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Tag: Boxing

  • Health Tips From Victoria’s Secret Trainer

    Health Tips From Victoria’s Secret Trainer

    Ever wonder how celebrities can transform their post-pregnancy bodies so quickly after giving birth? Well, the secret it out and it’s not just the celeb doing all the work.

    Former champion boxer and fitness guru Michael Olajide, Jr. was the expert trainer behind the weight-loss magic Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima experienced after giving birth. Only eight short weeks after having her baby the model was on the runway flaunting her fabulous body for the 2012 Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

    “We kind of had to override nature in a way,” Michael said about the quick body transformation.

    After having scheduled two workouts a day for the Brazilian beauty, Lima was growing leaner and stronger. “Before you know it … she was onstage,” Michael continued.

    So what is the secret to success with his workouts? He claims that jumping rope is one underestimated workout that’ll get your body looking absolutely amazing.

    “So many people have not discovered the benefits of a jump rope,” he said.

    His other valuable advice is to treat what you eat as fuel and not anything else. He recommended to stay away from stress and emotional eating as well.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Evander Holyfield Reprimanded For Homophobic Views On ‘Big Brother’ UK

    Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has ignited controversy on the UK’s ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ due to his views on homosexuality. Holyfield made inflammatory comments toward gays on Saturday’s airing of the British reality TV show.  He compared homosexuality to a handicap that can be fixed by a doctor.

    Holyfield is among the contestants on “Celebrity Big Brother” UK and made the remarks while holding a conversations with fellow housemate Luisa Zissman.

    In the conversation, Zissman disagrees with Holyfield and tries to sway his opinion but Holyfield stood firm. Zissman even tries to end the conversation at one point but Holyfield remained insistent in showing Zissman why homosexuality is not a sexual orientation but a deformity.

    Holyfield: The bible lets you know, that’s wrong, that’s right.

    Zissman: That’s just the way some people are.

    Holyfield: No, it don’t make no difference. If you were born and your leg were turned this way, what do you do, you go to the doctor and get it fixed back right.

    Afterwards, Holyfield was taken by the show’s producers to a private room where he was advised that his views were not acceptable and it would be offensive for him to continue expressing those views. However, Holyfield still was of the view that he hadn’t done anything wrong but promised to refrain in future.

    The remarks generated mixed reactions from the social media with many users expressing outrage towards the 51-year-old boxing legend. However, openly gay Culture Club singer Boy George could not hide his disappointment at Holyfield’s comments. George issued a statement on Twitter saying: “Shame, I had such admiration for Mr Evander Holyfield, he seemed dignified and I was sure he was a cool, smart, giant!”

    Though Holyfield is entitled to his opinion, anti-gay sentiments are not likely to go over well with the public. He may want to keep his opinion to himself or risk alienating many of his fans.

    Image via Wikipedia

  • Manny Pacquiao: Why Won’t He Fight Mayweather?

    It seems as if everyone wants to see a match-up between Pacman and Money except for the two people actually risking their faces if they did.

    For years now, we’ve watched Pacquiao win countless victories in rising weight classes with moves that put living rooms and bars across the country in an uproar. At the age of 35, he is the first and only eight-division champion of the world.

    Manny Pacquiao is so good at boxing that even when he does lose, he does it epically. We all remember his precise execution as he laid perfectly flat on the canvas like a once fussing baby finally put to rest with the best and warmest milk– even that faceplant looked like it probably took intense training.

    So, if Pacquiao is so great (at this point, he is a legend) why hasn’t he fought the only boxer of this time who would likely give him a run for his money (see what we did there)? It’s obvious that they do not like each other, which could be gathered from Mayweather’s Christmas card sent to Pacquiao today via twitter:

    How Nice. Mayweather recently chimed in some more on the subject via Fighthype.com:

    I’m gonna give you two reasons the Pacquiao fight is not going to happen. Like I said before, I will never do business with (promoter) Bob Arum in life, but I don’t wish him nothing bad, and Pacquiao is Bob Arum’s fighter … And I want to see Manny Pacquiao’s real pay-per-view numbers

    In actuality though, it may be Manny Pacquiao’s fault. A fight was staged between him and Mayweather in 2010, but was called off due to Pacquiao refusing to submit to Team Mayweather’s drug testing terms. Earlier this year, however, Yahoo Sports told us that Pacquiao finally agreed to accept the same type of testing for another opponent, albiet three years later. So there may be hope for a Pacquiao-Mayweather match after all. If the taunts and potential earnings don’t persuade Pacquiao, maybe the fact that his legacy will be indisputedly sealed if he defeated the one dominating (and talkative) stone left unturned in his boxing career.

