3,425 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Cliff Rold byline.
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There is no case in 2023 for Anthony Joshua being the best heavyweight in the world. In retrospect, there may never have been. But Joshua is still a star and stars matter in boxing. There are few bigger ones than Joshua even after his consecutive
Veterans Marcus Browne and Jesse Hart resumed their careers successfully, each returning to action for the first time since 2021 on the non-broadcast portion of the Emanuel Rodriguez-Melvin Lopez bantamweight championship card on Saturday at the MGM Grand National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
The promise of violence is always part of the allure of boxing. Sometimes the promise is more sincere. Saturday night (ESPN, 10 PM EST), it’s hard to imagine a dull affair as a pair of Mexican warriors lace them up for a title at junior lightweight.
A lot can happen in a few months. A lot did since the last index update in April. Devin Haney, Terence Crawford, Teofimo Lopez, and Naoya Inoue all picked up massive victories against premiere opponents available to them in their divisions and came through with their hands
Pick It: TBRB #1 Oscar Valdez vs. #9 Emanuel Navarrete (Saturday, ESPN, 10:00 PM EST) - If styles make fights, we have a hell of a fight on tap here. 28-year old WBO 130 pound titlist Emanuel Navarrete (37-1, 31 KO) holds a belt in his third weight class but his level of opposition has been fairly controlled since a pair of wins over Isaac Dogboe.
by Cliff Rold - Naoya Inoue’s arrival at junior featherweight is now in the books, leaving bantamweight fully in his rearview mirror. What is to be found in that mirror will complete its crystallization this Saturday night (Showtime, 9 PM EST/PST). In the main event from the MGM National Harbor just outside Washington, DC, 31-year old Emmanuel Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KO) of Puerto Rico will attempt to win his second major title when matched with Nicargua’s 25-year old Melvin Lopez (29-1, 19 KO). Lopez has won eight in a row since a stoppage loss to Jose Velasquez.
After one of the most anticipated months of the year so far, matters slow down in August with a spare handful of title fights as we roll into what should be an exciting fall calendar. It’s no surprise. August is rarely the biggest month for boxing.
By Cliff Rold - As reported on Wednesday, undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor will take a second crack at undisputed junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron on November 25. In May, Cameron traveled to Dublin, handing Taylor her first defeat in another of a string of excellent women’s matches in the past few years.
The best week of boxing in years didn’t go quite as expected. Two highly anticipated matches perceived as nearly even going in turned into something else entirely. From two superfights we got a pair of singular performances for the ages. In the last thirty years, there are a relative handful of performances like the pair we got just four days apart: Roy Jones-James Toney, Floyd Mayweather-Diego Corrales, Bernard Hopkins-Felix Trinidad, Vernon Forrest-Shane Mosley; there are a few more, but not many.
By Cliff Rold - It’s here. By Sunday, barring a draw, there will be only one. Errol Spence and Terence Crawford have all the hardware available right now at welterweight, Spence with three belts and Crawford with the lone trophy missing to complete what Spence calls “strap season.” The winner will be recognized by TBRB, Ring Magazine, and history going forward as the resumption of one of the great lines of champions in all of boxing.