A Boxing-Themed Discussion with Versatile Sports Journalist Greg Bishop

Published

3 years ago

October 31, 2021

Rick Assad

A-Boxing-Themed-Discussion-with-Versatile-Sports-Journalist-Greg-Bishop

Hand Greg Bishop an assignment and he’s going to be equally comfortable writing about the NFL, MLB, college basketball, the Olympics or boxing.

Bishop began covering the sweet science while at the New York Times when he penned a feature on Manny Pacquiao in 2009 prior to his fight with Miguel Cotto.

Bishop, a senior writer at Sports Illustrated since 2014, has spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport, including Floyd Mayweather Jr.

What’s Bishop’s take on the state of boxing as it’s presently constituted?

“I don’t buy the usual arguments that boxing is dying, that it won’t continue, that all these exhibition-type fights are ruining the sport (although, Evander Holyfield, woof),” he said. “I believe there is a lot of solid boxing right now. I believe there are a ton of champions who deserve more attention than they’re getting.”

Somehow, boxing has a way of messing up its own progress. “And I believe that the sport continues to get in its own way, for myriad reasons: too many belts, not enough marquee fights, too many Pay-Per-View cards that should be on network TV or streaming,” said Bishop, a graduate of Syracuse University in 2002 with a journalism and finance degree. “Boxing’s problems continue to stem from the sports infrastructure. They have long needed fixing. The question is whether they will ever be addressed.”

In the old days, boxing had eight world champions based on weight. Today that number has multiplied because of all the sanctioning bodies.

In a way, this is beneficial for the boxer because he’s able to make more money and get recognition, but it also muddies the product.

Bishop, a sports staff writer at The Seattle Times from 2002 through 2007 and The New York Times for seven years, thinks this is a problem.

“When I write I usually leave the belts out of it. Often, my editors will ask to put them in,” he said. “I always say: to what point? The general reader will for sure be confused, and if you add in which belts, you have to explain which ones are significant. It’s too many wasted words.”

Pacquiao holds a special place for Bishop. “It will be tough to argue – in my opinion – that Manny Pacquiao didn’t have an unprecedented career. We haven’t seen anything like it,” he noted. “I doubt we will again. In an era where protecting a record from losses came to matter much more than in earlier eras, Pacquiao fought everybody. He didn’t always win, but that’s besides the point.”

Bishop continued: “Think of how many incredible fights he had: the trilogies, the four times versus Juan Manuel Marquez, Cotto, [Ricky] Hatton, [Antonio] Margarito,” he said. “I always tell people I’ve covered sports all over the world, from the Tour De France to the Olympics to every tennis grand slam, and there’s nothing in sports like when Pacquiao is coming into Thunderstruck.”

Pacquiao wasn’t perfect by any measure. “Now, that doesn’t mean I have always agreed with some of his stances, or some of his choices. But from a purely boxing standpoint, Pacquiao represents one of the most fascinating careers ever embarked upon,” Bishop said. “It was truly fun to watch, and that was part of his appeal, the way he fought, how he fought everyone, how he danced and moved and darted and dipped. I believe we will appreciate Manny and his career more over time.”

In so many ways, the undefeated Mayweather was bigger than life. “We’ve had our run-ins over the years, but whenever I went to Floyd’s gym, I knew there would be some sort of event,” Bishop said. “I saw a boxer chasing another boxer down the street with a knife one time. I also always found it interesting that Floyd could pretty much do anything he wanted, buy anything he wanted, fight anyone he wanted, and yet the one thing he wanted most – unadulterated respect – he always had trouble landing. I wrote about that a lot.”

Another boxer stood out for Bishop. “Andre Ward was a hell of a fighter who took on tough opponents and consistently performed,” he said. “He had power. He had technical skill. He won some big fights. It was a pleasure to watch him up close, too.”

Even those not in the ring are interesting characters in their own right. “I’d put Bob Arum in that category. Always funny, great stories,” Bishop said of the founder and CEO of Top Rank. “Bruce Trampler, too. I’ve never talked to Bruce and not learned something. People like those are the reason I keep coming back to cover boxing. There’s no shortage of amazing material.”

The sport’s biggest money-making bout involved Mayweather and Pacquiao. Bishop was there in May 2015 for that clash at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but feels the best fight he covered was Pacquiao-Cotto, which was held at the same venue.

