Talking Boxing with Renowned New York Sports Journalist Wally Matthews

Published

1 year ago

November 11, 2023

Rick Assad

Talking-Boxing-with-Renowned-New-York-Sports-Journalist-Wally-Matthews

If one had the ability to construct a prototypical New York City boxing writer, it would be in the mold of Wally Matthews.

This observation was put forward by Mark Kriegel, a New York City native and one of the preeminent journalists and authors of this generation.

“Coming from Kriegel, one of the finest newspaper columnists I’ve ever read, that is high praise indeed,” Matthews admitted. “I think what he means is, I was the type who wasn’t afraid to ask a hard question or take an unpopular stance, and I didn’t take any crap from anyone (still don’t) … I plead guilty on all counts.”

Aside from being a standout boxing scribe, Matthews also covered baseball and many other sports, but it was the manly art that seemed to suit him best.

“I was lucky enough to cover boxing when it was important enough for every paper to have a full-time boxing writer in an era when for a couple of nights a year, the whole world would stop to watch a major fight. Considering I covered [Marvin] Hagler-[Thomas] Hearns, Hagler-[Ray] Leonard], [Larry] Holmes-[Michael] Spinks I and II, just about every Mike Tyson fight as well as [Roberto] Duran, [Oscar] De La Hoya, [Felix] Trinidad, [James] Toney and Roy Jones Jr. as both Olympian and professional, I think the case can be made that I was fortunate enough to land smack in the middle of one of boxing’s golden ages,” said Matthews, who left three credits shy of a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from C.W. Post University after taking a full-time job with Long Island Newsday, where he worked from 1983 to 1994. “My fight stories often landed on the back page of Newsday and the [New York] Post [1994 to 2002]. That doesn’t happen anymore, no matter who’s fighting. Clearly, the period from 1985 through 2000 was a special era for boxing.”

Even though Matthews, who returned to Newsday [2005 to 2010] is no longer seated ringside, he thinks the fight game is pretty much the same.

“The fights themselves haven’t changed. It’s still two individuals stripped of virtually everything but their courage and determination and taking part in the most demanding test of a human being short of actual armed combat,” he said. “And yes, I include MMA in that assessment, because any combat sport in which a participant can quit (or “tap out”) when the going gets tough, with no loss of honor is not really a combat sport. So those things about boxing remain the same and always will.”

There have been slight changes in boxing, and not always for the betterment.

“Where it has changed is in the public perception of it, much of which is the fault of the boxing establishment itself, with the establishment of multiple titleholders, interim champions, and all the other bull****, and much of it the fault of the promoters, who are very short-sighted and only seem interested in how much they can make today,” said Matthews, who is currently collaborating on a book with Bob Gutkowski, former president of Madison Square Garden. “As a result, boxing’s audience has dwindled to the hardcore couple of hundred thousand who are willing to shell out $75 or $100 (I’m not even sure since I refuse to pay for a fight) for an attractive matchup while the rest of the public shrugs its shoulders and moves on. The days of building up a fighter through frequent television exposure are long gone, meaning only true boxing nerds know or care about who the real champions and contenders are.”

Some of boxing’s problems reside at the feet of the men and women covering the sport.

“Also, the way boxing is covered has changed drastically and not for the better. It seems the boxing media is now populated by fanboys of certain fighters or those who seem, by the tone of their coverage, to be in the pocket of certain promoters,” said Matthews, who added ESPN Radio [2002-2005], ESPN [2010-2016], the New York Times [2016-2018], the New York Daily News [2018-2019] and Yahoo Sports [2019-2020] to his resume. “There’s no room anymore for an impartial observer who is willing to criticize based on merit. They get shouted down at press conferences and refused credentials. (I know this from experience because it used to happen to me when I was at odds with the Tyson camp). Now, the practice is much more widespread than when I covered boxing and is one of the reasons I stopped going to fights or pitching freelance boxing stories. It is true to an extent in all sports these days that adversary journalism has given way to access journalism, but more so it appears in boxing.”

There was a period when the most top-flight sportswriters were assigned the boxing beat and they usually brought back gems.

