3,425 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Cliff Rold byline.
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By Cliff Rold - After she won her second gold medal last summer, big questions hovered over American Claressa Shields. Would she turn pro? If she did, would it be the boost for her sport her talent merits? To say that women’s boxing in the US has struggled for attention would be a gross understatement...
By Cliff Rold - The super middleweight headliner on January 14th would be one to look forward to even with no titles on the line. 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist James DeGale versus Badou Jack is just a good fight. With one loss apiece across a combined 47 fights, they have proven to be solid professionals...
Every year, movie fans wait with breathless anticipation for the big ones. What will be Best Picture? Who was this years’ finest actor? Will Meryl Streep get her annual nomination?
Sometimes, it’s best to get to the main course early and let the rest of the meal unfold from there. Fans of the lower weight classes know that, right now, Jr. bantamweight is about as loaded as one could ask a class to be. Between the four major titlists there is a single loss. Solid veterans surround them with fighters from lower weights are vacating titles to get into the mix.
Cruiserweight: Victor Ramirez announced his retirement, making room for WBA sub-titlist Beibut Shumenov to enter the top ten. Jr. Lightweight: It wasn’t as easy the second time around but Jezreel Corrales defeated Takashi Uchiyama for a second time, coming off the floor to win a split decision on the road. It was a game effort on the road and leaves the ratings as they were.
By Cliff Rold - It’s hard not to like the story. Barry McGuigan was one of those fighters who became a folk tale. He was the man who could bring, when he was in the ring, a unifying feeling to the boiling undercurrents of Northern Ireland. Despite a relatively short prime, McGuigan’s impact on boxing was so...
2016 hasn’t been a banner year for boxing but that doesn’t mean nothing happened. Several fighters had exceptional years and many picked up big career wins since the last update to the site’s list in the early days of summer.
Heavyweight: Alexander Povetkin’s failed drug test result scuttled a fight with Bermane Stiverne (who also tested positive for a PED on the way to their proposed fight). Stiverne’s test result was already excused. Povetkin has yet to be suspended. Until that is resolved, he remains rated for the time being. Several men near the top of the class were in action recently but none won against anyone they weren’t supposed to beat so the ratings remain as they were. Stiverne, despite being inactive for a year, remains rated as his recent cancellation was not his fault. Andy Ruiz enters the top ten off a strong showing in a loss to Joseph Parker, replacing Lucas Browne.
By Cliff Rold - There is always the gap. There are fights on paper and there are fights in the ring. Sometimes perception of the former turns into disappointment in the latter; we groan when it occurs but that’s not really so bad. No sport meets expectations every time. We get excited in the States for the Super Bowl every year. The competitiveness of the game is hit or miss from ye...
Entering the ring to a personalized version of the Old Blue Eyes standard “My Way,” the great Bernard Hopkins exited it at the end of a powerful combination of punches from a much younger man in Joe Smith Jr..