How I Became a Boxing Writer

Published

4 years ago

January 1, 2021

In 2010, I wanted to get back into boxing.

After enjoying the unforgettable 80’s and 90’s, my rooting interest in the cruelest sport waned in the wake of the 9/11 attack on America. When Lennox Lewis retired and the thrilling Gatti-Ward trilogy was history, I moved on. I didn’t watch much boxing in the first decade of the new millenium. I just wasn’t into the lumbering Klitschko brothers or the lighter-weight fighters.

That Christmas, my brother-in-law gifted me a subscription to The Ring Magazine, a print publication I had not enjoyed in many years. This awakened my interest in the Sweet Science. Soon I was commenting on boxing websites and dreaming of how to get more involved.

A childhood friend of mine from Brockton, Mass (the late Edwin Ayala) provided ultimate inspiration; getting hired a few years prior by Pedro Fernandez of “Ring Talk” to write up results from New England shows. Ayala, afflicted with a rare and incurable disease, inspired me. Soon, we were covering cards together and later, Ed left Pedro’s website to write and report for me.

Ayala, an Honorable Army Veteran, was 50 when he passed away on June 17, 2020. Ed suffered from a condition called Chorea-acanthocytosis. Despite this curse, my friend authored two short books, one a boxing fiction story entitled A Puncher’s Chance and the other an autobiography, Up Before The Count. He is survived by wife Loita and daughter Rosangela.

Rest in peace Ed.

HARD KNOCKS

I never went to journalism school.

My degree is in Criminal Justice from the University of Massachusetts. Later employed by Detective Joe Moura’s National Investigation Bureau (NIB) as a special investigator, I learned to gather hard to obtain facts and write detailed reports for clients. Some years after I left the field, Joe was hired by Arturo Gatti’s manager Pat Lynch to “prove” Gatti’s death was not a suicide.

In 2011, I was contacted by the administrator of a boxing website called Knockout Digest. A young Pinoy fellow named Bert Narvales asked me if I wanted to write articles and cover shows in New England. There was no pay but I jumped at the chance to live a dream, to find a way.

The first fight I was asked to cover was an HBO aired WBC welterweight title fight between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. This was my introduction to auxiliary media seating. Naive as I was, I expected to be sitting at ringside. Instead, Ed and I sat in the last row of the venue surrounded by loud and drunken fans. Ed was 5’7’’ while I’m 6’11’’.

My height helped me see the ring.

At an unforgettable post-fight presser, I questioned Ortiz about the close unanimous decision scores and whether he was certain of the victory. “In my mind and in my heart a fighter always knows if he won or if he lost or if it was close and I didn’t see it as close,” the beaming victor told me of beating Berto.

Theirs turned out to be the Fight of the Year.

DIGEST THIS

Bert’s boxing website wasn’t very well received. It was put together with press releases and other low-quality content. I wrote a few forgettable articles before figuring out I could do better myself. So, I left and created my own boxing blog. I used the experience and industry contacts I’d quickly picked up to join media conference calls, apply for press passes—and crash press row!

It was here (working at ringside) that I met Full Court Press publicist Bob Trieger. One of the few nice guys in boxing, Bob mentored me and shared his experiences with me. Though we don’t always see eye to eye, Bob remains a friend. I am grateful to him for showing me the ropes.

At an Edwin Rodriguez fight in 2012, Bob introduced me to Boston sports writer Ron Borges (pictured on my right) and later I got to work side-by-side with “KO JO” Jack Obermayer before Jack succumbed to liver cancer in 2016. Before he gave up the ghost, I carpooled with Obermayer (and fight writer Jeff Jowett) to cover the professional debut of Brandon “The Cannon” Berry in Skowhegan, Maine.

The media credentials piled up. My handheld tape recorder filled with boxing media content and fighter quotes. I wrote stories. I collaborated with two ringside photographers, Pattee Mak and Emily Harney. I became “an island of common sense in a sea of hysteria” or so said one reader.

