Boxing Life Stories

One of the leading promoters of all-time, Top Rank boss Bob Arum talks about the big fights, the big names and much more as he reflects on his incredible career in boxing. Arum recalls the big nights of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, the Four Kings era of Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Tommy Hearns, his time with Manny Pacquiao and much more. Arum discusses meeting his wife,...

The Hall of Famer from the Virgin Islands, Julian Jackson is undoubtedly one of the biggest punchers the sport has seen. Jackson knocked out 49 of 55 opponents, creating one of the sport's great highlight reels along the way.  He was a Don King stalwart, but some of the big fights Jackson wanted, against the likes of Roy Jones and James Toney, failed to materialise, but Jackson had two violent bat...

Scott Cardle was a mainstay of the Team GB amateur programme who fought some of the best amateurs in the world and trained alongside two crops of Olympians. He turned pro with high hopes, trained with Joe Gallagher but admits things changed for him after being pushed in British title fights by Sean Dodd. Here, in a frank, candid and at times funny interview, Scott recalls stories from the amateurs...

'Champagne' Charlie Magri was one of the most decorated amateurs produced in the UK, and he went on to win the WBC flyweight title as a professional. The East End hero, who was born in Tunisia, was a four-time ABA champion who boxed at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, travelling there as favourite to claim gold.  Here, Magri talks about life in the East End, from the Krays to the hardmen of the area...

The former welterweight world champion talks about not retiring, his aid work in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquakes and why he put his career on hold to help, fighting Floyd Mayweather and how he coped with his first loss (not very well). Andre Berto was Al Haymon's first fighter that the future Hall of Fame promoter brought through, though Haymon had already worked with Vernon Forrest and Jer...

Hasim 'The Rock' Rahman shocked the world when he knocked out Lennox Lewis to become the lineal world heavyweight champion. His name was etched in the history books alongside the likes of Johnson, Luis, Marciano, Ali and Holmes as The Man who beat The Man, before he lost the crown back to Lewis in a rematch. Rahman had a long, decorated career with plenty of incident packed in. Having survived sho...

Recently described at The Godfather of PED testing in boxing, Dr Flip Homansky was a physician on the Nevada State Athletic Commission for some of the biggest fights in history. Dr Homansky also served on the NSAC Medical Advisory Board Chairman having worked at the Chief Ringside Physician for almost three decades. He is the former Association of Boxing Commissions vice-president and current vice...

Former world light-heavyweight contender boxed a who's who of the best of his era, whether it was in sparring or in the ring. Harmon fought a peak Roy Jones. Dariusz Michalszewski, Tim Liitles, Montell Griffin and O'Neil Bell up at cruiserweight. Derrick grew up in foster care, has suffered unimaginable loss but retains an inspiring and positive outlook. Now he works as the right hand man to Bob A...

Jamie Speight set off on his pro journey with high hopes, but later became a proud journeyman as he navigated his way through 61 professional fights. He boxed champions and contenders including Josh Warrington, Joe Cordina, Issac Lowe, Gavin McDonnell and Jason Cunningham during a fascinating career and transition from prospect to journeyman before reading my book Damage caused him to stop fightin...

Australian star Barry Michael was a world super-featherweight champion who has one of the best stories in boxing. He won the title in a war with Melbourne rival Lester Ellis, a former student of Michael's and future friend but at the time there was a real feud. The story of that fight alone is incredible. Then there were fights on the road, in Africa, Indonesia, the UK and in Hawaii, rumoured bout...

Usually, Evan Korn is the man teeing up the interviews. The Top Rank publicist talks here about his journey into the promotional powerhouse from fight fan, to sports journalist to finally making the move out to Las Vegas. Korn, an endurance runner in his spare time, discusses trying to break into the business, the changing face of boxing journalism, his job interview with Bob Arum, working on a ni...

Former heavyweight Larry Olubamiwo discusses his journey through boxing and life. A former sprinter, Larry got in to trouble, went to prison and then embarked on a career as a professional boxer. Not long into his career, he fell victim to Operation Raw Deal and was caught up in a steroid scandal, admitted 13 offences throughout his career and was banned. He came back, but settled for life as an o...

