Sports Journalist · 19 articles
In many ways, Gary Mason was a victim of timing. Mason was overshadowed by another British heavyweight of the time who grabbed the majority of the headlines when they were both climbing up the ladder of contenders. Frank Bruno was the man of the moment, the best chance Britain had in over a century of […]
The last time Boxing Social spoke to Dennis Hobson was a few weeks prior to his groundbreaking ‘Straightener in the Car Park’ show in December. Hobson is by nature a gambler; putting on a show in the middle of a pandemic, outside during the British winter, some might have said it was plain stupid, but […]
Mark Baldwin looks at Saturday night’s high-profile WBA bantamweight title clash between Watford’s Shannon Courtenay and charismatic Australian Ebanie Bridges, whose artful self-promotion has stolen the limelight and earned an unlikely world title shot. World titles have long since lost their true meaning. They should mean everything, but in reality, they mean very little, at […]
Two-weight world champion Michael Spinks recalls his close encounters with heavyweight great Larry Holmes that gripped the boxing world in the mid-1980s, in conversation with Mark Baldwin. Heading into his 49th professional bout, Larry Holmes shouldn’t have been fighting for respect and acceptance. But ever since he had turned over in 1973, Holmes was battling […]
There are two sides to Blackpool. The focus is on the bright lights, and hustle and bustle of the seafront. The holiday brochures only show you want they want you to see. But the decay and dereliction of the back streets are not in full view, holidaymakers and locals avoid them in equal measure. The […]
The journey started in 2019; two fights, two wins. Rhiannon Dixon had made those tentative first steps on the professional ladder. Dixon had a fight scheduled for last March, but the global pandemic would leave her kicking her heels in frustration. “I was gutted. My fight camp was finished, the last week is just about […]
There was a time, not that long ago, that British heavyweights were cruelly branded and labelled as horizontal. A near-century of failure to capture the biggest and richest prize in boxing resulted in that unfortunate and unflattering assessment. Bob Fitzsimmons, the last British-born heavyweight champion of the world, held the title until 1902 and in […]
Testing times often bring innovation and veteran promoter Dennis Hobson chose to do exactly that. On December 11, Hobson will promote another show, but one with a difference – with Tommy Frank and Kyle Yousaf meeting for the vacant British flyweight title in Sheffield Arena car park. Car parks have seen many a fight over […]
Before a handful of spectators on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the career of Kell Brook almost certainly ended. In many ways, it was a sad finale to a career that promised so much, despite winning a version of the world welterweight title; we expected more. Brook looked the part, at […]
There are endless ‘what if’ stories in boxing. There are numerous tales of fighters turning around their lives from a criminal past. Boxing has many redemption stories, the sport has undoubtedly saved many. But it can’t save everyone, and maybe one of the biggest ‘what could have been’ stories is that of former light-heavyweight contender […]
On its 40th anniversary, Mark Baldwin looks back at one of the grimmest spectacles in boxing history – when a peak Larry Holmes dismantled the shadow of a once great Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali had a career of pulling off miracles inside a boxing ring. Not only wasn’t he expected to beat Sonny Liston and […]
When the call came to fight Sugar Ray Leonard, any fighter would pick up the phone and say yes. Donny Lalonde was the recipient of that golden ticket in November 1988 with Sugar Ray on the comeback trail once again with another retirement about to end. Leonard required a dance partner and he needed a […]