I earned the respect of fans and fighters. Don Halpin, a Lowell journeyman who shared a ring with a young Mike Tyson in 1985, told me I did a great job of “keeping faithful readers up on what’s next, what’s gone down, and embracing the spirit of a sport that has given so many young men and women the means to reach for a dream.”

It was a special time in my life.

(Interesting thing about Halpin: Tyson hit him with an awfully late punch, a vicious uppercut, when Don was already down. Halpin endured arguably the worst of Tyson’s many fouls. It encapsulated the reality of Tyson early on in his career and the many blind-eyes turned to his flagrant acts of violence. Don told me he bears no ill-will towards Tyson despite acknowledging that Iron Mike was “trying to end a man’s life in the ring” at that point and that he’s glad Tyson was not successful with him—but not for lack of trying.)

THE SWEET SCIENTIST

Through the unfolding decade, I was fortunate enough to speak with and directly question many Hall of Fame fighters on media conference calls. I talked to Mike Tyson on one of these calls. George Foreman on another. Sometimes promoters would get testy with tough questions and rebuke a reporter. I’m pretty sure I got “yelled at” at least once by Bob Arum or Lou DiBella.

On my first such conference call, I somehow spoke with Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko, asking both champions to recollect on their bloody 2003 heavyweight title fight in Los Angeles.

Lewis was humble but it was Klitschko who really gave me something, confessing: “I never met an opponent as strong as Lennox. I never took so many punches. I never looked so horrible.”

“Lennox Lewis was the hardest fight of my career.”

By 2013, I had put together a small team of contributors to meet the growing demand of my new readers. I used social media to promote our work—and it worked. I’m forever grateful to the eager writers who joined me and helped to make our website what it was—a success. They were David McLeod, Joel Sebastianelli, Derek Bonnett, Mark Jones, and Terence Strawson.

David still writes boxing (for photographer Ed Diller) in NYC, Joel is an Indy Car pit reporter who interviewed World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko for KO Digest in 2014, Derek is a Dad, Mark is still expert in the world of women’s boxing, and Terry went on to promote shows.

Around this time, I was made an offer by experienced beat writer Lem Satterfield. Lem had heard me on conference calls and occasionally used quotes from my exchanges in his stories.

Lem wanted to know if I’d be interested in joining his “Ask The Experts” panel on RingTV. This was a group of reporters and insiders who penned predictions for upcoming big fights. Those predictions were then made into an article by Lem and published on the magazine’s website.

I built a reputation for prognostication.

That lasted nearly four years. British boxing writer Anson Wainwright later took over the popular column when Lem left and it was retitled as Fight Picks. I continued to contribute until 2017 when I was told the column would now only feature Ring magazine staff. Regardless, I’m truly grateful for the opportunity I was given by Lem to grow as a writer and expand my readership.

Though I was still writing for free, I was proving to anyone who might have been reading that I could actually do this boxing writing thing if given half a chance. I’d been published in boxing programs (Lowell’s Finest) and on the pages of Beyond The Badge, a law enforcement print periodical. KO was climbing the ranks in the small but competitive world of boxing media.

One of my earliest goals was to obtain a media credential for a big fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In 2013, I applied to cover Fury-Cunnigham and “KO Digest” was approved. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to MSG to cover Tyson’s dramatic comeback when the Boston Marathon bombing caused all Amtrak trains out of Massachusetts to be suspended.

Incredibly, the bomber was a local amateur boxer. Because I closely covered the 2012 Lowell Golden Gloves and made basement contacts there, I was one of the first people in the boxing media to make the connection and report on it. How? Gloveboy Ryan Lones messaged me during the manhunt with a photo of an old boutsheet bearing the name Tammy Tamlor.

Such was the misspelling of Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

I continued to work hard. I improved as a writer. I grew as a journalist. Every day was something new to write and report about. Articles, ratings, interviews, predictions, live shows. KO Digest was running regularly scheduled features. Keeping up with all that was a full-time job for me.

One that still didn’t pay. (To Be Continued…)

Part 2: Pressrow at Madison Square Garden, Breaking Heavyweight News, Hired by The Sweet Science, Auxiliary Acceptance by the Boxing Writers Association of America, On The Beat in Boston, Winning My First Bernie, Boxing Writers Breakfast of Champions.

