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A Look At the The Second Annual Shadow Box Film Festival

The trials of a global icon, the Irish civil war, healing from depression, healing from violence and, in the end, the guy gets the girl.
Those stories and more climbed into the ring on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7 at the Second Annual Shadow Box Film Festival, held at the School of Visual Arts Theater in Manhattan.
Now enjoying its second year as the only film festival dedicated to screening films and documentaries about the sweet science, the Shadow Box Film Festival presented an engrossing program of films. The cinematic stories covered the wide spectrum of boxing and the profound way it touches human lives.
The festival began Friday with a screening of âThe Silent Boxer,â written and directed by Dre Didderiens, which told the story of Juliano Westhiner, a deaf Romany boxer living in Holland. Westhiner hopes to be the first Dutch boxer in over twenty years to qualify for the Olympics.
The interesting feature follows Westhiner as he trains for qualifying bouts, deals with court-ordered anger classes following an assault charge, and navigates home life in the Romany caravan park. There a communityâs hopes are heaped upon his shoulders.
In the end Westhiner does not qualify for the Olympics. His failure to make the team is perhaps hindered by a hand injury, or the Romany culture, which sees him marry his teenage girlfriend, become a father, and take a full time job, all in quick succession.
A group of short films, featuring documentaries and dramas, told a variety of boxing stories in creative fashion.
âBroken,â written and directed by David Wendelman, captures the emotions faced by a club fighter struggling with his identity after being told to retire by his trainer and promoter.
He is also haunted by the memory of his father, a once popular wrestler in Mexico, who smuggled the family across the border for a better a life in America, only to die as a day laborer and a broken man.
An animated film from Iran, directed and animated by Yahya Ghobadi, âReturnâ shows how boxing influences a man battling addiction to turn his life around and reclaim his family.
âThe Gunner,â produced by Winner Take All Productions, features former cruiserweight contender Jamie Drubin.
The Long Island native talks about his life in boxing and what is required to be a professional fighter.
In telling his story Drubin mentions his father, who âbegan to teach me how to throw punches as soon as I was able to walk and have balance,â and continued pushed him throughout his fighting career.
The theme of fathers and sons in boxing was also prevalent at last yearâs festival.
âStealing the Show,â from debuting Irish director Matthew Dobbyn, documents the sacrifices demanded of Belfast born Dee Walsh as he focuses on his dream of becoming middleweight champion of the world.
The story of dedicated Albany, NY trainer Jerrick Jones and his charge of young pupils is told in âInside the Ring.â
The important role that Jones has in the youngsterâs lives is underscored when each one of them describes him as a father figure who helps them with much more than throwing the straight right.
âFight Day,â directed by Chris Cassidy, tells the poignant story of Showtime Boxing analyst Steve Farhood and his commitment to service.
Once a month for over five years, Farhood would visit with the patients of Manhattanâs Cabrini Nursing Home to screen and discuss a historic boxing match.
Farhoodâs patience, compassion, and humanity are abundantly in evidence as he interacts with the patients, knowing that his mother had been scheduled to be a patient there before her unexpected passing.
The tale of a young, deaf, African-American boxer saddled with raising his infant son after his wife dies from childbirth complications is told in âChampionship Rounds.â
Directed by Daniel Stine, âChampionship Rounds,â features accomplished actors Harold Perrineau, Larry Gilliard Jr., and Michael Bentt.
The film captured the festival prize for best short film.
The slate of feature films presented at the festival showcased Celtic flavor, the code of the streets, the tribulations of a global icon, and the growth of a boxing community.
Acclaimed Irish documentarian Andrew Gallimore presented two films at the festival.
âA Bloody Canvasâ tells the fascinating story of former world champion Mike McTigue, who left Ireland to seek his fortune in America, only to have fate return him home for life-changing experiences.
McTigueâs co-star in the film is history, as the boxerâs adventures dovetail with the immigrant experience in America, the Irish civil war, the Jazz Age, and the Great Depression.
Sadly McTigue ends up penniless and a resident of New Yorkâs infamous Graymoor Mental Hospital suffering from what is now known as pugilistic dementia.
The only bright spot in his final days are the regular visits from devoted family members.
The authoritative tones of Oscar nominee, and former amateur boxer, Liam Neeson grace Gallimoreâs second film as narrator of âThe Gentleman Prizefighter,â which chronicles the life of James J. Corbett.
