martinez wasn’t at his best, but that was partially because Barker turned out not to be Gary Lockett 2.0. Barker proved himself worthy of a top-10 middleweight ranking. And Martinez showed that even on an off-night, he can still get the job done inside the distance. He took heat anyway, and that’s precisely the problem with a star fighter facing a relative unknown: You take heat if you struggle against him, whereas if you blow him out like you’re expected to, you take heat for facing a bum. In my opinion, Martinez deserves no heat right now.
As for your point about which fight gets a Showtime date, I feel your frustration, but you can’t blame Showtime at all. Marquez-Concepcion II is in Mexico and is scheduled for the same date on which the Super Six finals were supposed to occur. It wouldn’t have made any sense for the network to make a play for that fight, as spectacular as the first Marquez-Concepcion bout was. And Chambers-Thompson doesn’t excite anyone, but at least it’s an even fight on paper. I don’t have a problem with them spending a few ShoBox shekels on that one. I just reserve the right to watch it the following morning on DVR and get my fast-forwarding finger ready, then be prepared to fire up Marquez-Concepcion on YouTube the next morning.
Okay, let’s shift the focus from last week’s news to this week’s with some Rants:
–So, which just-announced heavyweight fight has you less excited: Kimbo Slice vs. Tay Bledsoe or Wladimir Klitschko vs. Jean-Marc Mormeck? In announcing the latter fight on his website, Klitschko said, “Mormeck is one of the most experienced fighters I have ever faced.” If that’s the best you can do to hype a fight, it’s probably a fight that can not be hyped. (For what it’s worth, Bledsoe is the most experienced opponent Slice has ever faced in the boxing ring. We’ll see if Kimbo uses that fact to try to sell the fight.)
–I understand that boxers are instructed to always raise their hands as the scorecards are being read, so that they don’t appear surprised if they get a close decision and so that they can claim robbery if they don’t get it. Still, Raul Martinez needs to work a little common sense into the equation. When his fight on Saturday against Rodrigo Guerrero went to a technical decision after six rounds, and the fight featured Martinez suffering a hard knockdown in the third round, once a 59-54 scorecard was read, it was time to stop pretending he thought the decision was going his way. And, no, I’m not accepting six rounds of getting hit in the head as an excuse for Martinez’s mind not be perfectly attuned to the mathematics of the situation.
–Hey, Sharif Bogere, what’s with all the postfight crying? Even Acelino Freitas was calling you a bitch as he watched that.
–No matter how busy you are, this video of all of the Ring magazine Knockout of the Year winners from 1989-2010 is well worth 15 minutes of your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4DiqpQ2HxE. (Credit to Tim Starks on the Queensberry Rules blog for bringing this gem to my attention.)
–I wasn’t affected one way or the other by the news of Al Davis’ death over the weekend. I was, however, deeply traumatized by ESPN replaying Ice Cube’s horrible Raiders/rap documentary as a result.
–ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue” defines Sergio Martinez not as “middleweight champion of the world” or “lineal middleweight champ,” but as “WBC Diamond middleweight champ.” Here I was thinking Martinez was the one true middleweight king, but I guess I shouldn’t recognize him as such until he’s unified with the sapphire champ and the aquamarine titleholder.
–I have an entire column later this week devoted to my opinion on a particular fighter’s International Boxing Hall of Fame candidacy, but here’s my quick take on some of the non-participants on the ballot for the first time: I think Al Bernstein deserves to go into the Hall immediately (and not just because he’s made two fantastic guest appearances on Ring Theory, although that doesn’t hurt); Freddie Roach will definitely go in eventually but this feels a couple of years too soon to me, as he’s still somewhat of an ascendant star; and though I mock him with regularity, Michael Buffer certainly belongs in there if any ring announcer does.
–The good news about Kell Brook taking care of business against Rafal Jackiewicz so spectacularly: There’s a new player in the welterweight division. The bad news about it: Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather each just added a name to the list of opponents they can face instead of facing each other.