    Image via Youtube

  • Adrien Broner Gets Beaten By Marcos Maidana [VIDEO]

    Marcos Maidana proved to be the answer to Adrien “The Problem” Broner on Saturday. The two boxers put on a spectacular fight that took place in front of a crowd of over 11, 000 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Argentine slugger knocked down the heavily favored Broner twice to take the WBA welterweight belt on Saturday evening. This came as a shock to the boxing world because Broner had never lost before.

    Maidana was dominant from the start, out-boxing Broner throughout most of the fight. In the second round he delivered a crushing blow that left his opponent staggering on the canvas. Broner barely survived the round.

    Maidana gave a great performance that lead to a unanimous decision of 116-109, 117-109 and 115-110 in his favor. The crowd burst into a frenzy after the scores were announced because it was an highly unexpected outcome.

    Broner quickly exited the ring after the decision. This was his first loss of his professional boxing career and he was clearly not happy about it.

    Broner did have his moments though, and did seem to have the upper hand at some points in the fight. A point was also taken away from Maidana after he head butted Broner during the fight. However, Maidana meant business on Saturday night. He threw a total of 964 punches. He out-boxed Broner, landing 231 power shots to Broner’s 122.

    Maidana has been known to give up in some of his previous fights. This time, however,  he never seemed to tire and kept on profusely lashing out punches, throwing powerful shots and hard jabs throughout the match.

    “The truth is, I’ve never fought anyone like (Broner), and it was a great fight,” said Maidana. “The plan was to fight any way I could do it, and I won because of that.”

    Fans threw bottles and cups at the three time champion when he left the ring hurriedly without talking. At the post match press conference, Broner said he was not too worried he had lost. In fact, he said he was going to celebrate like someone who had won. After all he is still the three time champion.

    As for Maidana, he may next have to duke it out with Keith Thurman, another fighter who has never lost a match.

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Brandon Rios Set To Fight Manny Pacquiao Tonight

    A defeat in this fight could put an end to Manny Pacquiao’s career. When Manny was knocked out by Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez, many critics said that the career of the Filipino boxing sensation was over.

    The intriguing Welterweight boxing clash between Manny Pacquiao and the Mexican American lumbering slugger, Brandon Rios, will take place this  Saturday night in Macau, China, as both fighters fight to rebound from defeat.

    When Manny faces Rios tonight, he will be going against a guy who has lost just once to Denver’s Mike Alvarado.

    Alvarado gave Manny some advice. “The important thing is to keep that strong mental (attitude),” Alvarado told sportscaster Rich Marotta in a video interview. He also advised Manny to not giving in to his style [Rios], and to avoid getting into a slugfest.

    “Rios did that with us in the first fight and it gave him more of an opportunity to land that big shot.” Alvarado said.

    Manny has won 10 world titles in eight weight classes and is ranked as one of the best pound for pound boxers in his generation. Although the fighter goes into the match on the back of a defeat, he isn’t letting that rattle his confidence.  “I lost. My next fight, I’m not thinking I’m scared because I’m going to get hit again,” Said Manny is a Video series.

    Rios, also known as “Bam-Bam”, has brushed off his critics who think that his style will be a piece of cake for the lightening-quick style of Manny. “It’s okay, there’s always going to be criticism out there, there is criticism for everything I do,” Rios told USA Today, “It actually motivates me even more. And it gives me the (motivation) to prove everybody wrong. When I fight the best, they always bring the best out of me.”

    http://youtu.be/gMbpuvJYRE4

    (main image via YouTube)

  • Frankie Leal: Boxer Dies from a Brain Injury

    The boxing community is mourning the death of 26 year-old Mexican featherweight fighter Frankie Leal, who is also known as “Little Solder.” The boxer died today from a brain injury sustained in the eighth-round on Saturday night in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico against Raul Hirales.

    Leal was behind the entire bout, even falling to the mat in the sixth round. Towards the end of the eighth round, Hirales punched Leal twice in the back of the head and knocked him down. However, Leal got back up on his feet, only to instantly fall back down on the mat. The fight was then called off with seconds left in the round, the featherweight was removed from the ring on a stretcher and admitted to a hospital where he was already in a coma. He died three days later in a hospital in San Diego, California.