Another colorful Irish character, Corbett was famous the world over for his exploits both in and out of the ring.
As heavyweight champion of the world he transformed boxing from bare-knuckle brawling to a respectable sport.
Understanding that his charisma radiated beyond the ring, Corbett conquered the stage as one of the pioneers of vaudeville and then moved on to the silver screen.
Corbett emerged from San Franciscoâs tough Irish quarter to become a national hero and Neesonâs familiar Irish lilt brings authenticity to the exciting tale.
âThe Gentleman Prizefighterâ won the festival prize for best foreign film.
âWhite Rock Boxing,â directed by Cliff Springs, tells the story of an old-school gym dubbed the âMecca of boxing in the south.â
The White Rock Gym is located in the back roads of South Carolina and has hosted Muhammad Ali and Michael Spinks. Today the gym is a training ground for boxers of all ages.
Submitted from the UK and written and directed by Adam Simcox, âKid Glovesâ shows two characters from disparate backgrounds headed towards an inevitable clash.
Former two-time world champion Pauli Malignaggi makes his acting debut in âOmerta,â a mafia crime film written and directed by Craig Tubiolo.
The drama is a real life depiction of life in the mafia controlled neighborhood of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, in the 90âs.
A strong audience turnout for the Saturday afternoon screening surely sent positive vibes across the river as Malignaggi handily won his âBattle of Brooklynâ later that evening against Zab Judah at the Barclays Center.
âBoogaloo,â written and directed by Liam Mulvey, points the camera at the life of Philadelphia middleweight contender Bobby âBoogalooâ Watts and captures the back room machinations of the fight âgameâ in the city of brotherly love.
Watts was arguably the best middleweight out of a quartet of contenders that included âBadâ Bennie Brisoce, Willie âThe Wormâ Monroe, and Eugene âCycloneâ Hart. They all fought during the golden era of Philadelphia middleweights in the 70âs.
The film spends time allowing the viewer to get to know the humble and personable Watts, but also to peer into the world of matchmaking, promoting, and moving a fighter through the ranks.
Although Watts was not able to become the first Philadelphia boxer to win the middleweight title, he had the respect of the boxing community and the distinction of being the first fighter to defeat Hall of Fame legend âMarvelousâ Marvin Hagler.
The festival winner for best feature, âThe Trials of Muhammad Ali,â directed by Bill Siegel, is a fascinating documentary that explores Aliâs lifelong journey of spiritual transformation.
Traveling with Ali from his Louisville roots, through his years in exile, to receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the film traces Aliâs path from poet to pariah to global ambassador for peace.
Boxing icon Bernard Hopkins, who attended the Friday screening, stated âI loved the film. It showed me so many things about Aliâs life that I didnât know. He could do so many things. If he hadnât been a boxer, he could have been an actor.â
A trio of films, one feature and two shorts, explored the growing community of women in boxing.
âBoxing Chicks,â written and directed by Frederick Taylor, presents the case that if men can build their self esteem through sports and physical fitness, why not women?
The participants in the film believe that positive expressions of aggression encourage women to find their true selves.
Filmmaker Jill Morley provides a first-person perspective of women overcoming their demons through boxing, while telling a larger story about abuse, trauma, mental illness, and healing in âFight Like a Girl.â
Morleyâs battle with severe depression takes us into the world of women boxers as she seeks to heal from trauma absorbed during her childhood.
Once in the gym Morley meets several women (Susan Reno, Kimberly Tomes, and former world champion Maureen Shea), who all turned to boxing to resolve their own issues. The women form a strong bond of support, friendship and camaraderie.
Despite having to be hospitalized for depression, Morley perseveres and stays focused on her goal to compete in the New York Golden Gloves.
At the same time Reno wins the gloves, Shea rebounds from heartbreak, and Tomes, now a professional, seeks to avenge a loss from her amateur days.
While Morley digs deep to find the fortitude to compete in the ring, she also digs into her personal life to reach the core of her issues.
Conversations with her parents, particularly her mother, are powerful and revealing.
At the Saturday afternoon screening Morley, at the behest of Jill Diamond from the WBC, was presented with a special WBC medal for inspiration, education, and courage. Her fistic comrades Shea, Reno, and Tomes joined her at the podium.
âOutside the Ring,â a short film directed by Joanne Green and Steve Lindsay, provides another insightful look into the lives of women and boxing.
