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CELEBRITIES are everywhere and their impact is substantial. No longer those almost mythical figures we would see on our television sets once or twice a week, they’re now on our phones and in our ears during every waking hour. Ignoring them is not as easy as it used to be. Once upon a time, a

ON MAY 1 last year, Irish Johnny Turner was inducted into the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame. This writer has known Turner from when he first walked into a boxing gym over 50 years ago and was one of his sparring partners in the amateurs. On the afternoon of the event, I had

WHILE most of the country was likely sat in their warm offices or at home cursing the stupefying cost of central heating, Peak District-born and bred cruiserweight Jack Massey was battling scaffolding on a freezing building site. Helping his brother out on a job by doing some labouring, he braved the biting minus five, pre-Christmas

THERE was just a black door on the ground floor of a dull building somewhere near Park Royal in a nondescript part of North London. It was not the only mystery of the day. Inside was a boxing gym and the rest, as they say, is history. There was a topless man in denim dungarees

IT SEEMS to be an accepted part of the game nowadays for two boxers, in the build-up to a big contest, to engage in a verbal, and sometimes physical, altercation at the weigh-in, or during a press conference. This is often decried by traditionalists who remember the so-called good-old-days when the two contestants usually exchanged

AS YOUTUBER KSI stormed round the ring, lapping up adoration from the crowd before screaming down a microphone about fighting various other influencers having just stopped FaZe Temperrr in what was billed as an exhibition fight, everything just felt quite boring. Not only was this extremely predictable and pointless, it was tiring to take in.

FORMER WBA heavyweight belt-holder Gerrie Coetzee died last Thursday, aged 67, a week after being diagnosed with lung cancer. The ‘Boksburg Bomber’ was many things: a ‘world’ champion who said he threw his final serious fight, an anti-racist who claimed to adore the black boxers he promoted but also threatened them, a sly wheeler-dealer adept

1 Eubank Jnr W UD 12 Arthur Abraham Although a long time past his best, there is an argument to be made that Abraham, a former champion at both middleweight and super-middleweight, remains the best opponent Eubank Jnr has faced as a pro. Certainly, his 2017 decision win over him is up there with his

Part I: The Reality Check IF becoming a boxer requires a degree of dreaming, denial and delusion, it’s fair to say becoming a referee requires quite the opposite. For them, the referee, rather than embracing the fantasy of reaching the top and ignoring the possibility of pain and disappointment, they must instead confront reality early

MATCHROOM BOXING Major contests promoted or co-promoted – Saul Alvarez-Gennadiy Golovkin III, Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua II, Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano, Dmitry Bivol-Alvarez, Juan Francisco Estrada-Roman Gonzalez III, Leigh Wood-Michael Conlan. Positive – They were again the most prolific promotional group in the world, staging events – largely of a high standard – all over the globe…

FOR years Anthony Joshua would smile that winning smile of his and tell all who would listen that the key to life was staying both hungry and humble. He would, in the hope of raking in additional money, even plaster this mantra on hats and on T-shirts, as well as various other items worn by

Gary Logan (Former Southern Area welterweight champion) Which division or indeed fighter does the average fan mostly talk about nowadays? Answer: a) Heavyweight b) Tyson Fury. In other words, Frank Warren is still Britain’s best. To sell out Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Fury vs Derek Chisora after promising us Fury vs Anthony Joshua takes some

THE YEAR 2023 should be a huge one for the heavyweight division. At the very top, we hope it’s when we get the most important showdown since Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield fought twice in 1999, with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in negotiations to meet in a contest that will decide the first universally

Gary Logan (Former Southern Area welterweight champion) This potential fight is delicious. “Tank” is so underrated as a boxer and is a brilliant finisher, too. Ryan hits hard but Tank’s higher level of opposition will speak volumes. Don’t get me wrong, if Ryan detonates, they fall heavy, but so too do opponents when Tank lands.

WHAT’S in a name? In the wake of Mike Tyson’s doomed venture into fine dining, a menu that famously featured Evander Holyfield’s right ear, he might well have defended his actions as being in the spirit of the Queensberry Rules, whereby random cannibalism is permissible, as exemplified by the third Marquis of that name. A

I HAVE a confession to make. When I sit in press row with my brethren I’m often hit with pangs of self-consciousness. Laptops here, Laptops there, Laptops everywhere, except from yours truly who leaves his at home still covers shows for Boxing News with a pen and pad. Granted I’m usually not on the very

1 Josh Taylor vs Jack Catterall II Thankfully, this super-lightweight rematch is happening in March. It is needed, too, following the controversial nature of their first encounter last February; a bout Taylor won by decision, yet many felt should have gone the way of Catterall. 2 Tyson Fury vs Joe Joyce With them both unbeaten

WHILE you can never say with any real certainty that a scheduled fight will be a “Fight of the Year” candidate, some fights tend to be safer bets than others. The recently announced February 18 featherweight fight between Leigh Wood and Mauricio Lara, for example, is one fight which, were it measured like a football