    No one knows why some boxers can take a beating and walk out of the ring in good shape, while other fighters are more susceptible to life-changing traumatic injuries or even death. Referees are trained to look for certain criteria when deciding whether a fighter has had too much or can take another hit. Laurence Cole, a referee who has worked many high profile bouts discussed some of the warning signs, “You’re looking for several pieces that all fall together. You look at the fatigue of [the fighter], how his feet are underneath his body, how much effort he’s taking to keep maintaining his balance, the condition of his neck.

    Here’s a video of Hirales’ knockout punch:

    A lot of questions about whether Leal should have been allowed to box in the first place are being raised today. This was not his first time being removed from the ring on a stretcher. In 2012, Leal was knocked out in a bout with IBF featherweight champ Evgeny Gradovich. However, the boxer fought on, and returned to the ring in January, 2013. This was Leal’s fifth fight this year.

    Leal will finish his career with a 20-8-3 record with 13 knockouts. Bruce Trample, who is a Top Rank matchmaker, posted on his Twitter account today, “This is so wrong. I thought Leal was going to die the night he fought Gradovich, but he kept going and going until this. RIP.” Trample believes that Leal’s death could have been avoided and that his cornerman and trainer should take on some responsibility.

    Many agree with Trample:

    Image via Youtube

  • Ken Norton Sr., former WBC Heavyweight Champ, Dies

    On March 31, 1973, Ken Norton Sr. would go from being a nobody to a somebody. On that night in San Diego, Norton would break Muhammad Ali’s jaw and go on to defeat “The Greatest” in a 12 round contest; this would be one of only 5 times Ali would lose in his esteemed career.

    Everyone had doubts that Norton could defeat Ali, except for Norton himself: “I felt I was as smart has he was and I was more physical. My manager thought a hypnotist would be a good thing. It gave me more of a positive feeling.” Norton hired a hypnotist so that he could deal with Ali’s trash-talking in the ring.

    When remembering that fateful day, Ali’s former business manager, Gene Kilroy, would state that “Ali thought it would be an easy fight. But Norton was unorthodox. Instead of jabbing from above like most fighters he would put his hands down and jab up at Ali.” Obviously the strategy worked, as Norton would break Ali’s jaw in the 2nd round and hold on to win a split decision.

    Norton would lost the rematch to Ali 6 months later at the Forum in Inglewood in a split decision, and would lose once again in their final match at Yankee Stadium in 1976. Former boxing publicist, Bill Caplan, stated that “You could’ve raised Kenny’s hand as the winner in both the second and third Ali fights. He’s in the club of the top four heavyweights of that era. They all did great round robins with each other.”

    In 1978, Norton would become the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion after Leon Spinks opted for a rematch with Ali and lost. However, Norton’s reign would be short lived as he would lose his only fight as champion to Larry Holmes at Caesar’s Palace in 1978 – the contest was a split decision.

    Norton would retire in 1981 following a first-round loss at Madison Square Garden. His overall record was 42-7-1, with 33 knockouts. Following his boxing career, Norton would pursue an acting career – even turning down the role of Apollo Creed in Rocky.

    Norton died at age 70 due to congestive heart failure. He was living in Arizona to undergo rehabilitation following a stroke last year. USA Today reports that “Norton had overcome two earlier strokes, prostate cancer, a heart attack and quadruple bypass surgery, and survived a terrible car accident in 1986 in which he broke his jaw, ribs and legs, fractured his skull and suffered a brain injury that slurred his speech.”

    If Ali had a hard time defeating Norton (Ali never even managed to knock Norton down in 39 rounds), you can be damned sure that Death would have a hard time taking him to the grave.

    Image via YouTube

  • C.J. Ross Faces Ire Due to Mayweather Scorecard

    Approximately one year ago, Manny Pacquiao lost a decision fight to Timothy Bradley. And then the internet literally (read, not literally) exploded. The Twitter-verse got multiple jabs in on the topic, all of which shared the opinion that Pacquiao was robbed of a victory. The two judges who scored the bout in favor of Bradley: Duane Ford and C.J. Ross.