“To me that was Pacquiao’s peak, from style to just pure brutality. The best of Manny was there that night, and Cotto didn’t fight badly at all,” he said. “I remember the energy, the way the crowd seemed drunk on adrenaline, the trading of blows and then, finally, the mood changing. Like I started to worry that Cotto might get hurt. That maybe this wasn’t a good idea. As I covered more and more fights, I kept coming back to that one. The way it felt. It was sort of like I was chasing that feeling when I kept coming back.”

Though boxing can be full of drama, it’s also not for the faint of heart, because it demands so much physical and mental strength from its participants.

“Boxing is not for everyone. It’s a tough sport, and sometimes I’m not sure whether I should be covering it,” Bishop admitted. “I’ve written about that before, too. I wonder sometimes if we’re glorifying what should not be glorified, or if we’re all part of this machine that leaves these fighters bloodied, beaten, and broken.”

Still, Bishop, like so many other insightful writers across the decades can’t escape the bravery these men produce.

“And yet, I’m drawn to boxing, too,” he declared. “For the science and the artistry and, yes, the violence. I’m conflicted about it and that conflict only grows over time.”

Some have suggested that boxing needs to be recalibrated in order to clear the air and make it better. “For one, I think it would be great if there was a boxing commissioner. The sport desperately needs a national commissioner,” Bishop said. “No more moving a bout to Florida so that it will be licensed when it shouldn’t be. No more allowing someone who’s not a boxer, fight someone else who’s not a boxer and calling it a pro fight. I’d fix the whole situation with the belts. One main one per division. That’s it. That’s the one that matters.”

Bishop then added: “I’d add pensions and healthcare plans to the careers of fighters,” he said. “I wouldn’t allow managers to also promote fighters – which technically, is against the law, but happens all the time. I wouldn’t even mind these spectacle fights, as long as they’re clearly delineated – as that, spectacle, something different, to catch a different audience. There’s room for all of it, in my opinion. But the sport needs to address its credibility above all. That starts with the best fighters fighting the best fighters, with mandated drug testing, with belts that mean something and can be easily understood.”

Having covered every major sport, there’s nothing quite like fight week leading up to a colossal main event like Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury.

“Even though I cover the NFL primarily, I want to stay involved in boxing, whether I should or my editors want me to or not,” Bishop said. “Part of it is they’re selling a product, for sure. Part of it is the great tradition that has been passed down with so many champions and many writers who are much better at this craft than I am.”

Bishop likes the preparation that goes into writing about the sport. “I go back and study all of them, how they ingratiated in those camps, how well they knew the fighters that they covered,” he said. “Boxing is one of the last places in sports where you can still find that. It’s not like before, but nothing ever is. You can still get deep into a camp, which helps get deep into the mind of a fighter, their preparations, what it means. There’s truly nothing like it.”

Maybe boxing has lost some of its shine, but it’s still special when two high-level fighters step into the ring.

“People always ask: why do you cover boxing? One of my go-to lines is that boxers would let you stay over if you wanted, while most NFL athletes I profile would prefer to limit our conversations to 10 minutes,” Bishop explained.

That’s just one way in which boxers stand tall compared to some athletes in other sports.

Check out more boxing news on video at the Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 1,134

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Rick Assad

Up Next

Weekend Boxing Notebook: Zepeda and Ennis Turn Heads With Quick KOs

Don't Miss

“Boots” Ennis Crushes Dulorme; Butaev TKOs Jamal James at Mandalay Bay

Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

Published

2 days ago

March 8, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez

March 7 was an unusually heavy Friday for professional boxing. The show that warranted the most ink was the all-female card in London, a tour-de-force for the super-talented Lauren Price, but there were important fights on other continents.

Brighton

Michael Conlan, who sat out all of 2024 on the heels of being stopped in three of his previous five, returned to the ring in the British seaside resort city of Brighton in a shake-off-the-rust, 8-rounder against Asad Asif Khan, a 31-year-old Indian from Calcutta making his first appearance in a British ring.

Conlan, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist who famously signed with Top Rank coming out of the amateur ranks, is now 33 years old. Against Khan, he was far from impressive, but did enough to win by a 78-74 score and lock in a match with Spain’s Cristobal Lorente, the European featherweight champion.

