Who were and are the best boxing writers?

I do not. I wish I did so I could once again enjoy their prose on a subject they put their careers into with some of the msot detailed information one could imagine and relish. Harry was editor of Boxing News when he passed away and Ron was a staff writer. They were just outstanding and their passion for the sport just bled through in their writing.

 

I prefer nostalgic commentary by Bert sugar and narrating by our own Rumsfeld aka rummy. I used to read articles but I'm not a fan of magazines no more. However thee should be an extra weight class for Dan Rafael lol

ESPN had the best of the best analysts, I thoroughly enjoy Stephen a Smith as of lately; sincere and dramatic!

 

Doug Fisher and Steve Kim were good too, and that Filipino correspondent Rey danseco? (Spelling?)

 

Excellent book and documentary (UK one if you haven't seen it- as part of the 'Dispatches' series).

 

As a taster, here is Mullan's preview for the Rumble in the Jungle...

"I am yet to be convinced Foreman has the tools to beat Ali and I don't believe he is intelligent enough to change tactics or adapt himself to new situations. I feel that Ali's decreasing speed and stamina will be counteracted by Foreman's increasing tiredness and frustration, so the two factors will cancel each other out"

"Foreman is not the greatest defensive fighter at the best of times and as the fight progresses he will become more and more an open target of Ali's punches"

"Ali is no one-punch hitter, but he stings and he cuts. Ali survives the crisis points in the early rounds and I can see a dazed, bewildered and confused Foreman being rescued any time after the 12th".

 

Hugh McIlvanney came up with some corkers:

This content is protected

Bugner: Get me Jesus Christ and I'll fight him tomorrow!
Mcllvanney: Joe, you're only saying that because you know he's got bad hands

"Brown, the second of his old trainers, says that with Duran boxing has always been too serious to be considered a sport. 'It's not like football,' says Brown. 'Because he never gives you the ball.' Realising that Leonard was taking the ball away from him for keeps, Duran resolved to put a knife in it".

On Boutiers' fans calling Monzon a 'sheep', "Monzon was the kind of sheep that made Wolves seek other forms of employment"

 

At last! I've been trying to remember this name for ages, as he was the writer credited with the first ever PfP boxing ratings/list, back in 1929. I've never seen the full list I just know Mickey Walker won it, but couldn't recall the scribe- and it is definitely Wilbur Wood. Nice one, thanks for that.

 

Peter Wilson.
Basilio/Robinson 1 - " it was a fight between the bull and the matador, and the bull won, Basilio posed but one problem to Robinson, to beat me you have to take my heart out, and then stamp on it "
Sandy Saddler - " I have seen many a rough fighter, but the toughest, roughest, meanest, I ever saw was a flame haired FW named SS "
Ike Williams - " we on these shores had not seen a punch like it, it was delivered in an arc, rising up from the knee, it was a winning fighters punch, for the fighter would leave himself open for a counter, poor Ronnie James had never seen it's like, time and again the punch would rasp upwards on James flanks, similar action to striking a match, the result would leave huge crimson marks on the british fighters body"
Marciano/Walcott - " then came the right, the short pulverising right, it left Walcott looking down his own spine, Rocky then threw a left, like an old suit you grow out off, it wasn't needed"
Saldivar/Winstone- " the fight wasn't decided by the most skilful, it wasn't decided by who hit the hardest, it WAS decided in the womb, Saldivar was so much stronger "
Jofre/Caldwell- " what a contrast they were, the swarthy bronzed champion in one corner, the alabaster pale Irishman in the opposing corner, he tried, oh how he tried, but the brave challenger was no match for the hard punching, smooth boxing champ, sometime during the 4th round Jofre landed a left hook on Caldwells already misshapen nose, the sound was not unlike the sound you might get if you bashed two snookers balls together at full force "
stay safe guys.

 

Hi Buddy.
Gold.

 

A few delightful Liebling samples:

On Floyd Patterson taking apart Brian London, AJ said he went about it with “the air of a surgeon who has paid for a cadaver and is determined to gt his money’s worth out of it.”

On Archie Moore staring down Marciano during instructions, Liebling described Rocky as turning to go to his corner with a look “like a Great Dane who has just heard the word ‘bone.’”

 

You might know the writer- or the publication- of this one Mike (i think it was one of the UK dailies)- it was following Bruce Woodcock's KO of Lee Oma in what looked like a dive, the crowd pelted the ring with coins and fruit etc. The headline the next day:

"Oma...Coma...Aroma"

 

Jimmy Cannon
Herbert Goldman
Steve Farhood
J. Jewett
Michael Katz
Phil Berger
Jeff Ryan
Nigell Collins
Jack Obermayer