–If you’ve ever said to yourself, “Why don’t more interviewers ask Bernard Hopkins about his wife’s marital-aid collection?” then you’ll want to check out the latest episode of Ring Theory (http://ringtheory.podbean.com), on which B-Hop joined me and Bill Dettloff to discuss Chad Dawson, Jean Pascal, and, apparently, some less conventional topics. Also, keep an eye out later this week for a special Grantland Network edition of Ring Theory, on which Bill and I will provide our own in-depth analysis of Mrs. Hopkins’ marital-aid collection and speculate on how it would fare in a matchup with Chad Dawson’s wife’s battery-operated friends.
Eric Raskin can be contacted at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com. You can follow him on Twitter @EricRaskin and listen to new episodes of his podcast, Ring Theory, at http://ringtheory.podbean.com.
Featured Articles
History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era

History has Shortchanged Freddie Dawson, One of the Best Boxers of his Era
This reporter was rummaging around the internet last week when he stumbled on a story in the May 1950 issue of Ebony under the byline of Mike Jacobs. Boxing was then in the doldrums (isn’t it always?) and Jacobs, the most powerful promoter in boxing during the era of Joe Louis, was lassoed by the editors of the magazine to address the question of whether the over-representation of black boxers was killing the sport at the box office.
This hoary premise had been kicking around even before the heyday of Jack Johnson, bubbling forth whenever an important black-on-black fight played to a sea of empty seats as had happened the previous year when Chicago’s Comiskey Park hosted the world heavyweight title fight between Ezzard Charles and Jersey Joe Walcott.
Jacobs ridiculed the hypothesis – as one could have expected considering the publication in which the story ran – and singled out three “colored” boxers as the best of the current crop of active pugilists: Sugar Ray Robinson, Ike Williams, and Freddie Dawson.
Sugar Ray Robinson? A no-brainer. Skill-wise the greatest of the great. Even those that didn’t follow boxing, would have recognized his name. Ike Williams? Nowhere near as well-known as Robinson, but he was then the reigning lightweight champion, a man destined to go into the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the inaugural class of 1990.
And Freddie Dawson? If the name doesn’t ring a bell, dear reader, you are not alone. I confess that I too drew a blank. And that triggered a search to learn more about him.
Freddie Dawson had four fights with Ike Williams. All four were staged on Ike’s turf in Philadelphia. Were this not the case, the history books would likely show the series knotted 2-2. Late in his career, Dawson became greatly admired in Australia. But we are jumping ahead of ourselves.
Dawson was born in 1924 in Thomasville, Arkansas, an unincorporated town in the Arkansas Delta. Likely a descendent of slaves who worked in the cotton plantations, he grew up in the so-called Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, the heart of Chicago’s Black Belt.
The first mention of him in the newspapers came in 1941 when he won Chicago’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) featherweight title. In those days, amateur boxing was big in the Windy City, the birthplace of the Golden Gloves. The Catholic Archdiocese, which ran gyms in every parish, and the Chicago Parks Department, were the major incubators.
In his amateur days, he was known as simply Fred Dawson. As a pro, his name often appeared as Freddy Dawson, although Freddie gradually became the more common spelling.
Dawson, who stood five-foot-six and was often described as stocky, made his pro debut on Feb. 1, 1943, at Marigold Gardens. Before the year was out, he had 16 fights under his belt, all in Chicago and all but two at Marigold. (Currently the site of an interdenominational Christian church, Marigold Gardens, on the city’s north side, was Chicago’s most active boxing and wrestling arena from the mid-1930s through the early-1950s. Joe Louis had three of his early fights there and Tony Zale was a fixture there as he climbed the ladder to the world middleweight title.)
The last of these 16 fights was fatal for Dawson’s opponent who collapsed heading back to his corner after the fight was stopped in the 10th round and died that night at a local hospital from the effects of a brain injury.
Dawson left town after this incident and spent most of the next year in New Orleans where energetic promoter Louis Messina ran twice-weekly shows (Mondays for whites and Fridays for blacks) at the Coliseum, a major stop on boxing’s so-called Chitlin’ Circuit.
That same year, on Sept. 19, 1944, Dawson had his first encounter with Ike Williams. He was winning the fight when Ike knocked him out with a body punch in the fourth round.
The first and last meetings between Dawson and Ike Williams were spaced five years apart. In the interim, Freddie scored his two best wins, stopping Vic Patrick in the twelfth round at Sydney, NSW, and Bernard Docusen in the sixth round in Chicago.
