Boxing Life Stories

Former European super-middleweight champion and two-time British champion James Cook is one of the most-respected figures in British boxing. He was the first man to defeat the excellent Michael Watson, lost to Herol Graham, wanted to fight Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn and he had one tough assignment after another on the road, almost always in the away corner. He worked with Mickey Duff, Harry Holla...

Andy Flute was a former British title contender who boxed the likes of Neville Brown, Sven Ottke, Robin Reid, Glenn Catley, David Starie and Markus Beyer.  As a sparring partner, he worked with Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe and many others, but he faced his biggest battle outside of the ring, with addiction and alcoholism. Here, Andy reflects upon the person he was and the person he has b...

Mike owns Ringcraft and has been ringside, literally, for more than 30 years. He assembles the rings for the big nights, in the small halls and for training camps around the world. He also owns a sign business, so provides the sets and back drops for public workouts, press conferences and weigh ins. He and his team are often the first people on the scene of fight week and the last ones to leave. H...

Former cruiserweight contender Johnathan Banks had his career fast-tracked in the aftermath of Emanuel Steward's death. Banks was still an active fighter when his beloved coach passed away but he was promptly named trainer of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and his path changed. As a boxer, Banks was cruiser who boxed at heavyweight and he fought the likes of Seth Mitchell, Antonio Tarver,...

Las Vegas referee Kenny Bayless paid his dues to get where he is. He spent years as an amateur official and then had a long apprenticeship on the Nevada State Athletic Commission before going on to become one of the world's leading referees. He was the third man in the ring the night Floyd Mayweather beat Manny Manny Pacquiao and the night Bernard Hopkins defeated Oscar De La Hoya and he was there...

Former world IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora reflects on his incredible life story, through a traumatic childhood, several overdoses, stints in prison, being shot, other shootings, stabbings and much more in between. He talks about 'that' Floyd Mayweather spar, how his life changed winning the world title and his search for redemption as he prepares his son Geno for a career in the hardest...

Trainer Shane McGuigan has worked with some huge names in the sport; David Haye, George Groves, Carl Frampton, Josh Taylor, Chantelle Cameron and many more. He has a stable of nine fighters, featuring Lawrence Okolie, Daniel Dubois and Chris Billam-Smith, and at just 33 he is one of the country's go-to coaches. Here, he talks about his rise, his amateur career, being the son of fighting legend Bar...

International Boxing Hall of Fame journalist Ron Borges looks back on his fabulous career. The Boston Globe icon looks back on his relationships with New England stars like Marvin Hagler, Micky Ward, Vinny Paz and others, and also discusses the big fights, including being ringside in Tokyo for Buster Douglas-Mike Tyson and being the only journalist in an enormous poll to pick Evander Holyfield to...

Super-welterweight contender Erickson Lubin talks about fighting for the PBC, his fight of the year contender with Sebastian Fundora and the pressure of being a high-profile fighter in the model day. Lubin talks about his internal struggles after his emphatic loss to Jermell Charlo, turning pro under Mike Tyson while Team USA were still hoping for big things from him and his hopes for the future....

Veteran trainer Aaron Snowell has worked with many Don King fighters over the years. But he is not just a King lieutenant. He grew up in Pottsville, just down the road from Muhammad Ali's Deer Lake training camp and he was around The Greatest for the best part of a decade. As a coach, who was in the corner the night Mike Tyson was stunned by Buster Dougles, and when Frankie Randall shocked Julio C...

Las Vegas referee Tony Weeks has landed some of the most high profile assignments in boxing in recent years. Weeks was the third man in the ring the night Diego Corrales stunned Jose Luis Castillo in their first fight, had to set Bernard Hopkins straight against Antwun Echols and he was also the referee the night Leavander Johnson lost his lightweight title – and later his life – against Jesus Cha...

Joe Mesi retired undefeated, at 36-0, but after issues with a brain scan he found it harder and harder to get licensed until he finally called it a day. Now Joe still has a links to brains in his current profession, selling medical equipment. In boxing, he is known as the 'brain fighter' because of the injuries he sustained following his big fight with Vassily Jirov, and it was fascinating to hear...

Promoter Lou DiBella is one of the most outspoken men in the sport. In his former role at HBO, he worked with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Lennox Lewis and Pernell Whitaker and as a promoter he's been with Bernard Hopkins, Micky Ward, Sergio Martinez and many others. He lost a brother to suicide, rescues animals (including a zebra!), was this week inducted into the International Boxing Hall of F...