The film focuses on a group of women who have been the victims of violence who are reclaiming their bodies and finding empowerment through boxing.
They are taking part in the Shape Your Life program, started by Green, Toronto Newsgirls Gym owner Savoy Howe, and Brock University Professor Cathy Van Ingen. The programâs goal is to work with female victims of violence and provide them with a channel to express their own healthy aggression.
Viewers follow this group of women as they discuss their histories and reflect on the change boxing has brought to their lives.
Training scenes in the gym show the women encouraging, celebrating, and supporting each other on their respective roads to empowerment.
A memoriam that is part of the final credits is dedicated to a woman in the group who, despite the support available to her, made the decision to take her own life.
At last yearâs festival each day closed with a panel discussion prior to the screening of the dayâs final film.
This year each day concluded with the presentation of a âGarfieldâ award followed by a screening. Named after the late John Garfield, the award was established for actors who have enhanced the image of boxing through film and television.
On Friday evening actor Burt Young, of âRockyâ fame, was presented with the award along with Anthony P. Rhodes, the School of Visual Arts Executive Vice President.
Mr. Rhodes received the award in recognition of his unwavering support of the Shadow Box Film Festival and the students at SVA in their pursuit of artistic excellence.
Fridayâs awards presentation was followed by a screening of Garfieldâs âThey Made Me a Criminal,â featuring the Dead End Kids.
On the festivalâs closing night Garfieldâs daughter Julie Garfield was in attendance to host a Q & A and present the award to Holt McCallany, of TVâs âLights Out.â
The final film screened was her fatherâs all-time classic âBody and Soul,â usually at the top of any boxing and film fanâs list.
In its second year the Shadow Box Film Festival continued to provide attendees with a variety of films that captured the positive and powerful impact boxing has on people from all walks of life.
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Arneâs Almanac: The Australian Boxing Renaissance and More

A new junior middleweight champion emerged this past Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The World Boxing Organization (which uses the nomenclature junior middleweight instead of super welterweight) had made it known that it planned to strip Jermell Charlo of his 154-pound title for taking the fight with Canelo Alvarez and that adjudication took effect the moment the bell sounded to signify the start of the contest.
Charlo was displaced by Tim Tszyu (pictured) whose first defense of his newly-acquired title comes in less than two weeks when he touches gloves with Albuquerqueâs Brian Mendoza at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia.
There are often hoots of derision when a fighter is anointed a title-holder without actually winning the diadem in the ring, but not in this instance. Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) would have been favored over Charlo if they had met and this would have been true even before Jermellâs hollow performance against Canelo.
Earlier that same day, WBO cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia returned to the ring after a 15-month absence and demolished Jordan Thompson at Londonâs Wembley Stadium. Although Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) was a massive favorite, he yet turned heads by winning every minute of the fight until it was halted after only 20 seconds of round four.
Australia now has three world title-holders, two of whom (Opetaia and Tszyu) are considered the best fighters in their respective weight classes. The other is Jason Moloney who recently won the WBO bantamweight title vacated by Naoya Inoue. And for whatever itâs worth, the Land Down Under has a fourth title-holder in IBF female bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges.
There may be more in the pipeline. Sam Goodman (15-0, 7 KOs) is rated #1 at 122 pounds by the IBF and WBO. Tim Tszyuâs younger brother Nikita Tszyu (7-0, 6 KOs) has the look of a future champion and some folks are high on heavyweight Justis Huni (7-0, 4 KOs) who fights later this month in Cancun, Mexico with Andrew Tabiti in the opposite corner.
Things go in cycles and right now this is something of a golden era for Australian boxing.
Weekend Afterthoughts
The Showtime PPV topped by the Canelo-Charlo fight started swimmingly. The lid-lifter between middleweights Elijah Garcia and Jose Armando Resendiz was a doozy. Garcia, a 20-year-old southpaw from the Phoenix area, eventually assumed command and put Resendiz away in the eighth, but not before Resendiz showed that his upset of former title-holder Jarrett Hurd was no fluke.
The show went downhill from there. The second fight, pitting Mario Barrios and against Yordenis Ugas, the last man to defeat Manny Pacquiao, wasnât a bad fight but too one-sided to provide great entertainment. Barrios, who had previously lost to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman, got his career back on track with a lopsided 12-round decision.
