On the same day that Evander Holyfield went broke, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. announced his retirement. He’ll be back. Sadly, maybe they both will.
I say this not based on any inside information. I say this based on 30 years spent around prize fighters. They all leave. They nearly all come back, as long as someone will […]

[Read more →]

By Ron Borges
With interest in boxing again on the rise everywhere but in the heavyweight division and in the pages of dying newspapers around the country, we will begin a new monthly rating of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
The mythical pound-for-pound championship has long been seen as a noteworthy debate, because it allows […]

[Read more →]

AP Photo/Eric Jamison
By Ron Borges
Jermain Taylor didn’t find a way to defeat Kelly Pavlik Saturday night but he did manage to defeat many of his critics…unless one believes winning is of paramount importance in a prize fight.
Taylor was widely praised in some corners of the boxing media after losing a close but unanimous decision to […]

[Read more →]

By Ron Borges
NEW YORK – Time does not stand still but Felix Trinidad did. That’s why he ended up on the floor Saturday night.
Once one of the most feared punchers in boxing, a man who had not fought in nearly three years squared off with a 39-year-old opponent who was 2-3 in his last five […]

[Read more →]

By Ron Borges
NEW YORK – This is the part the public seldom sees – the sad vulnerability of the journeyman boxer revealed in its near nakedness.
Alex Bunema had come to Madison Square Garden well aware of what was expected of him. He was supposed to lose to former IBF super welterweight champion Roman Karmazin, […]

[Read more →]

Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Felix Trinidad
By Ron Borges
NEW YORK – Don King is selling memories at Madison Square Garden this weekend but few people are buying.
King has done all he could to convince the boxing public that there is a reason to be interested in watching two old geezers well past their prime fight for […]

[Read more →]

Photo: Jae C. Hong/Associated Press
“There’s only one Ricky Hatton!
Only one Ricky Hatton!
Walkin’ along, singin’ a song
Walkin’ in a Hatton Wonderland.’’
- Ricky Hatton fans’ musical elegy to their man

By Ron Borges
LAS VEGAS - His loyal legions sang the song over and over in the days leading up to the junior welterweight champion’s confrontation with the […]

[Read more →]

Mayweather vs. Hatton

By Ron Borges
LAS VEGAS – They both know they’re going to win, which is of course impossible but that’s what boxing is. It’s the sport of self-delusion.
Putting the millions each will pocket aside, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Ricky Hatton know they can’t both win Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena when […]

[Read more →]

By Ron Borges
The Reality Hero understands what the reality of his situation is. It’s simple. Few people in boxing believes he’s real.
Peter Manfredo, Jr. knows he did little to change that perception with his non-performance against undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe last year. Even though he believes the match was stopped too soon he […]

[Read more →]

 By Ron Borges
 NEW YORK – Too much Sugar might be bad for you but last night there was just enough of it left in Madison Square Garden for Miguel Cotto to taste a sweet victory.
It is a familiar story in boxing, one that was pounded out once again by the 27-year-old WBO welterweight champion […]

[Read more →]