Author: Paul Magno

If fans weren’t fired up about the March 25 super middleweight battle between Caleb Plant and David Benavidez, Thursday’s kickoff press conference showed that they should be. The high-tension presser kicked off fairly diplomatically, despite some outside-the-venue static involving the respective teams and a long history of antagonism between the two fighters. “We’ve got a big fight on our hands,” Plant began as the first of the fighters to speak at the podium. “But that’s good, that’s what boxing needs, is big fights, and I want to be someone to deliver that to the boxing world. I’m sure he does…

It would be safe to say that the current lightweight division, as a whole, has underperformed so far. Not too long ago, there was talk of the “New Four Kings” of boxing. Emerging young talents Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, and Ryan Garcia were compared to the 80’s “Four Kings”– Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, and Marvin Hagler. These 20-something boxing stars were considered the future of the sport, with established elite-level pro Vasiliy Lomachenko also in the mix. Fans eagerly awaited the upcoming tussles. With these five fighters, the sport could have mix-and-match mega-fights for years…

Eddie Hearn, promoter of former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, says he’s livid over the disrespect his fighter is getting from the boxing world. “We live in a mad world,” Hearn said on a recent episode of The DAZN Boxing Show. “This guy has gone on a run where he’s beaten Charles Martin, Molina, Breazeale, Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin, Takam, Ruiz, Pulev, and fought Usyk twice, with no breaks, no easy nights. He comes off the back of one good fight with Usyk and one fight where he was dominated. He’s fought a pound-for-pound number one back-to-back. “The disrespect on this man’s…

Tommy Fury, at 8-0, he has more actual, real professional boxing matches than all five of Jake Paul’s previous opponents put together. All that is true. It’s also true that Fury is just not that good. The 23-year-old kid brother of heavyweight champ Tyson Fury is more reality star than high-end pro boxer at this point in time. He has the exceedingly weak level of opposition (sporting a combined record of 24-176-5) to prove it. He could very well walk away from his February 26 pay-per-view clash with Paul as a laughingstock in the boxing world, albeit a very well-payed…

Here are the most eye-catching stories from this weekend’s boxing action: – Three-belt light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev improved his record to 19-0 and continued with his 19-fight KO/TKO streak Saturday at Wembley Arena in London when he stopped a game Anthony Yarde in the eighth round. Surprisingly (or maybe not surprisingly), the home country fighter was ahead on two of the three judges’ scorecards at the time of the corner stoppage. Make no mistake about it, Yarde (now 23-3 with 22 KOs) fought his heart out and had his moments. But this fight was clearly controlled by the Russia-born,…

In a business full of formidable tough guys, light heavyweight world titlist Artur Beterbiev could rate very close to the top of the baddest of the baddest list. The IBF/WBC/WBO 175 lb. champ, who hails from Russia by way of Montreal, is undefeated at 18-0 and holds the distinction of having ended every one of his professional bouts via TKO/KO. This Saturday at Wembley Arena in the UK, he’ll be defending his belts against home country banger Anthony Yarde in a bout that could serve as the prelude to a chance at full unification against fellow Russian, WBA light heavyweight…

The Bronze Bomber, Deontay Wilder, hits hard. As a matter of fact, there’s a case to be made that, with his 91.3% KO rate, he rates among the all-time hardest hitters in the heavyweight division. There’s also a case to be made that the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native has one of the more, interesting, mindsets in boxing’s colorful history. Wilder’s own “colorfulness” really began to manifest itself after his first career loss, via seventh-round TKO , to Tyson Fury in February of 2020, fourteen months after a controversial draw with the Irishman. Post-defeat, the 6-foot-7 former WBC heavyweight champ went public…

According to media reports, former 3-belt heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will be making his return to the ring April 1 at the O2 Arena in London against Jermaine Franklin. Why Franklin, who is coming off a November 26 loss to Dillian Whyte, of all people? It’s simple matchmaking logic for a fighter who desperately needs a high-profile win, but isn’t quite ready for a high-profile challenge. It’s because Joshua’s people feel “AJ” can beat Franklin spectacularly. Franklin, a Saginaw, Michigan native, was brought in to face Whyte back in November to, frankly, play the part of a patsy fall guy…

Hall of Famer and former 5-division world champ, Floyd Mayweather, will continue on with his post-retirement exhibition tour, this time facing UK reality show personality, retired MMA figher, and 1-0 boxing pro, Aaron Chalmers. The 45-year-old Mayweather, who will turn 46 the day before the scheduled event at London’s O2 Arena, has already fought five big-money exhibition bouts since his official retirement back in August of 2017. In his post-pro exhibition career, the boxing cash cow has faced kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, boxer and former sparring partner Don Moore, YouTuber Logan Paul, MMA fighter Mikuru Asakura and, in his most recent…

The Chris Eubank Jr.-Liam Smith rivalry took a nasty turn at the final press conference on Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s bout at the sold-out Manchester Arena, when a homophobic jab from Smith turned things very personal. “You go on about girls,” Smith exclaimed at Eubank, “has anybody in this room ever seen you with a girl? You got something to tell us? You are 33 and you said on the program you want kids. This is for no laughs. I am just asking, do you want to tell us something? You are putting up pictures with Neymar in limousines. No-one…