tom donelson

Chris Byrd - On The Road Again

By Tom Donelson - Former IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd is back in the hunt. Well, sort of. Last month, Chris Byrd made his return to the ring for the first time since being knocked out by Wladimir Klitschko almost a year earlier. The event, h...

Diego Corrales: A Warrior Near The End

By Tom Donelson - A few weeks ago, we may have witnessed the end of a career. Diego Corrales beat some of the great fighters of his generation including Acelino Freitas, Jose Luis Castillo and Joel Casamayor. Of course, many great fighters also bea...

Weight Expansions Are Good for Boxing

By Tom Donelson - Boxing fans that have followed my writings for the past few years know that I love the cruiserweight division. Last week, Jean Marc Mormeck’s defeat of O’Neil Bell proved a point that I have made for years. The cruiserweight limit...

The Lonley Quest of Evander Holyfield

By Tom Donelson - While much of the world's attention last weekend was settled upon the fantastic bout between Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez, former four-time heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield was continuing his climb up the heavywe...

The Great Debate - Boxing vs. Mixed Martial Arts

The latest buzz going around the boxing world is the fear that mixed martial arts will replace boxing as the number-one combat sport in the world. Since the early 80’s when ESPN introduced kick boxing; there have been various styles of mixed martial...

HBO B.A.D. - Breeding Ground for New Stars

Two weeks ago, it was a young fighters’ night out at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Andre Berto began the show by fighting Norberto Bravo, the Contender graduate from the second season. The last time we saw Bravo, he was getting knocked...

Mosley, Harris and The Road For Gold

Two weeks ago, "Sugar" Shane Mosley showed why he is one of the best fighters of his generation. A superb lightweight, Mosley has been spending the last few years fighting in the Junior Middleweight division with mixed results. Mosley defeated Osca...

Dawson Passes Class, Peter is Left Back

Last weekend, a new American boxing hero may have been born. No one should ever use one fight as a measuring stick of greatness, but Dawson's victory over Tomasz Adamek showed a young fighter with the potential of being something special. For twent...

Teddy Reid: A Warrior's Career Comes To A Close

Sometimes, a fighter officially retires before his career even ends. When James Toney lost to Samuel Peter in their January rematch, it was obvious that we were witnessing the end of a career, even if James Toney does not officially hang up his glove...

Bundrage and Wright, Fighting For Respect

In the last edition of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, two junior middleweight contenders were given a shot to showcase their talents before a large television audience.

James Toney: Farewell to A Great Fighter

On January 6th, 2007, a great career ended. James Toney has been one of boxing’s greats over the past two decades. When he began his career, he was beating up Middleweights and ended his career as a legitimate Heavyweight contender. Very few fighters...

De La Hoya: The Win Mayweather Needs Most

During his ventures through various weight divisions in the last decade, Oscar De La Hoya has fought most of the elite fighters in each respective weight. With the exception of Shane Mosley in their first fight and Bernard Hopkins at the middleweigh...

James Toney-Samuel Peter Rematch: Do Or Die

After edging out James Toney by way of a close controversial decision in September, Nigerian Samuel Peter was thinking about his championship challenge to WBC holder, Oleg Maskaev. But, a funny thing happened on the way to fighting Maskaev, the WBC o...

Jermain Taylor and the Sanctioning Bodies

This past week, I had the privilege of corresponding with members of Jermain Taylor’s team. The conclusion of these exchanges only reinforces what I am starting to accept as the truth- the sanctioning bodies are the major obstacles to boxing's reviva...

Forget The Rest, Jermain Taylor - The Real King

Jermain Taylor is one of those fighters who continue to win regardless of the odds. Saturday night, Taylor won an easy decision over former junior middleweight champion Kassim Ouma. Ouma is a pure windmill, who loves to throw a voluminous amount of...