This reporter anticipated that the co-feature between super welterweights Jesus Ramos and Erickson Lubin would be a stirring battle with Ramos prevailing to maintain his undefeated record. I was wrong on both counts, dead wrong on the âstirringâ part.
Far from a fan-friendly scrap, Ramos vs. Lubin was a snoozer. Lubin got the nod and although many thought Ramos was robbed, donât look for a rematch any time soon. Concocting a sequel would bring back a bad memory.
The main event wasnât much better. Jermell Charlo has been roundly excoriated on social media for his tepid effort. The folks that ponied up the dough to buy the pay-per-view didnât get their moneyâs worth. But thatâs boxing, the Theater of the Unexpected as Larry Merchant once phrased it.
The New GGG?
Buried on last Saturdayâs Canelo-Charlo undercard was a 6-round contest between super middleweights Bek Nurmaganbet and Abimbola Osundairo. A 25-year-old Kazakh, Nurmaganbet advanced his record to 11-0 with a third-round stoppage. Nine of his wins have come inside the distance including the last seven, all of which ended inside three rounds.
Osundairo, a 30-year-old Chicago-based Nigerian, was a 2021 USA National Champion at 178 pounds. He was 5-0 in the pro ranks. Last year, he returned to his African homeland and won a 12-round contest to claim a regional title. On paper, he was a good match for the Kazakh.
For some readers, the name Osundairo may be vaguely familiar. Thatâs because he was involved in a bogus fight that became a major news story. The party of the other part, who offered no resistance, was actor Jussie Smollett.
Abimbola and his brother Olabinjo were paid to simulate an attack on Smollett which they carried out at 2 am on Jan. 29, 2019, on a street in downtown Chicago. Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed to be the victim of a hate crime, but developments would show that it was all a hoax. A jury found Smollett guilty on five counts related to the obstruction of justice and he was released on bond when his attorneys filed notice of an appeal.
Although Bek Nurmaganbet has built his record on the backs of no-name opponents, itâs worth noting that only one of those opponents had a losing record. Is he the successor to Gennady Golovkin as the next great KO artist from Kazakhstan? That may be asking too much, but remember his name; he bears watching.
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The Hauser Report: Jim Lampley and Bob Sheridan

Two of boxing’s greatest blow-by-blow commentators were in the news last week. On Saturday night, Jim Lampley returned to the sweet science but in a role that was different from the one he’d enjoyed for decades at HBO. Sadly, three days earlier, Bob Sheridan died.
Let’s start with Lampley.
With all due respect to Sheridan (we’ll talk about his remarkable body of work later), Lampley is widely regarded as the greatest blow-by-blow commentator in boxing history. He was separated from the boxing scene when HBO stopped televising fights five years ago and resurfaced in a new role with PPV.com at Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo.
PPV.com is a division of InDemand and streams various entertainment events. As part of its business, it streamed Canelo-Charlo in English and Spanish in the United States and Canada as a source of ancillary pay-per-view income for the promotion.
On August 22, PPV.com announced that Lampley and Lance Pugmire would co-host a live viewer chat during Canelo-Charlo. In keeping with his duties, Jim was in Las Vegas during fight week to generate interest in the fight and PPV.com.
Lampley arrived in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. He was a constant presence at media events, conducting interviews and being interviewed about the fight. His presence benefited the promotion by enlarging the pool of potential buyers who became aware of Canelo-Charlo. And the attention that Jim received was a boon for PPV.com, which became a talked-about alternative platform for buying the fight.
Lampley introduced himself to his PPV.com audience on fight night at 5:04 PM west coast time with a post that read, “After almost 5 years away from live boxing, the entire last 4 days in Las Vegas and the MGM Grand Hotel, the noise, the lights, the people, it’s been a hallucinogenic experience.”
When the judges awarded Erickson Lubin a stunningly bad decision over Jesus Ramos, Jim declared, “So I spent four years plus away from boxing, and I guess the judging didn’t get fixed.”
Lampley is a superb ambassador for boxing. His involvement with Canelo-Charlo was good for the entire promotion, not just PPV.com. But fight-night chats aren’t the best medium for Jim’s talent. And PPV.com shouldn’t be his end destination.
Part of the Jim Lampley experience for fans has always been the electric quality of his voice, a voice that generated excitement. By definition, that voice is missing in a written chat. Also, Lampley had an unmatched ability to view ring action and synthesize it into concise, perfectly-worded sound bites as it was unfolding, not several seconds afterward. In a written chat, that quality is lost in transition.