Former HBO broadcaster and International Boxing Hall of Famer takes a look back on his hugely successful career behind the mic. Lampley is one of the all-time great voices of boxing, someone who has fought for the fighters, told their stories and been the soundtrack to many of the greatest fights of all time. Here, he looks back on the nights he helped define, whether it was Buster Douglas stunnin...

Augie Sanchez was the last American to beat Floyd Mayweather. In the amateurs, before losing out in the 1996 Olympic box-offs, Sanchez also defeated the late Diego Corrales and was one of the finest amateurs in the country. In the pros, and after signing for Top Rank, he and Mayweather appeared to be on a collision course but it never happened. Instead, he boxed the likes of Naseem Hamed, Jorge Pa...

Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman had one of the best educations in the sport, being around Hall of Famers like Irving Rudd, Teddy Brenner and Bruce Trampler as a teenager. His life in boxing continues more than 40 years on, and he was recently inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, and he proposed to his girlfriend during his induction speech. There are always interesting chats, with...

Coach Kenny Adams has reportedly worked with 26 world champions, 34 Olympians and 56 fighters who went on to achieve a world crown. Adams is also a Vietnam veteran, and as part of the US Olympic set up in 1984 and 1988, he coached the likes of Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Virgill Hill, Roy Jones, Ray Mercer and Michael Carbajal. In the pro ranks, he declined the opportunit...

Jesse Reid is one of the most successful trainers of all time and has worked with between 20 and 30 world champions. He coached the brilliant Orlando Canizales from the ground up, and he has trained the likes of Roger Mayweather, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Jesse Burnett, Hector Camacho and countless others. He's also worked with some of boxing's most troubled minds, including Bruce Curry, Johnny Tapia and...

Tris and Johnny sit-down to reflect on moments of Nelson's extraordinary career as a long-reigning WBO cruiserweight champion but they also discuss the use of PEDs in the sport, similarities and differences between the Ingle way and Ukrainian methodology, when the right time to retire is, how to cope with retirement, taking flying lessons, Kell Brook, Anthony Joshua and, of course, life lessons of...

Kieran Mulvaney is one of the most interesting men in boxing journalism. Born in the UK, he has worked for America's big three – ESPN, Showtime and HBO – but he's also written books about polar bears and stories about climate change, killer whales trying to sink boats, the Wild West and much more. Mulvaney has had bylines in the Washington Post and National Geographic, as well as Boxing News, and...

2023 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Timothy Bradley had an excellent career that saw him win 33 fights, lose just two and draw once in his 37 bouts. Of course, there was a trilogy with Manny Pacquiao, the Fight of the Year with Russian Provodnikov, victory over the likes of Juan Manuel Marquez, Brandon Rios, Joel Casamayor, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson and Kendall Holt before he re...

Boxxer promoter Ben Shalom does not court attention and it is not often he talks about his background and his start in the sport. Here, the Sky Sports promoter discusses both, his aspirations and motivations, the media and social media landscape in boxing, his stable of fighters and his deal with Sky and much more. Ben talks about the struggle, how he was down to his last £17,000 in the company ac...

For five decades, Lawrence Lustig has been a regular at ringside as a photographer.  Initially he worked for agencies, then the Daily Star newspaper, then he became a Matchroom stalwart and now he is at Boxxer. He and Charlie Magri were one another's best men, and here Lawrence talks about the art of being a boxing photographer, the truth behind the Bentt-Hide press conference  brawl, his role in...

Articulate former heavyweight contender Malik Scott now coaches former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. The two fought as pros and were sparring partners but now Scott heads the camp. Here, Malik looks back on his own life and career, growing up in Philadelphia, fighting to look after his half-brother, the tough breaks of trying to make it to the 2000 Olympics and the pro career that took him...

One of the most famous boxing broadcasters of all time, the Colonel has been ringside at some of the biggest fights in history and has got to know many of the sport's biggest names. As the man tasked with providing the words to go with the international feed of Don King fights, Sheridan talks about his decades working with King, covering fights from Zaire to Tokyo, the controversies, the great nig...

Boxing writer Elliot Worsell is one of the best scribes in the sport. He first freelanced for websites at the age of 16, was published in Boxing News at 17 and authored his first book at 22. As well as working in PR for Hayemaker, he had a spell working with UFC fighters and his second book, Dog Rounds, became one of the most highly-acclaimed books in modern boxing. Here, Worsell discusses his jou...