—

Boxing Writer Jeffrey Freeman grew up in the City of Champions, Brockton, Massachusetts from 1973 to 1987, during the Marvelous career of Marvin Hagler. JFree then lived in Lowell, Mass during the best years of Irish Micky Ward’s illustrious career. A new member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a Bernie Award Winner in the Category of Feature Under 1500 Words, Freeman covers boxing for The Sweet Science in New England.

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Gabriela Fundora KOs Marilyn Badillo and Perez Upsets Conwell in Oceanside

Published

11 hours ago

April 20, 2025

David A. Avila

Gabriela-Fundora-KOs-Marilyn-Badillo-and-Perez-Upsets-Conwell-in-Oceanside

It was just a numbers game for Gabriela Fundora and despite Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo’s elusive tactics it took the champion one punch to end the fight and retain her undisputed flyweight world title by knockout on Saturday.

Will it be her last flyweight defense?

Though Fundora (16-0, 8 KOs) fired dozens of misses, a single punch found Badillo (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and ended her undefeated career and first attempt at a world title at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.

Fundora, however, proves unbeatable at flyweight.

The champion entered the arena as the headliner for the Golden Boy Promotion show and stepped through the ropes with every physical advantage possible, including power.

Mexico’s Badillo was a midget compared to Fundora but proved to be as elusive as a butterfly in a menagerie for the first six rounds. As the six-inch taller Fundora connected on one punch for every dozen thrown, that single punch was a deadly reminder.

Badillo tried ducking low and slipping to the left while countering with slashing uppercuts, she found little success. She did find the body a solid target but the blows proved to be useless. And when Badillo clinched, that proved more erroneous as Fundora belted her rapidly during the tie-ups.

“She was kind of doing her ducking thing,” said Fundora describing Badillo’s defensive tactics. “I just put the pressure on. It was just like a train. We didn’t give her that break.”

The Mexican fighter tried valiantly with various maneuvers. None proved even slightly successful. Fundora remained poised and under control as she stalked the challenger.

In the seventh round Badillo seemed to take a stand and try to slug it out with Fundora. She quickly was lit up by rapid left crosses and down she went at 1:44 of the seventh round. The Mexican fighter’s corner wisely waved off the fight and referee Rudy Barragan stopped the fight and held the dazed Badillo upright.

Once again Fundora remained champion by knockout. The only question now is will she move up to super flyweight or bantamweight to challenge the bigger girls.

Perez Beats Conwell.

Mexico’s Jorge “Chino” Perez (33-4, 26 KOs) upset Charles Conwell (21-1, 15 KOs) to win by split decision after 12 rounds in their super welterweight showdown.

It was a match that paired two hard-hitting fighters whose ledgers brimmed with knockouts, but neither was able to score a knockdown against each other.

Neither fighter moved backward. It was full steam ahead with Conwell proving successful to the body and head with left hooks and Perez connecting with rights to the head and body. It was difficult to differentiate the winner.

Though Conwell seemed to be the superior defensive fighter and more accurate, two judges preferred Perez’s busier style. They gave the fight to Perez by 115-113 scores with the dissenter favoring Conwell by the same margin.

It was Conwell’s first pro loss. Maybe it will open doors for more opportunities.

Other Bouts

Tristan Kalkreuth (15-1) managed to pass a serious heat check by unanimous decision against former contender Felix Valera (24-8) after a 10-round back-and-forth heavyweight fight.

It was very close.

Kalkreuth is one of those fighters that possess all the physical tools including youth and size but never seems to be able to show it. Once again he edged past another foe but at least this time he faced an experienced fighter in Valera.

Valera had his moments especially in the middle of the 10-round fight but slowed down during the last three rounds.

One major asset for Kalkreuth was his chin. He got caught but still motored past the clever Valera. After 10 rounds two judges saw it 99-91 and one other judge 97-93 all for Kalkreuth.

