In the five years I have spent covering boxing, I have had a few of what I like to call "cringe moments." I cringed when greedy promoters paraded a battered and broken Mike Tyson into the ring for fight after fight, even though he was little more than a shell of his former self. And he had a history of biting people.
The call came last week, just as I was boarding a plane to Salt Lake City. On the other end of the line was Bernd Boente, the top-flight manager for IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and his brother, former WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.
With enough glitz, kitch and corporate sponsorships to make Las Vegas blush, welcome to the new
and weird (yet weirdly underwhelming) epicenter of world boxing
NEW YORK -- Patience is a virtue that Samuel Peter is fresh out of. It has been nine long months since the 27-year-old Peter last competed, nine months since the man known as the Nigerian Nightmare beat James Toney for the second time to earn (for the second time) the title of the WBC's number one contender.
WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev has been forced to call off his title defense against Nigerian Samuel Peter after injuring his back during training.
SI.com: What boxing needsupdated: Sun May 06 2007 21:02:00
LAS VEGAS -- Nearly 24 hours have passed since Saturday night's epic battle between Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya. The crowds have thinned out (or as much as they can in a casino) and the celebrities have all gone home.
Four-time world heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield will return to the ring in March as he bids to round off his career by becoming undisputed world best again.
SI.com: Chasing historyupdated: Tue Jan 30 2007 11:48:00
Vitali Klitschko wants to make history. More precisely, he wants to make history again. "I have a vision," said Klitschko in a telephone interview from the Ukraine. "It's one I have had for a long time. I want my brother and I to be heavyweight champions at the same time."
Former WBC champion Hasim Rahman is close to a deal to fight Sinan Samil Sam in a bout that would pit together two of the organization's top four heavyweight contenders.
SI.com: Heavy deadweightupdated: Fri Jan 26 2007 12:29:00
In 1992, Riddick Bowe decided to take a stand. Unhappy with the WBC's mandate that he fight No. 1 contender Lennox Lewis, Bowe decided that the belt was no longer worth the leather strap it came on. So in a glorious public-relations stunt, Bowe took the belt and unceremoniously dumped it into a London trash can.
Russia's Oleg Maskaev retained his World Boxing Council heavyweight crown on Sunday with a unanimous points decision over Ugandan challenger Peter Okhello in Moscow.
American Shannon Briggs knocked Sergei Liakhovich through the ropes one second before the end of the last round to win the WBO heavyweight title in dramatic style.
WBA titleholder Nikolai Valuev, the biggest heavyweight champion of all time, will fight in the United States on October 7, defending his title against Monte Barrett.
Oleg Maskaev scored a 12th-round victory over Hasim Rahman to claim the WBC heavyweight championship in Las Vegas, leaving the United States without a champion in the top division..
British heavyweight Danny Williams faces Oleg Maskaev on October 9 in London in his first fight since last month's knockout of ex-world champion Mike Tyson.
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