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Acclaimed Journalist Jimmy Breslin Passes

March 20th, 2017

By Stephen Gordon

 

This is as saddening to me as Ali’s passing…. Each in his own way was as unique an individual who did so much to change the world view. With both of their passings I feel a huge part of my youth & life has come to a point that makes me realize how much I was influenced by both & how much lesser my life will be w them gone.

Today’s Millenniums have no clue or care about the people who sacrificed so much to make our lives better & how much they struggled to make what was such an injustice better today. Read the rest of this entry “

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Q&A with Gabriel Rosado, J Russell Peltz and Billy Briscoe

October 1st, 2012
“]
Gabriel Rosado (L) prepares to attack Saul Roman [Photo: Tom Briglia - Top Rank, copyright 2010


 

 

How frustrating is it to you to keep getting all these wins and not be able to get the big fights?

Gabriel Rosado: “I just gotta keep chipping away. I just gotta keep doing’ what I’m doing’. That’s why with Charles Whittaker, everyone kept telling me ‘Don’t look past Charles Whittaker, don’t focus on something else, something big.’ And you know I didn’t. I knew that it was important to make a statement, not just to win. I had to stop that guy and I had to dominate because I do want the big fight. You know, it gets a little frustrating because what makes sense to me is just putting (together) good fights. You just gotta deal with the politics that involves itself with boxing. I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. I’m not going to let it distract me or lose focus. I’m going to just keep getting better.”

J Russell Peltz: “I don’t think it’s that frustrating for me. Sometimes Gabby wants to go from kindergarten to his PhD without going through junior high and high school. When we first got together I remember him saying to me, ‘I’ll fight anybody, I need someone to protect from myself.’ We’ve come a long way in a year.” Read the rest of this entry “

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Rodriguez Punishes Escalera!

October 1st, 2012


Photo by Edward Diller - DiBella Entertainment/Star Boxing

Results From MGM Grand Foxwoods

MASHANTUCKET, Conn. – Undefeated Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) made a major statement tonight in the main event, punishing a tough, previously unbeaten Jason “Monstruo” Escalera (13-1-1, 12 KOs) until referee Steve Smoger called off the fight at the start of the eighth round, on tonight’s special HBO Boxing After Dark tripleheader in MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut.

“Road To Glory” was promoted by DiBella Entertainment, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Gary Shaw Productions.
 
Rodriguez came out after the first bell throwing bombs and nearly dropped a game Escalera on several occasions, winning 10-8 on all three judges’ scorecards, and the dynamic Dominican living in Worcester (MA) never let up in his first United States Boxing Association (USBA) title defense.  He won every round convincingly, showcasing his entire arsenal in the process.  Rodriguez is closing in on a major fight, if not a world title shot, and is rated No. 3 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), No. 4 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF), No. 8 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), and No. 9 by The Ring Magazine.
  Read the rest of this entry “

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‘Just Watch Mah Smoke’ — The Secret Journeys of Cocoa Kid

October 6th, 2011

By Springs Toledo

[Editor's Note:  The author feels passionate about inducting 'The Cocoa Kid" -- whose birth name was Herbert Lewis Hardwick -- into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, as he wrote below:


"After spending months researching Cocoa Kid and writing The Sweet Science.com series "Just Watch Mah Smoke: The Secret Journeys of Cocoa Kid" this year, I have become absolutely convinced that he deserves a place in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. I am not one who makes a habit of trying to influence my peers, but this case is special.

Cocoa Kid competed during all three decades of the heralded golden era (1920~1950) and faced fierce competition even after he was debilitated by dementia pugilistica. His condition, which appeared later in his career, has only recently come to light; it is sobering. He was a great fighter and a deserving contender who sacrificed more in the ring than anyone knew and yet never received a world title shot. After retiring from the ring (with eight times as many bouts as some of his fellow IBHOF nominees) Cocoa Kid spent the last decade of his life unsure of who he was. He was destitute on the streets of New York City in the 50s and in the early 60s was in a mental institution in Chicago. He died in 1966.

The grave of Herbert Lewis Hardwick was never identified as Cocoa Kid's until this year. Let's lay a wreath on it -let's show that we the scribes know who he was. It would be fitting to enshrine him in the IBHOF and see his memory receive a little of that glory that unjustly eluded him over a twenty year career."



Here, then, is his piece, "Just Watch Mah Smoke".]


Photo courtesy of Boxrec.com

INTRODUCTION

Cocoa Kid was only eighteen years old when he signed to meet Connecticut‟s Louis Kaplan, a
former world featherweight champion with 160 professional fights. Most believed that the
teenager was in too deep, too soon. Kaplan was not only a veteran -he was as relentless as
nature in a news clip. He‟d rush in hurling both fists at an opponent like “breakers against storm
swept rocks” until a bloody towel was thrown in from the opposite corner. That‟s what happened
on the night he took the title and the gym rats believed it was going to happen again. Kaplan,
they said, had “too many guns” for this gangly newcomer with premature aspirations.

“Lawd, the way some people talk you‟d think I needed sympathy,” Cocoa Kid told reporters, “It‟s
Kaplan who needs it. He was good once and he still may be good. But ah intend to prove ah‟m
bettah. Just watch mah smoke.”

Read the rest of this entry “

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Photo of the Day: Cotto and Margarito in L.A.

September 28th, 2011


Sept. 22, 2011, Los Angeles,Ca. --- Miguel Cotto talks with reporters Thursday in Los Angeles during a public press conference on the world tour to announce his highly-anticipated World Championship rematch against Antonio Margarito , Saturday, December 3, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Cotto Promotions, Tornado Promotions, AT&T, and Madison Square Garden, Cotto-Margarito II will be produced and distributed Live by HBO Pay-Per-View®. --- Photo Credit : Chris Farina - Top Rank, copyright 2011

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