“It used to be said that newspapers would put their best writers on boxing because there was so much to be mined from each fight and each fighter, and a hack couldn’t do it,” said Matthews, who received his certification as a fitness trainer last September and is presently running the boxing program at the Huntington, New York YMCA, and is also hosting a film series on journalism in the movies at a local independent cinema. “Unfortunately, editors no longer feel that way and now assign the people on their lowest rungs to the fight game, a reflection on how far the sport’s image and popularity have fallen.”

Boxing’s attraction is that it’s man at his most basic.

“For me, the most compelling aspect of boxing was that it was a one-on-one confrontation between two men (women’s boxing was in its infancy at the time) with everything at stake, every time out, including their lives,” Matthews pointed out. “By comparison, and I’ve written this many times, there is NOTHING at stake in a baseball, football, hockey or basketball game. Everyone gets paid, everyone has a contract, everyone goes home more or less in one piece and everyone gets to play another day. Not so in boxing. I did find that when I covered baseball, the series of one-on-one confrontations between batter and pitcher somewhat resembled a boxing match, but beyond that, there is little to no urgency in any single game unless it’s Game 7 of the World Series.”

Matthews continued his thought: “I’ve always said there is more drama in the moments just preceding the opening bell of a heavyweight title fight than in all the Super Bowls, World Series, NBA Championships and Stanley Cup Finals put together, and I’ve covered all of them,” he offered. “Only horse racing, another sport which can only be “played” by adults, even comes close.”

While boxing is physically and mentally challenging, the practitioners are usually willing talkers.

“In my era, I found the athletes easier to deal with because most of them came from humble backgrounds and of course, there is something very humbling about being beaten in a boxing match,” posited Matthews. “So yeah, I found just about every fighter I’ve ever covered to have a deep well of humanity and humility not often found in other sports. I have no idea if it’s still like that but since the essential nature of boxing hasn’t changed, I imagine most of the fighters haven’t, either.”

Having covered boxing for decades, there were a few pugilists who stood out when it came to speaking with the media.

“Tyson, of course, was always great copy, even at his surliest and most threatening,” Matthews noted. “Or maybe especially at his surliest and most threatening. I found [George] Foreman to be fascinating when you could get him out of his Fighting Preacher shtick. I always loved talking boxing with Gil Clancy, Ray Arcel, Emanuel Steward and Angelo Dundee. They were treasure troves of stories and information. And wonderful gentlemen to boot.”

Along with these titans, Matthews mentioned one boxer who was otherworldly gifted.

“The best all-around fighter has got to be Sugar Ray Leonard. A generational talent who was a unique blend of speed, grace, natural skill and killer instinct,” he said. “Some people were fooled by that schoolboy grin of his, but Ray was a great puncher and a stone-cold killer. Terrific left hook.”

There were a few others who stood apart from the crowd.

“Foreman was the best puncher I ever saw. [Evander] Holyfield had more self-belief than anyone I had ever known, or will ever know,” Matthews said. “And Iran Barkley might be the most courageous individual I ever covered. A gallant fighter who gave boxing more than he ever got in return. He deserved much better.”

Having a ringside seat at many of the best and most important bouts, Matthews rolled off some of his favorite matches.

“Hagler-Hearns. No explanation needed. Tyson-Holyfield I, because the dominance of Holyfield was so unexpected,” he said. “Foreman-[Michael] Moorer, which along with the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup in 1994, was the most incredible event I’ve ever witnessed because of the drama involved. Also loved Hagler-Leonard.”

When questioned what single sporting event Matthews would choose to attend, he selected something that took place nearly a century ago.

“Put me in [Chicago’s] Soldier Field for the seventh round of the [Jack] Dempsey-[Gene] Tunney rematch and I’m in heaven,” he said of that 1927 matchup. “I want to see for myself if Tunney could have gotten up.”

Now that’s sweet.

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Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

Published

3 days ago

March 30, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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

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William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

Published

3 days ago

March 29, 2025

David A. Avila

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.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Published

4 days ago

March 28, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective-Chap-319-Rematches-in-Las-Vegas-Cancun-and-More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.

Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.

Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.

“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.

If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.

For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.

Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.

No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.

Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.

The fight breakdown

Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.

Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.

That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.

More drama.

During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.

New York City got its money’s worth.

Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.

Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?

“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”

Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.

That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?

Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.

Can she draw enough of that fire out again?

“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”

Co-Main in Las Vegas

The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.

Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.

Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.

Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.

Golden Boy in Cancun

A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.

In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.

Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.

Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.

Fights to Watch

Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).

Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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