In conversation with Amir Khan

Terry Dooley
06/09/2015 11:50am

When I caught up with Amir Khan, the Bolton-based boxer was observing Ramadan during a rare British heatwave. Muslims fast during daylight hours for a month -  it ended on 17 July when Eid is celebrated across the UK - and despite it being an uncomfortable process the 28-year-old appreciates why it is a core tenet of his faith. “Normally I’d be drinking a lot of water and eating five or six times a day when I’m in training,” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) told Boxing Monthly. “I have been training at midnight instead. You’re thinking about what other people who might be poor or not as fortunate have to go through and you’re showing your support by fasting. It makes you realize that there are people out there who are suffering, so you try to help them by giving to charity and doing what you can."

Smith on the right path

Terry Dooley
05/09/2015 10:15am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gUPn4YkE0A

When Margaret Smith described one son as the most “streetwise” of her four fighting offspring, the matriarch of the Smith family was understating the concerns the family had over their third boy when he got in with the wrong crowd as a youngster. “I was a tearaway,” Liam Smith (20-0-1, 10 early) told Boxing Monthly. “I’d be throwing stones at taxis, getting brought home by the police and thinking it was funny. I was going the wrong way. The others would be in the gym from 4.30 to 7.30, so that kept them busy. I’d come home from school as quick as I could, not have any tea and go straight out on the streets or into town when I got older."

TKO Radio meets Jack Catterall

TKO Radio
04/09/2015 12:05pm

When he stopped former Olympian Thomas Stalker in October 2014, Jack Catterall changed from being a young fighter finding his way as a professional to one of the most talked about prospects in British boxing. Jack has sparred Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Saul Alvarez, but he's not getting carried away. He is only 22 years old and feels his time is best spent in the gym listening and learning. Jack joined TKO Radio to talk about the advantages of turning pro at 19, the British title, and value of confidence.

Mustard Mike and Roy Jones Jr

Shaun Brown
02/09/2015 7:21am

It’s not every day that you become friends with a boxing legend. Or find yourself sitting in that legend’s house in Pensacola, Florida, receiving fight tips and hearing tales from his glory years. Michael Peart thought that Roy Jones Jr. was winding him up when, at a boxing dinner for the iconic four-weight world champion, Jones told the Londoner to come and see him the next time he was in America. "Okay Roy Jones Jr, if you say so,” was how Peart worded his unspoken reaction.

McDonnell hits the heights

Mark Butcher
01/09/2015 8:33am

Few anticipated the remarkable rise of Jamie McDonnell. In five dizzying years, the superbly conditioned bantamweight from Doncaster has won WBA, IBF, British, Commonwealth and European titles and would own the WBO crown, too, had the Puerto Rican organization not stripped its champion Tomoki Kameda shortly before McDonnell outhustled him in Hidalgo, Texas, in May. A high octane fighting style and a steely will to win has propelled McDonnell’s career to unlikely heights though, arguably, he is yet to receive the acknowledgement and accolades his many achievements deserve. “I’ve won absolutely everything,” said WBA bantamweight champion McDonnell, who faces Kameda in a lucrative rematch on 6 September at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. “I didn’t really know what [the British title] was when I first lost to Chris Edwards [in 2007]. I just knew I was getting a decent bit of money. But it’s ended up being a good story.”

Santa Cruz - Mares ringside recap

Michael Montero & Tiffany Lam
31/08/2015 1:35am

Highlights and analysis of the featherweight bout between Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares. The fight was part of a "PBC on ESPN" special, with a passionate crowd of over 13,000 fans packed inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Santa Cruz won by majority decision in a 'Fight Of The Year' candidate.

Latest World and British Ratings (September 2015)

Colin Harris
30/08/2015 1:12pm

Boxing Monthly’s World and British rankings for September 2015 are explained by Colin Harris, our in-house ratings statistician. Trainer, fighter, manager and promoter queries are welcome.

Tso wars again in Hong Kong homecoming

Mathew Scott
29/08/2015 4:55pm

The puzzle that is Rex Tso continued to build here Saturday as Hong Kong’s first pro fighter won his 18th straight bout, a left-right combination sending Australian Brad Hore to his knees with 2.54 gone in the seventh round for a TKO that added the WBC Asian Boxing Council super-flyweight title to Tso’s growing collection of belts. But Tso, also known in these parts as ‘The Wonder Kid’, left the crowd at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre doing exactly that – wondering – after he once again got drawn into scrapping early with the Aussie battler when the smarter plan would have been to simply outbox an opponent who was brave but outclassed.

Richmond tribute unveiled at Tom Cribb pub

Boxing Monthly
29/08/2015 6:19am

A permanent memorial to pioneering black boxer Bill Richmond (1763-1829) was unveiled by Earl George Percy at the Tom Cribb pub in Panton Street, London, on Wednesday. A plaque consisting of a portrait of Richmond and a summary of his amazing life and career now adorns the wall of the historic pub owned by Shepherd Neame brewery in recognition of Richmond’s position in history as the first black sportsman to achieve international fame and significance.

Santa Cruz-Mares breakdown

Jessi Jackalope
28/08/2015 10:12pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUd9-uia2zw

Jessi Jackalope analyses the intriguing 126lbs showdown between California rivals Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares that takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday. Can former three-weight champ Mares take the "0" of Santa Cruz?

Daley pursues Kalenga, another title shot

Shawn Smith
28/08/2015 9:06pm

On Saturday night, boxing returns to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, as United Promotions puts on another event headlined by locally ranked cruiserweight Denton Daley. Canadian Daley fought for the interim WBA world cruiserweight title in November 2014, losing via 12th round TKO to Youri Kalenga. “This is a fight [Daley] has to win if he wants that Kalenga rematch or another world title shot,” said United Promotions president Tyler Buxton. “He’s in the rankings to get that shot but he has to prove he can bounce back and make a statement.”