Highly-rated prospect Ruslan Abdullaev (2-0) blasted past dangerous Jino Rodrigo (13- 5-2) in an eight round super lightweight fight. He nearly stopped the very tough Rodrigo in the last two rounds and won by unanimous decision.

Abdullaev is trained by Joel and Antonio Diaz in Indio.

Bakersfield prospect Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) needed only 1:44 to knock out Puerto Rico’s Marcos Jimenez (25-12) in a welterweight bout.

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‘Krusher’ Kovalev Exits on a Winning Note: TKOs Artur Mann in his ‘Farewell Fight’

Published

1 day ago

April 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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At his peak, former three-time world light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev ranked high on everyone’s pound-for-pound list. Now 42 years old – he turned 42 earlier this month – Kovalev has been largely inactive in recent years, but last night he returned to the ring in his hometown of Chelyabinsk, Russia, and rose to the occasion in what was billed as his farewell fight, stopping Artur Mann in the seventh frame.

Kovalev hit his peak during his first run as a world title-holder. He was 30-0-1 (26 KOs) entering first match with Andre Ward, a mark that included a 9-0 mark in world title fights. The only blemish on his record was a draw that could have been ruled a no-contest (journeyman Grover Young was unfit to continue after Kovalev knocked down in the second round what with was deemed an illegal rabbit punch). Among those nine wins were two stoppages of dangerous Haitian-Canadian campaigner Jean Pascal and a 12-round shutout over Bernard Hopkins.

Kovalev’s stature was not diminished by his loss to the undefeated Ward. All three judges had it 114-113, but the general feeling among the ringside press was that Sergey nicked it.

The rematch was also somewhat controversial. Referee Tony Weeks, who halted the match in the eighth stanza with Kovalev sitting on the lower strand of ropes, was accused of letting Ward get away with a series of low blows, including the first punch of a three-punch series of body shots that culminated in the stoppage. Sergey was wobbled by a punch to the head earlier in the round and was showing signs of fatigue, but he was still in the fight. Respected judge Steve Weisfeld had him up by three points through the completed rounds.

Sergey Kovalev was never the same after his second loss to Andre Ward, albeit he recaptured a piece of the 175-pound title twice, demolishing Vyacheslav Shabranskyy for the vacant WBO belt after Ward announced his retirement and then avenging a loss to Eleider Alvarez (TKO by 7) with a comprehensive win on points in their rematch.

Kovalev’s days as a title-holder ended on Nov. 2, 2019 when Canelo Alvarez, moving up two weight classes to pursue a title in a fourth weight division, stopped him in the 11^th round, terminating what had been a relatively even fight with a hellacious left-right combination that left Krusher so discombobulated that a count was superfluous.

That fight went head-to-head with a UFC fight in New York City. DAZN, to their everlasting discredit, opted to delay the start of Canelo-Kovalev until the main event of the UFC fight was finished. The delay lasted more than an hour and Kovalev would say that he lost his psychological edge during the wait.

Kovalev had two fights in the cruiserweight class between his setback to Canelo and last night’s presumptive swan song. He outpointed Tervel Pulev in Los Angeles and lost a 10-round decision to unheralded Robin Sirwan Safar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Artur Mann, a former world title challenger – he was stopped in three rounds by Mairis Briedis in 2021 when Briedis was recognized as the top cruiserweight in the world – was unexceptional, but the 34-year-old German, born in Kazakhstan, wasn’t chopped liver either, and Kovalev’s stoppage of him will redound well to the Russian when he becomes eligible for the Boxing Hall of Fame.

Krusher almost ended the fight in the second round. He knocked Mann down hard with a short left hand and seemingly scored another knockdown before the round was over (but it was ruled a slip). Mann barely survived the round.

In the next round, a punch left Mann with a bad cut on his right eyelid, but the German came to fight and rounds three, four and five were competitive.

Kovalev had a good sixth round although there were indications that he was tiring. But in the seventh he got a second wind and unleashed a right-left combination that rolled back the clock to the days when he was one of the sport’s most feared punchers. Mann went down hard and as he staggered to his feet, his corner signaled that the fight should be stopped and the referee complied. The official time was 0:49 of round seven. It was the 30^th KO for Kovalev who advanced his record to 36-5-1.