Jim Lampley belongs at ringside behind a microphone, not a keyboard.
Bob Sheridan plied his trade for decades. He had a distinctive announcing style and larger-than-life personality coupled with a love for boxing and the people he met in it.
 Sixteen years ago, I profiled “The Colonel” (as Sheridan was known). Bob’s resume grew even more impressive after that, capped by his 2016 induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. My original article about Bob is republished below as a tribute to a man whose enthusiasm for the sweet science was contagious.
Bob Sheridan was first behind the microphone for a fight in 1966. Since then, he has called more than 800 championship bouts and become an integral part of boxing’s historical soundtrack. From radio to broadcast television to closed-circuit to pay-per-view; been there, done that.

Bob Sheridan
Sheridan is the international voice of boxing. He’s the commentator for the foreign-rights feed on most major bouts held in the United States and also for many fights overseas that are transmitted by satellite to the US. He was at ringside when Muhammad Ali battled George Foreman in Zaire and Joe Frazier in Manila. He has called the fights of legends like Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Roberto Duran. He was behind the microphone when Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear. In large swaths of the world, his voice is synonymous with the sweet science.
Sheridan’s parents were born in 1905; his mother in County Mayo and his father in County Longford. Both of them came to the United States as toddlers.
Bob was born in Boston in 1944. “None of my grandparents were educated people,” he says. “But they were very family-oriented and wise. My father’s father, James Sheridan, was a sheet-metal worker in Boston, who died before I could know him. He passed the trade on to my father, who later became a building contractor. My maternal grandfather, Andrew Dougherty, was a farmer in New Hampshire. He knew a lot about Irish history and politics and talked endlessly to me about them.”
Sheridan went to college on a baseball scholarship at the University of Miami. “Baseball was my first love,” he says. He graduated in 1966 and, that summer, played a few games at third base for the Miami Marlins, who were a Class-A farm team for the Baltimore Orioles. “There was never any chance I’d stay with the club,” he acknowledges. “I’d been brought in to fill a spot until some kid they’d signed out of high school joined the team.â
His first year out of college, Sheridan also taught physical education in the Dade County school system and hosted his own radio talk show on WDER-FM, a small station in Miami. “I bought my own airtime,” he remembers. “It cost ten dollars for a two-hour slot between 6:00 AM and 8:00 AM every Sunday morning. If I sold more than ten dollars in ads, I made a profit.”
But WDER-FM led to bigger things. The general manager for the Florida Marlins was Bill Durney, who co-hosted a radio show on WGBS (a major Florida station) with Red Barber. Barber was semi-retired and living in the Sunshine State. In earlier years, he’d been a radio and television baseball play-by-play announcer of legendary proportions. Durney introduced Sheridan to Barber.
“When I was young,” Sheridan says, picking up the story, “I wanted to be Babe Ruth. I had a pretty wild lifestyle, and I used to tell people that I was Babe Ruth reincarnated, except I’d been born four years before Babe died and I couldn’t play ball like him. However, I did have a tremendous ability to talk, and Red hired me. At first, I lined up interviews for him and read the sports news on his show. Then my role expanded. Red taught me a lot about the business. I learned from him that it doesn’t all come from the top of your head. There’s research and preparation. I prepare for every fight today like it was my first. I prepare for each undercard fight the same way I prepare for the main event. I learned that from Red Barber.”
Working with Barber gave Sheridan exposure throughout Florida. Then boxing entered his life.
The first fight that Sheridan had seen in person was Cassius Clay’s conquest of Sonny Liston in Miami Beach on February 25, 1964.
“Chris Dundee, the on-site promoter, called our baseball coach at Miami and asked if he could send some kids over to the arena to sell Coke at the fight,” Bob remembers. “Half a dozen of us went. I think a Coke sold for a quarter back then. We each made about four dollars, but I wasn’t there for the money. I was there for the fight. Clay wasn’t the most popular guy in the world, but I liked him. When the main event started, I stopped selling Coke, sat down in an aisle about twelve feet from the ring, and watched the fight. Of course, none of us had any idea of the magnitude of the history that was being made.”
In late-1966, Sheridan began calling Chris Dundee’s fights in Miami on WGBS radio. Boxing was a popular sport back then. There were fights in town every week, and Sheridan’s work became increasingly popular. “The more you do, the better you get,” he says. “And as I improved, more things fell into place.”