    Now, Ross is under fire due to another extremely questionable decision. This weekend, the biggest fight of the year occurred when Floyd Mayweather took to the ring against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Both men had perfect records on the line, however Mayweather would come out victorious, in a split decision – only the second such score ever in Mayweather’s career (the other being against the formidable Oscar de la Hoya). Who was the lone judge who scored the fight not in Mayweather’s favor? You guessed it – C.J. Ross, who scored the fight as a draw, 114-114.

    Mayweather Reaction

    Keith Kizer, the NSAC executive director, released statements defending Ross’s actions on Sunday: “Just because a judge’s scorecard ends up even, doesn’t mean the judge necessarily thought the fight as a whole was even. It could be that a judge has six rounds for each fighter, but the six rounds she gave fighter A, she gave them to him easily and the six rounds she gave fighter B, they were really close rounds. That’s pretty much how it was last night.” In response to cries for Ross being fired, Kizer stated “Let’s say you don’t agree with her on the eighth round,” Kizer said. “One round out of 24 you disagree with her and you think she should never judge again? “How is that nothing more than mob mentality?” Kizer said that no disciplinary actions will ensue, but that he will investigate the decision and address any inconsistencies between Ross’s scorecard and the fight, if they exist.

    When one looks at Kizer’s words, it does seem legitimate that Ross could have simply scored the fight round by round and resulted in a draw. She only gave 2 rounds to Alvarez that were not given to him by the other two judges. Two out of twelve isn’t bad, right?

    However, when one looks at the numbers behind the bout, Ross’s decision makes no sense. According to CompuBoxOnline.com, Mayweather landed 46% of his total punches, compared to 22% for Alvarez. Not only that, Mayweather managed to land 53% of his power punches, compared to a paltry 31% by Alvarez. The biggest disparity came when their jab percentages are compared – 42% for Mayweather and only 15% for Alvarez.

    When one compares Ross’s scorecard to that of other judges, her decision looks even worse. Boxingnewsonline.net compiled a collection of 86 scorecards from the press. The average scorecard from these 86 press members was 119-109 in favor of Mayweather, meaning that the average press member gave Mayweather 5 more rounds than Ross. In fact, the lowest score amongst the 86 gave the bout to Mayweather with a score of 116-113.

    At this point, it is fairly evident that Ross was WAY off with her scorecard. But everyone is entitled to a bad day, right? Well, let’s take a look back at the controversial Pacquiao vs. Bradley bout. First, remember that Ross was not alone in her assessment of the contest. However, let the numbers speak for themselves. In terms of punches landed, Pacquiao scored on 37% of his punches, while Bradley scored on 19%.

    When one looks at other scorecards, things don’t get any better for Ross. A panel of 5 WBO (World Boxing Organization) judges all scored the bout in favor of Pacquiao – 5 to 0. The boxing blog Fight Score Collector conducted a detailed analysis of scorecards surrounding the fight. Out of 265 total scores collected, only 10 cards were against Pacquiao. Out of 48 total press scores, only 1 was not in favor of Pacquiao.

    All of these statistics aside, Ross has been a judge for a while and is perhaps entitled to two bad days in her career. A statement released by Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer , who owns the company that promotes Alvarez, stated that “The whole world was watching. That scorecard was a disgrace.” When the person who promotes the boxer you gave the win to cannot even believe your decision, you know you are wrong. Period.

    Image via YouTube

  • Mike Tyson Plays Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, Finally Beats Glass Joe

    Mike Tyson recently say down in the FOX Sports 1 green room and played Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out, the NES game responsible for quite a bit of my childhood controller-throwing. FOX Sports would have you believe that it’s his first time ever playing the game.

    But is it really?

    Well, last month he suggested that he played his own game in the past, but he just sucked at it. “I couldn’t even beat Glass fucking Joe,” he said. “I couldn’t beat Glass Joe, you know what I mean, I couldn’t even play the game. I’m a late bloomer. I started playing games in 2006, 2007.”

    The plot thickens. Tyson tweeted this from the FOX Sports studio. He does say “first time,” but what is he actually referring to? First time playing, or first time beating Glass Joe?

    So, is the following video Iron Mike’s first time ever playing the game, or simply his first time beating Glass Joe (the game’s terribly fragile opening fighter)? It’s looking like the latter.

    Ah, who cares. It’s Mike Tyson squealing like a kid playing a thirty-year-old game with his name on it. That’s good enough for me.