Addendum: History informs us that Farewell Fights have a habit of becoming redundant, by which we mean that boxers often get the itch to fight again after calling it quits. Have we seen the last of Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev? We woudn’t bet on it.

The complete Kovalev-Mann fight card was live-streamed on the Boxing News youtube channel.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 322: Super Welterweight Week in SoCal

Published

2 days ago

April 18, 2025

David A. Avila

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Two below-the-radar super welterweight stars show off their skills this weekend from different parts of Southern California.

One in particular, Charles Conwell, co-headlines a show in Oceanside against a hard-hitting Mexican while another super welter star Sadriddin Akhmedov faces another Mexican hitter in Commerce.

Take your pick.

The super welterweight division is loaded with talent at the moment. If Terence Crawford remained in the division he would be at the top of the class, but he is moving up several weight divisions.

Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) faces Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs) a tall knockout puncher from Los Mochis at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, Calif. on Saturday April 19. DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also features undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora. We’ll get to her later.

Conwell might be the best super welterweight out there aside from the big dogs like Vergil Ortiz, Serhii Bohachuk and Sebastian Fundora.

If you are not familiar with Conwell he comes from Cleveland, Ohio and is one of those fighters that other fighters know about. He is good.

He has the James “Lights Out” Toney kind of in-your-face-style where he anchors down and slowly deciphers the opponent’s tools and then takes them away piece by piece. Usually it’s systematic destruction. The kind you see when a skyscraper goes down floor by floor until it’s smoking rubble.

During the Covid days Conwell fought two highly touted undefeated super welters in Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev. He stopped them both and suddenly was the boogie man of the super welterweight division.

Conwell will be facing Mexico’s taller Garcia who likes to trade blows as most Mexican fighters prefer, especially those from Sinaloa. These guys will be firing H bombs early.

Fundora

Co-headlining the Golden Boy card is Gabriela Fundora (15-0, 7 KOs) the undisputed flyweight champion of the world. She has all the belts and Mexico’s Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1, 3 KOs) wants them.

Gabriela Fundora is the sister of Sebastian Fundora who holds the men’s WBC and WBO super welterweight world titles. Both are tall southpaws with power in each hand to protect the belts they accumulated.

Six months ago, Fundora met Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz in Las Vegas to determine the undisputed flyweight champion. The much shorter Alaniz tried valiantly to scrap with Fundora and ran into a couple of rocket left hands.

Mexico’s Badillo is an undefeated flyweight from Mexico City who has battled against fellow Mexicans for years. She has fought one world champion in Asley Gonzalez the current super flyweight world titlist. They met years ago with Badillo coming out on top.

Does Badillo have the skill to deal with the taller and hard-hitting Fundora?

When a fighter has a six-inch height advantage like Fundora, it is almost impossible to out-maneuver especially in two-minute rounds. Ask Alaniz who was nearly decapitated when she tried.

This will be Badillo’s first pro fight outside of Mexico.

Commerce Casino

Kazakhstan’s Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0, 13 KOs) is another dangerous punching super welterweight headlining a 360 Promotions card against Mexico’s Elias Espadas (23-6, 16 KOs) on Saturday at the Commerce Casino.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the 360 Promotions card of about eight bouts.

Akhmedov is another Kazakh puncher similar to the great Gennady “GGG” Golovkin who terrorized the middleweight division for a decade. He doesn’t have the same polish or dexterity but doesn’t lack pure punching power.

It’s another test for the super welterweight who is looking to move up the ladder in the very crowded 154-pound weight division. 360 Promotions already has a top contender in Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk who nearly defeated Vergil Ortiz a year ago.

Could Bohachuk and Akhmedov fight each other if nothing else materializes?

That’s a question for another day.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) vs. Jorge Garcia Perez (32-4, 26 KOs); Gabriela Fundora (15-0) vs Marilyn Badillo (19-0-1).

Sat. UFC Fight Pass 6 p.m. Sadriddin Akhmedov (15-0) vs Elias Espadas (23-6).

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