By Michael Rosenthal - Oleksandr Usyk will make his heavyweight debut on October 12 against someone named Tyrone Spong, a 34-year-old former kickboxer who will be an easy mark for the 2018 Fighter of the Year. The real tests will follow shortly. And...
By Michael Rosenthal - A lot of people seem to think that Sergey Kovalev would have a minimal chance of beating Canelo Alvarez if they were to meet in a few months, particularly after the WBO 175-pound titleholder’s performance against Anthony Yarde...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Andy Ruiz made history when he knocked out then-unbeaten Anthony Joshua to win the majority of heavyweight titles in June but his place in history is far from settled. That will depend on what the Mexican-American does going fo...
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By Michael Rosenthal - I have to acknowledge that I had a tough time coming up with candidates when I was asked to identify possible fights of the year, which is never a good sign. And we all endure pain when the matchups we want to see fail to mater...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Anthony Joshua’s decision to face Andy Ruiz a second time with no interim bouts might be the biggest mistake of his career. Joshua, who is scheduled to face the heavyweight titleholder on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, could erase...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Sometimes things work out reasonably well in boxing in spite of the chaos. This might be one of those instances. Canelo Alvarez really should settle his rivalry with Gennadiy Golovkin by facing him a third time. After two contr...
By Michael Rosenthal - Two deaths and another failed drug test by a well-known fighter. I can’t remember a worse week in boxing. On Saturday Maxim Dadashev and Hugo Santillan, fighting about 5,000 miles apart, received the blows that would result in...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Several casual boxing fans reached out to me and asked the same question after news broke that Pernell Whitaker had been killed on Sunday night: “Was he THAT good?” Yes, he was that good. Whitaker was similar to the more-famili...
By Michael Rosenthal - Question: Is Manny Pacquiao the fighter he once was? Answer: Of course he isn’t. How could he be at 40 years old? The more important question going into his challenge of WBA welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman next Saturday...
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By Michael Rosenthal - I have a lot of hopes for Manny Pacquiao. I hope that, at 40 years old, he truly belongs in the ring with a prime thoroughbred like Keith Thurman even though I have serious doubts. They fight for Thurman’s WBA welterweight titl...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Ah, it’s nice to have options. Canelo Alvarez would tell you that. Alvarez in October signed a five-year, 11-fight deal worth at least $365 million with the streaming service DAZN, meaning money isn’t necessarily the principal...
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By Michael Rosenthal - I was interviewed on a sports-talk radio show in the U.K. the night before the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz fight and said with confidence that I saw no realistic way Ruiz could win the heavyweight title fight. That’s just one of m...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Tyson Fury is fascinating in so many ways. Some examples: His backstory (overcoming substance abuse and other personal problems), his marketing acumen (Bob Arum said he’s better than the promoters), his athleticism given his he...
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The stunning result of the weekend has sunk in, as much as it ever will. Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked out Anthony Joshua in the seventh round to become unified heavyweight champion of the world. I have to admit I gave Ruiz almost no chance of beating Joshua...
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By Michael Rosenthal - Boxing might be the only sport in which you look forward to watching a mismatch. That seems to be the case this Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where Anthony Joshua will defend his heavyweight titles against...
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