Conlan, who improved to 19-3 (9), absorbed a lot of punishment in those three matches that he lost. With his deep amateur background, Michael has a lot of mileage on him and he would have been smart to call it quits after his embarrassingly one-sided defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez. His frayed reflexes speak to something more than ring rust. Heading in, Khan brought a 19-5-1 record but had scored only five wins inside the distance.

Conlan vs Khan was the co-feature. In the main event, Brighton welterweight Harlem Eubank, the cousin of Chris Eubank Jr, improved to 21-0 (9 KOs) with a dominant performance over Conlan’s Belfast homie Tyrone McKenna. Eubank was credited with three knockdowns, all the result of body punches, before referee John Latham had seen enough and pulled the plug at the 2:09 mark of round 10. It was the fourth loss in his last six outings for the 35-year-old McKenna (24-6-1).

Harlem Eubank wants to fight Conor Benn next and says he is willing to wait until after his cousin “wipes Benn out.” Chris Eubank Jr vs Benn is slated for April 26 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The North London facility, which has a retractable roof, is the third-largest soccer stadium in England.

Toronto

Local fan favorite Lucas Bahdi and his stablemate Sara Bailey were the headliners on last night’s card at the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto. The event marked the first incursion of Jake Paul’s MVP Promotions into Canada.

Bahdi, who is from Niagara Falls but trains in Toronto, burst out of obscurity in July of last year in Tampa, Florida, with a spectacular one-punch knockout of heavily-hyped Ashton “H2O” Sylva. His next fight, on the undercard of Jake Paul’s match with Mike Tyson, was less “noisy” and the same could be said of his homecoming fight with Ryan James Racaza, an undefeated (15-0) but obscure southpaw from the Philippines who was making his North American debut.

Bahdi vs Racaza was a technical fight that didn’t warm up until Bahdi produced a knockdown in round seven with a sweeping left hook, a glancing blow that appeared to land behind Racaza’s ear. The Filipino was up in a jiff, looking at the referee as if to say, “this dude just hit me with a rabbit punch.”

The judges had it 99-90, 97-92, and 96-93 for the victorious Bahdi (19-0) who was the subject of a recent profile on these pages.

Sara Bailey, a decorated amateur who competed around the world under her maiden name Sara Haghighat Joo and now holds the WBA light flyweight title, successfully defended that trinket with a lopsided decision over Cristina Navarro (6-3), a 35-year-old Spaniard who “earned” this assignment by winning a 6-round decision over an opponent with a 1-4-3 record. The judges scored the monotonous fight 99-91 across the board for Bailey who improved to 6-0 and then returned to the ring to assist her husband in Lucas Bahdi’s corner.

Also

Twenty-two-year-old super bantamweight Angel Barrientes, a Las Vegas-based Hawaii native, delivered the best performance of the night with a one-sided beatdown of Alexander Castellano whose corner mercifully stopped the contest after the seventh round as the ring doctor stood in a neutral corner chatting with the referee.

The gritty Castellano, who hails from Tonawanda, New York, brought an 11-1-2 record and hadn’t previously been stopped. A glutton for punishment, he appeared to suffer a broken orbital bone. Barrientes improved to 13-1 (8 KOs).

The show was marred by an excessive amount of fluffy gobbledygook by the TV talking heads which slowed down the action and made the promotion almost unwatchable.

Cartago, Costa Rica

Fighting in his hometown, super flyweight David Jimenez scored a lopsided 12-round decision over Nicaragua’s Keyvin Lara. The judges had it 120-108, 119-109, and 116-112.

Jimenez, now 17-1, came to the fore in July of 2022 when he upset Ricardo Sandoval in Los Angeles, winning a well-earned majority decision over a 20/1 favorite riding a 16-fight winning streak. That boosted him into a title fight with the formidable Artem Dalakian who saddled him with his lone defeat.

Jimenez’s victory over Lara was his fifth since that setback. It sets up the Costa Rican for another title fight, this time against Argentina’s Fernando Martinez who acquired the WBA 115-pound title in July with an upset of Kazuto Ioka in Japan. Lara, who unsuccessfully challenged Ioka for a belt in 2016, falls to 32-7-1.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 781

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Price Conquers Jonas on an All-Female Card at Royal Albert Hall

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Price-Conquers-Jonas-on-an-All-Female-Card-at-Royal-Albert-Hall

Ben Shalom’s BOXXER Promotions was at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall tonight with an all-female card topped by a welterweight unification fight between WBC/IBF belt-holder Natasha Jonas and WBA champion Lauren Price.