The long-reigning lightweight champion of Australia, Patrick (49-3, 43 KOs) gave the crowd a thrill when he knocked Dawson down for a count of “six” in the penultimate 11th round, but Dawson returned the favor twice in the final stanza, ending the contest with a punch so harsh that the poor Aussie needed five minutes before he was fit to leave the ring and would spend the night in the hospital as a precaution.
Dawson fought Bernard Docusen before 10,000-plus at Chicago Stadium on Feb. 4, 1949. An 8/5 favorite, Docusen lacked a hard punch, but the New Orleans cutie had suffered only three losses in 66 fights, had never been stopped, and had extended Sugar Ray Robinson the 15-round distance the previous year.
Dawson dismantled him. Docusen managed to get back on his feet after Dawson knocked him down in the sixth, but he was in no condition to continue and the referee waived the fight off. Dawson was then vacillating between the lightweight and welterweight divisions and reporters wondered whether it would be Robinson or Ike Williams when Dawson finally got his well-earned title shot.
Sugar Ray wasn’t in his future. Here are the results of his other matches with Ike Williams:
Dawson-Williams II (Jan. 28, 1946) – The consensus on press row was 7-2-1 or 7-3 for Dawson, but the match was ruled a draw. “[The judges and referee] evidently saw [Williams] land punches that nobody else did,” said the ringside reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Dawson-Williams III (Jan. 26, 1948) – Dawson lost a majority decision. The scores were 6-4, 5-4-1, and 4-4-2. The decision was booed. Ike Williams then held the lightweight title, but this was a non-title fight. (It was tough for an outsider to get a fair shake in Philadelphia, home to Ike Williams’ co-manager Frank “Blinky” Palermo who would go to prison for his duplicitous dealings as a fight facilitator.)
Dawson-Williams IV (Dec. 5, 1949) – This would be Freddie Dawson’s only crack at a world title and he came up short. Ike Williams retained the belt, winning a unanimous decision. The fight was close – 8-7, 8-7, 9-6 – but there was no controversy.
Dawson made three more trips to Australia before his career was finished. On the first of these trips, he knocked out Jack Hassen, successor to Vic Patrick as the lightweight champion of Australia. A 1953 article in the Sydney Sunday Herald bore witness to the esteem in which Dawson was held by boxing fans in Australia: “None of our boxers could withstand his devastating attacks which not only knocked them out but also knocked years off their careers,” said the author. “It is doubtful whether any Australian boxer in any division could have beaten Dawson.”
Dawson had his final fights in the Land Down Under, finishing his career with a record of 103-14-4 while answering the bell for 962 rounds. Following what became his final fight, he had an eye operation in Sydney that was reportedly so intricate that it required a two-week hospital stay. He injured the eye again in Manila while sparring in preparation for a match with the welterweight champion of the Philippines, a match that had to be aborted because of the injury. Dawson then disappeared, by which we mean that he disappeared from the pages of the newspaper archives that allow us to construct these kinds of stories.
What about Freddie Dawson the man? A 1944 story about him said he was an outstanding all-around athlete, “a champion in all athletic undertakings – basketball, baseball, track and even jitterbugging.” A story in a Sydney paper as he was preparing to meet Vic Patrick informs us that he had two young children, ages 2 and 1, owned his own home in Chicago, and drove a two-year-old Cadillac. But beyond these flimsy snippets, Dawson the man remains elusive.
What we learned, however, is that he was one of the most underrated boxers to come down the pike in any era, a borderline Hall of Famer who ought not have fallen through the cracks. Inside the ring, this guy was one tough hombre.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Bernard Fernandez Reflects on His Special Bond with George Foreman
-
Featured Articles1 week ago
A Paean to George Foreman (1949-2025), Architect of an Amazing Second Act
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser: Callum Walsh Returns to Madison Square Garden
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Spared Prison by a Lenient Judge, Chordale Booker Pursues a World Boxing Title
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Sebastian Fundora TKOs Chordale Booker in Las Vegas
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
A Wide-Ranging Conversation on the Ills of Boxing with Author/Journalist Sean Nam