Promoter Kathy Duva was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2020, but officially goes in this year as no induction ceremonies have taken place since the pandemic. Kathy's journey includes plenty of star names, and we talk about Arturo Gatti, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Vinny Pazienza, Andrew Golota, Sergey Kovalev, Tomasz Adamek and many more. But it's Kathy's own story tha...

In 1982, Larry Holmes and Gerry Cooney shared a historic night and wonderful 13 rounds in Las Vegas. Holmes was the experienced champion, Cooney the untested but heavy-hitting contender yet the backdrop of the fight was about race, which made it the biggest money fight in boxing history at the time.  After the hostilities, however, Holmes and Cooney formed a friendship that endures to this day and...

The super-middleweight 'Gorilla' talks about the highs and lows of his career that see him on the cusp of another big fight following a win over American Danny Jacobs. Ryder talks about the many battles he's faced away from the ring, working with Tony Sims, struggling to make middleweight, big fights with Billy Joe Saunders, Nick Blackwell, Jacobs, Callum Smith and others as well as his stablemate...

Former world heavyweight champion Chris Byrd won a silver at the 1992 Olympics and thought it would be his springboard to fame and fortune. It wasn't. Unable to get marquee deals or fights, he thought his best option was to balloon from middleweight to heavyweight to get his career going, so he ate anything and everything he wanted and found himself in the ring with the giants of his era, includin...

Conor Benn is one of the hottest properties in world boxing. The exciting welterweight contender overcame. rocky start to life in the pros to race to 21-0. But away from the highlight reel finishes and the glamorous social media profile, Benn has endured plenty of struggles. Here, the son of legend Nigel Benn (see episode 100) discusses the trials he has encountered, the problems he's had to overc...

For too long, fighters have needed to have the option of high-level care available to them when they retire. Dave Harris has a dream. He's started the Ringside Charitable Trust and wants to build a retirement home for damaged fighters who have nowhere else to turn. But he's doing more than that.  He's raising awareness about the troubles of life after boxing, he's started a dedicated call line for...

Frank Stallone has been involved with boxing his whole life. From mimicking a Jack Dempsey haircut when he was 10 to knowing and forming friends with legends of the sport, including Muhammad Ali, Dempsey himself, Jimmy McLarnin, Vinny Paz, Ike Williams and many more. Yes, his ultra-famous brother Sylvester made more headlines, but Frank has had a superb career in his own right and boxing has never...

Marc Ratner is the former head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission who now has a top job with the UFC. Throughout his years in Las Vegas and beyond, he witnessed some of the biggest fights of a generation and oversaw many controversies, from The Fan Man at Bowe-Holyfield to the Tyson-Holyfield Bite Fight to Zab Judah throwing stools and brilliant bouts featuring Corrales and Castillo and Barre...

Gene Kilroy was a friend, advisor and confidant to Muhammad Ali. He spent a huge part of his life as Ali’s business manager and is universally seen as the last surviving member of Ali’s inner circle. Here, he talks about his time with The Greatest, the incredible moments he experienced and the celebrities they encountered and he details Ali’s relationship with other heavyweight legends. He discuss...

Kash Farooq was 16-1 and tipped for stardom until changes appeared on his brainscan at the end of 2021. The Scottish bantamweight prodigy had a bat fanclub in the sport, was promoted by Matchroom and shared a Fight of the Year contender with Lee McGregor. There was then due to be a big fight on a Devin Haney bill in Las Vegas, a return with McGregor and then possibly a world title fight but all of...

For almost 15 years, Anthony Leaver has been part of the Matchroom boxing media team. He joined the promotional group to work across poker and golf, but soon found himself working on boxing, on Prizefighters and with the likes of Audley Harrison, James DeGale, Carl Froch, Tony Bellew and many others. But when Matchroom opened their New York office, he was on his way to head up their media operatio...

Kevin Lueshing is a former British welterweight champion who famously dropped a 30-0 Felix Trinidad before losing a punch out in Nashville. Lueshing was an exciting fighter, as seen in his seven-knockdown fight of the year for the British crown against Chris Saunders, but he also boxed the likes of Kirkland Laing and Harry Simon. Away from the ring, Lueshing was tormented by his father, who was be...