Dream turns sour

Paul Zanon
22/06/2016 1:46pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY1NL4CejvM

One moment, Lucas Browne was on top of the world as Australia’s first-ever world heavyweight champion, with huge fights on the horizon. The next moment, Big Daddy Browne found himself at the centre of boxing’s latest drugs controversy. In the blink of an eye, seemingly, Browne went from hero of a heart-warming underdog triumph over Ruslan Chagaev to a fighter defending his good name. The feel-good story soured a matter of hours after Browne spoke to Boxing Monthly on 21 March, just over two weeks after his title win in Russia.

Strictly business

Shaun Brown
20/06/2016 8:53am

For Keith Thurman, a win this Saturday night in Brooklyn over Shawn Porter will be the result of 20 years hard work and dedication after taking up boxing at the age of 7. The 27-year-old already has the WBA World welterweight title, and is one of a handful of men who could fill the void that Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao have left. Hearing about it and talking about it is wearing thin for Thurman. He wants to separate himself from the pack. He wants to go one better than Kell Brook, for example. The Brit took Porter’s IBF world title from him in 2014 with a majority decision verdict. but just winning isn’t enough for Thurman.

From the archives... Fitzsimmons KOs bear!

Luke G. Williams
18/06/2016 12:02pm

In the first of an irregular series, Luke G. Williams brings you strange episodes from boxing’s rich history which he has uncovered in various newspaper archives... While doing some background reading about Bob Fitzsimmons for my ‘ranking the heavyweights’ series for this website the following item from the New York Herald, as reprinted in the South Wales Daily News in July 1897, caught my eye.

At last

John A. MacDonald
15/06/2016 11:24am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFjBYag8OPI

The Lord Lonsdale Challenge belt is one of the most iconic awards in British sport and was once much prized. A fighter who defended the Belt twice successfully (it has since been altered to three defences) was allowed to keep it. Despite its monetary value – the original belt was made out of 22-carat gold – its true value was symbolic, as proof of being the best in Britain.

New York comes to Manchester

John Evans
13/06/2016 10:01am

Boxing is booming in Manchester. Whilst Frank Warren and Matchroom hold frequent world title fights at the city’s famous arena, Steve Wood continues to work wonders with his own shows, and in recent months Black Flash Promotions have burst on to the scene. The latest face on the promotional block, Manchester businessman James Lindemann, appreciates his contemporaries efforts but feels that he can bring a a different dynamic to the sport.

Once more into the trenches

Danny Winterbottom
10/06/2016 9:16am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lni10OKmocQ

Back in 2010 Enzo Maccarinelli suffered a brutal knockout loss at the hands of Alexander Frenkel in the first defence of his European cruiserweight title in Birmingham. David Haye, Ola Afolabi and Denis Lebedev had previously separated Maccarinelli from his senses in high profile fights prompting concerned fans and sport insiders to call for the Swansea man to retire from the sport. Enzo wasn’t just losing; he was getting badly hurt. But after attempting to reinvent himself as a light heavyweight with mixed success ‘Big Mac’ is making a late career charge to get back in the cruiserweight mix. 

Dream team

John Evans
08/06/2016 1:39pm

As James "Chunky" DeGale descended the podium at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, gold medal around his neck, he probably couldn't have imagined it would be another seven years before he once again stood on top of the world. The IBF super middleweight champion finally fulfilled his potential in 2015 and is now widely regarded as the world's best 168lbs fighter. In the long journey, the one man constantly by his side has been his trainer, Jim McDonnell.

Paying tribute to 'The Greatest'

Boxing Monthly
05/06/2016 8:48am

The world is still in mourning after the news that 'The Greatest' Muhammad Ali is no longer with us after he passed away on Friday, 3 June at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Tributes have been pouring in from every corner of the world, his interviews and fights replayed to remind us how special he was and how much he meant to so many people. The Boxing Monthly online team have taken some time to pay their own individual tributes to 'The Greatest'. There will never be another human being like him, he is gone but he will never ever be forgotten.

A few words about Muhammad Ali

Shaun Brown
04/06/2016 8:50am

Where to begin. It wasn’t just boxing where Muhammad Ali had a seismic impact, it was the world over. If you didn’t know anything about boxing you most likely knew about Ali. Sometimes a fighter chooses to do his talking in the ring, Ali did it outside the ring with boastful predictions that entertained millions and have been repeated many times over.