On July 4, 1910, two fighters made their way to an arena in Reno for one of the most socially significant sporting events in American history.
A visit to a legendary spot in the boxing community as it fights, once again, to hold on to tradition.
For all the movies and books written about him, Wyatt Earp’s first brush with fame came as the referee of an infamous 1896 boxing match.
In this series, I’ll be examining the boxing history of various towns, some of their great fighters and great fights. First up, the Mile High City.
Part IV—The Knockout Heard Round the World There is all the difference in the world between an upset and an almost-upset. History is loaded with those who nearly pulled the upset, then faded at the crucial moment. People talk about…
Part III—The Perfect Storm The genius of fighters like Rocky Marciano, Carlos Monzon and Marvin Hagler is not only in the ways they found to continually defeat their opponents, but in the ways they continually managed to avoid beating themselves.…
“Joe Frazier said (to me), ‘You got three strikes against you. One, you’re a southpaw. Two, you’re good. And three, you’re black.’” –Marvin Hagler There is such a thing as being too good in boxing. Unlike other individual or…
Part II—Buster and Dynamite While the crowd in Atlantic City was still waiting for Tyson and Spinks to shake the building, an upset was brewing in one of the undercard bouts. Mike Williams, a solid punching up-and-comer from Houston, who…
Part I—The Destruction of Michael Spinks This past February marked the twentieth anniversary of the greatest upset in boxing history. On February 11, 1990, unheralded fringe contender James “Buster” Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson, known at the time as “The…