Liverpool’s Jonas, who turns 41 in June, has had a sterling career, but Father Time has caught up with her. The 30-year-old Price, an Olympic gold medalist, had faster hands, faster feet, and hit harder. The classy Jonas (16-3-1) acknowledged as much in her post-fight interview: “She beat me to the punch every time.”

The scores were 100-90, 98-92, and 98-93.

In advancing her record to 9-0 (2), Price built a strong case that she is the best fighter to come down the pike from Wales since Joe Calzaghe. As for her next bout, she hopes to fight the winner of the March 29 rematch in Las Vegas between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan. That match, with all of the meaningful welterweight hardware at stake, would be a hot ticket item if potted in Cardiff.

Semi-wind-up

Caroline Dubois staved off a late rally to successfully defend her WBC lightweight title with a majority decision over South Korea’s spunky Bo Mi Re Shin. The judges had it 98-92, 98-93, and 95-95. Although the 95-95 tally by the Korean judge was quite a stretch, Shin performed far better than the odds – Dubois was a consensus 35/1 favorite — portended.

Dubois, a 24-year-old Londoner trained by Shane McGuigan, is the sister of IBF heavyweight title-holder Daniel Dubois. Reportedly 36-3 as an amateur, she advanced her pro record to 11-0-1 (5). Heading in, Shin (18-3-3) had won nine of her previous 10 with the lone setback coming via split decision in a robust fight with Belgium’s Delfine Persoon in Belgium.

Other Bouts of Note

Kariss Artingstall returned to the ring after a 14-month absence and scored a unanimous decision over former amateur rival Raven Chapman. The scores were 98-91, 97-92, 96-93.

The prize for Artingstall, who happens to be Lauren Price’s partner, was the inaugural British female featherweight title and a potential rematch with Skye Nicolson who would relish the chance to avenge her last defeat, a loss by split decision to Attingstall in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics. Nicolson, who was part of tonight’s broadcast team, defends her title later this month in Sydney against Florida’s Tiara Brown.

It was the first 10-rounder for Artingstall (7-0). Chapman (9-2) had an uphill battle after Artingstall decked her in the second round with a straight left hand.

In a mild upset, Jasmina Zopotoczna, a UK-based Pole, won a split decision over Chloe Watson, adding Watson’s European flyweight title to her own regional trinket. One of the judges favored Watson 97-93, but each of his colleagues had it 96-95 for the Pole. Although there was no great furor, the verdict was unpopular.

Zapotoczna, who fought off her back foot, improved to 9-1. It was the first pro loss for Watson who is trained by Ricky Hatton.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 771

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Avila Perspective, Chap. 316: Art of the Deal in Boxing and More

Published

4 days ago

March 6, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-316-Art-of-the-Deal-in-Boxing-and-More

So, they want to save boxing?

A group of guys with recent ties to the sport of boxing and bags of money suddenly believe they can save a sport that is older than any other sport since the dawn of mankind.

Boxing is the oldest sport.

When cavemen roamed the planet, you can believe one tribe bet another tribe their guy could whip the other guy. Thus began the sport of boxing. There was no baseball, soccer or horse racing.

Even the invention of the wheel was still a few generations away when men were duking it out with other men for sport.

Throughout history mentions of one man fighting another man without arms are written in the Tales of Ulysses and other literary references.

Boxing will never die. Period.

Here is the reason why.

Boxing requires only two men in their underwear with no weapons and no requirement of classes in jujitsu, kickboxing, wrestling or advance training facilities. You can prepare in your backyard with one heavy bag and a pair of boxing gloves. It’s simple.

MMA, on the other hand, requires money.

Boxing is for the poor. Any kid can walk into a gym and begin training. When they become adults, then they start paying to use the gym.

Don’t let people fool you and tell you “boxing is dying.”

People have been saying those same words since John L. Sullivan in the late 1800s. You can look it up.

The phrase “boxing is dying,” is said by people who want you to pay them money to save it. Kind of sounds like the guy currently sitting in the White House who is going to save America by firing Americans from their jobs and allowing Russia to take over Ukraine.