Dundee started taking Sheridan to fights out of town. He was hired to do radio color commentary for University of Miami football games. The first championship fight he called was Jerry Quarry against Jimmy Ellis for the WBA heavyweight title in 1968. Television work followed.
By the mid-1970s, Sheridan had gained a considerable following. Then his life took an unusual detour. He moved to Ireland and began raising cattle on a small farm in County Clare. “It’s hard to relate to city people the pleasures of working on a farm,” he says. “But remember; my grandfather was a farmer, and I loved horses and cattle.”
Sheridan owned ten acres in County Clare, leased a hundred more and, at one point, had two hundred head of cattle.â Then the detour got stranger.
“I figured I was breeding cattle and raising them, so why not ride them,” he remembers. “I tell people, I was always a bullshitter so bull-riding was the next logical step. Anyway, I took up rodeo bull-riding. In retrospect, it was crazy. This was before flak jackets. There were a lot of bruises and I broke my back one time at a rodeo in Arkansas. I’d fly from Shannon to the United States, do a rodeo, and fly back home again. For a while, I was Aer Lingus’s number-one non-commercial account. The last time I got on a bull was in 1981 at Madison Square Garden. I got bucked off in two seconds. The chute wasn’t even shut before I was off. After that, I stopped. But it was a very enjoyable period in my life. Rodeo cowboys are great athletes and fun guys to be around. The characters in rodeo are like the characters in boxing.”
In late-1981, Sheridan left the cattle business and moved back to Boston. “I loved every minute of it,” he says. “But land became too expensive to lease.â He now lives in Las Vegas with his wife of ten years, the former Annie Kelly, who was born in County Tipperary.
“I was a hard-drinking womanizing single guy for a long time,” Sheridan acknowledges. “I was married once before to another Irish girl, and it was a horrible marriage because I wasn’t mature enough to handle it. Whatever went wrong in that one, I’ll take responsibility for it. I’m a much better husband now.”
In addition to being a better husband, Sheridan is also now a fixture on the international boxing scene. He’s behind the microphone for forty fight cards annually, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story of his travels. In one seven-week stretch last year, he was ringside for fights in Memphis, the Philippines, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Boise, and South Africa. In 2005, he visited Australia eleven times.
Here, it should be noted that Sheridan has had four heart attacks and twelve angio-plasties. “I have heart attacks like other people have the flu,” he jokes. But in the next sentences, he adds,” Any health problems I’ve had are the result of genetics and eating and drinking too much. Don’t blame boxing; the traveling isn’t a problem. I get a bit tired sometimes, but there’s always an adrenaline rush when the fights begin.”
“I love boxing,” Sheraton says as his thoughts return to the sweet science. “It’s the purest sport in the world; it’s the greatest sport in the world. And my enthusiasm for it is one of my strengths as an announcer. I’m not a journalist. I don’t focus on the negative when I’m commentating. Sure, boxing has problems, but other sports have problems too. My job as a boxing commentator is to give people the facts and entertain the public. I never forget the brutality of boxing and how dangerous it is. I was tough enough to get on the back of a bull again and again. I’m not tough enough to be a fighter. But boxing takes poor kids without hope like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and elevates them to a place where they’re among the most famous people on the planet. And each fight is an event. Nothing excites me more than two great fighters getting in the ring for a championship fight.”
“There’s an old saying,” Sheridan observes in closing. “If you find a job you love, you never have to do a day’s work in your life. When I’m behind the microphone, I’m happy.”
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book â The Universal Sport: Two Years Inside Boxing â was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. In 2019, Hauser was selected for boxing’s highest honor – induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
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Canelo Alvarez Returns to Form; Proves Too Strong for Jermell Charlo

Canelo Alvarez Returns to Form; Proves Too Strong for Jermell Charlo
Daring to be great does not guarantee success.
Mexicoâs Saul âCaneloâ Alvarez powered his way past fellow undisputed but lighter world champion Jermell Charlo for a unanimous decision in front of a pro-Mexican crowd who cheered every attack by their champion on Saturday.
The difference in weight proved daunting.
A seemingly refreshed Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) returned to form in soundly defeating Houstonâs Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs) who fired back like the champion he is at the T-Mobile Arena. More than 60 percent of the crowd seemed overwhelmingly pro-Canelo.