Don’t believe these people.

Boxing does not need saving.

Why would Dana White, who has stated for decades that MMA is bigger than boxing, though no MMA fighter can equal the purses of a Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or Tyson Fury, why is he involved in boxing?

There is big money to be made in boxing, especially with internet gambling sites being allowed all over the world. And boxing is popular worldwide. MMA is not.

More people know who Canelo is than UFC’s Alex Pereira.

I respect the UFC fighters. They put in hard work and battle injuries throughout their careers. But MMA is simply not as big as boxing. The purses of MMA fighters at the top level don’t come close to boxing’s top money earners.

Why did Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and others quickly switch to boxing when called?

The money in boxing is much bigger.

Follow the money.

NYC

A rumble is planned for Times Square in New York City.

Vatos from Southern California are fighting dudes from Nevada and Brooklyn. Sounds like a script from the Gangs of New York.

Where is Leonardo DiCaprio when you need him?

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will meet Rollie Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) in a welterweight match set for May 2, on Times Square in mid-Manhattan. This is one of three marquee bouts planned to be streamed on DAZN.

Others matched will be Arnold Barboza (32-0, 11 KOs) versus super lightweight titlist Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs), and Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) against Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) in a welterweight contest.

This is the proposed match by The Ring magazine backed by Turki Alalshikh who, along with Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, is sponsoring this fight card.

It was also announced that Alalshikh, TKO Group Holdings, and Sela are forming a promotion company.

TKO owns UFC and WWE.

SoCal Fights

Southern California will be busy with boxing cards this weekend.

This Thursday, March 6, is Golden Boy Promotions with a boxing card featuring Manny Flores (19-1, 15 KOs) versus Jorge Leyva (18-3, 13 KOs) in a super bantamweight match at Fantasy Springs Casino. DAZN will stream the boxing card from Indio, California.

On Saturday, March 8, the Fox Theater in Pomona, California hosts a boxing card featuring super middleweights Ruben Cazales (10-0) vs Adam Diu Abdulhamid (18-16). Also, super featherweights Michael Bracamontes (10-2-1) meets Eugene Lagos (16-9-3) at the historic venue promoted by House of Pain Boxing.

On Saturday March 8, Elite Boxing hosts a boxing card at Salesian High in East Los Angeles featuring East L.A. native Merari Vivar (8-0) against Sarah Click (2-8-1) and several other fights.

On Saturday, March 8, an event hosted by House of Champions features top contenders Joet Gonzalez (26-4) vs Arnold Khegai (22-1-1) in a featherweight main event at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif.

A Big All-Female Card in London

On Friday, March 7, the historic Royal Albert Hall in the Kensington borough of London will host an all-female card with two world title fights including a unification fight in the welterweight division.

Natasha Jonas (16-2-1) and Lauren Price (8-0) meet 10 rounds for the IBF, WBC, and WBA belts.

Jonas, 40, the current WBC and IBF titlist, recently defeated Ivana Habazin and before that edged past Mikaela Mayer in a win that could have gone the other way very easily. She will be facing Price, an Olympic gold medalist and current WBA and IBO titlist.

Price, 30, hails from Wales and has an aggressive pressure style that saw her win a battle between punchers with a third-round knockout of Colombia’s Bexcy Mateus this past December in Liverpool. Before that she defeated the always tough Jessica McCaskill.

In the co-main event, lightweights Caroline Dubois (10-0-1) and Bo Mi Re Shin (18-2-3) meet for the WBC world title.

Me Re Shin, 30, fights out of South Korea and has knockout power. She was one of only two fighters to stop Venezuela’s Ana Maria Lozano who has 38 pro fights. That says something. She lost a split decision to Delfine Persoon in Belgium. That really says something.

Dubois had two competitive fights, first, against Jessica Camara that ended in a technical draw due to a clash of heads. Before that she defeated Maira Moneo. Dubois has very good talent and is still young at 24. Is she ready for Mi Re Shin?

Times Square photo credit: JP Yim

Fights to watch:

Thurs., March 6: DAZN, Manny Flores (19-1) vs. Jorge Leyva (18-3)

Fri., March 7: free on DAZN, Lucas Bahdi (18-0) vs. Ryan James Racaza (15-0)

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 651

Share The Sweet Science experience!