It was Caneloâs night and he was not going to disappoint.
Though his recent performances had been subpar, the real Canelo showed up looking sharp from the opening bell. He was not underestimating Charlo, a fellow pound-for-pound fighter according to many boxing publications.
After a tenuous opening round the fight slipped into its real rhythm in the second round as the taller and more slippery moving fighter decided to engage. While inside the range of fire, Charlo opened up with jabs and a crisp left hook. Canelo stalked the taller fighter and connected twice with combinations to the head and body. Neither fighter was hurt. Charlo showcased a fast triple jab. But when he tried to clinch, he was tossed away like a dangling tree branch by the stronger Alvarez.
It was a telling moment.
âIâm a strong fighter all the time. Nobody can beat Canelo,â said Alvarez.
In the third round Alvarez fired three rapid jabs and a right to the body that left the crowd in a collective exasperation. A right uppercut by Charlo connected and he was met by Canelo attacking the body viciously. Charlo held on twice.
It became apparent that Charlo could not handle Alvarezâs power and strength inside the pocket. And whenever he clinched he was met by powerful left hook shots to the body and a right to the head.
Charlo showed a very good chin and resilience despite getting pounded occasionally by the Mexican redheadâs body attack. Itâs why he was undisputed super welterweight champion.
The fighter from Houston was gambling that he could match wits against boxingâs biggest draw. He was gambling that Alvarezâs recent performances were proof that he was ready to be toppled. And Charlo was not going to shy away from the fire.
The lanky Texas fighter showed brilliant speed and solid defense to go along with his championship heart. In the seventh round. Canelo pressured Charlo against the ropes with three jabs and a quick right to the forehead, followed by a right uppercut to Charloâs chin. After a few seconds Charlo dropped to a knee for the count. He survived.
âWe worked on that. Heâs a great fighter and knows how to work in the ring,â said Alvarez.
For the remainder of the match, Alvarez remained in stalking mode and Charlo looking to counter with left hooks and an occasional right uppercut. Nothing seemed to work for Charlo who was hoping the rise from 154-pounds to 168-pounds would not prove a problem. It was.
After 12 rounds all three judges scored in favor of Alvarez 119-108, 118-109 twice. He retains the undisputed super middleweight world championship. Charlo will go back down to super welterweight where he reigned supreme.
âI wasnât me tonight. This is boxing. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose,â said Charlo who was knocked down for only the second time in his career. âTruthfully, you can tell the difference in the weight.â
Alvarez hugged Charlo after the fight and told him he respected the gamble Charlo accepted in moving up.
âI love boxing so f——g much. Boxing is my life,â said Alvarez.
Other Bouts
In a battle between reluctant contenders, Erickson Lubin captured the win by unanimous decision over Arizonaâs Jesus Ramos to maintain his place in line for a world title match.
âI stuck to the game plan. We came back with the victory tonight,â said Lubin.
âI was in control of the fight. Iâm one of the top dogs in the division.â
Both super welterweights seemed hesitant to open up with any semblance of combinations. Lubin countered while Ramos worked the body with jabs. After 12 low-key rounds Lubin was declared the winner by scores of 115-113, 116-112, 117-111.
Ramos was surprised but never really formed an all-out attack.
âI was trying to show different dimensions to my game,â Ramos said. âMaybe a little bit more pressure.â
Mario Barrios (28-2, 18 Ks) put it all together and defeated Yordenis Ugas (27-6, 12 KOs) in a battle between ex-world champions. That left jab and left hook did all the work in picking apart Cubaâs excellent fighter Ugas.
âI just concentrated on my jab,â Barrios said.
Knockdowns by Barrios in the second and twelfth round proved emphatically the difference between the two former champions.
âAll the work I put in paid off. Early on he hurt me with a right liver shot,â said Barrios who trained in Las Vegas with Bob Santos. âI knew he was coming with it. I was prepared.â
A counter left hook dropped Ugas twice.
Arizonaâs Elijah Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) out-slugged Mexicoâs Armando Resendiz (14-2, 10 KOs) in a spirited middleweight battle and stopped the fighter in the eighth round. The 20-year-old southpaw from Phoenix connected with a powerful right hook that Resendiz did not see and that ended the regional title fight at 1:23 of the eighth round.
âHe was 100 percent my toughest opponent,â said Garcia.
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