    Wait…how in the hell are you unable to beat Glass Joe? That’s like running into the first Goomba in Super Mario…over and over again. I mean, I’d never say that to Mike Tyson’s face. Obviously. I kind of like my face.

  • Is HBO Bringing Live Streaming Sports to HBO GO?

    Is HBO Bringing Live Streaming Sports to HBO GO?

    Is live streaming sports (read: boxing) coming to HBO GO?

    According to HBO Sports head Ken Hershman, yes. But HBO leadership aren’t all in the same boat, and another exec isn’t ready to spill the beans on any such project.

    Speaking at Harvard Law School’s Sports Law Symposium, Hershman said that live sports, and specifically boxing, are coming to HBO GO “by the end of the year.

    But HBO SVP of corporate affairs Jeff Cusson told The Verge that there are currently no plans for any such streaming offerings.

    “We’re always exploring ways to enhance HBO Go, but we have no immediate plans to offer live boxing on the platform,” he said.

    HBO’s sports division airs documentaries like the 24/7 series and weekly news programs like Real Sports, but when you think of HBO Sports it’s likely that you think of boxing.

    So when the head of HBO Sports says that the company will bring sports content to their HBO GO subscription streaming service by the end of the year, you would think that he means boxing, right?

    This isn’t the only hint that we’ve heard recently about HBO expanding their HBO GO service. Last week, HBO CEO Richard Plepler mentioned that it’s possible that the service could become available without a cable subscription, as a package deal with ISPs. And by “it’s possible,” we mean he said that maybe, just maybe, HBO GO could “evolve,” but right now they totally have the right model for the service.

  • MMA Fighter Stops Crime At Grocery Store

    MMA Fighter Stops Crime At Grocery Store

    MMA fighters are pretty tough dudes. I wouldn’t want to go up against one, but the shoplifter that Jesse Finney took down on Dec. 21 probably didn’t know who he was dealing with.

    Patch reports that Finney was on his way to the local Schnucks grocery store when he saw a man running away from a female employee. The man had reportedly stolen multiple bottles of vodka and was making his escape. Finney didn’t know the man was shoplifting, but suspected something was up. He grabbed the man by the coat and slammed him to the ground.

    The shoplifter really didn’t have a chance as Finney is not just an amateur. He’s a professionally trained boxer and MMA fighter. He holds an impressive 23-0 kickboxing record, an 8-2 boxing record, a 4-0 amateur MMA record, and a 6-1 professional MMA record. He has also coached for Chuck Norris’ World Combat League.

    Finney says that his training helped to subdue the shoplifter without hurting him. Only one bottle stashed in the coat was broken. A less disciplined man may have broken more bottles and caused serious injury to himself and the shoplifter.

    As for the experience, he says that the experience was “pretty amazing.” He was grateful that “nobody got hurt,” but said that he’s “not going to let a man push a woman.”

    The store acknowledged that Finney took down the shoplifter, but stressed that they don’t condone acts of vigilantism.

  • Carmen Basilio Dies: Sugar Ray’s Opponent Was 85

    In another hit to the sports world this year, middleweight boxer Carmen Basilio has died after being admitted to Rochester General Hospital in New York. He was 85.

    Basilio, whose most famous bouts occurred against Sugar Ray Robinson, earned the title of middleweight champ and the respect of millions when he took on Sugar Ray–then considered to be the best boxer in the world–and won. Although he came out on the other end looking like he’d gone through a meat grinder, he became famous for his determination and will.

    “I don’t enjoy getting hurt, waking up with a puffed eye and pain, stiff all over,” he said. “But you have to take the bitter with the sweet. The sweet is when guys recognize you on the street, say, ‘Hello, champ,’ know who you are. It will always be sweet for me.”

    The legend began when Robinson snubbed Basilio on the street, and from then on he became determined to fight the champ and win. He challenged Robinson before a huge crowd at Yankee Stadium in 1957, and history was made.

    “He pulled up with his entourage with his big Cadillac,” Basilio said in an interview. “I was walking past, so I decided to go over and introduce myself. I said: ‘Hi, Ray, I just fought Billy Graham the week before, the No. 1 welterweight. I’m Carmen Basilio.’ He gave me the brushoff, and I felt about an inch high.”

    Basilio was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1990. At the news of his death, the Hall’s executive director Edward Brophy made a statement.

    “Carmen put Canastota on the worldwide boxing map and gave the village’s residents a sense of pride that couldn’t be matched anywhere in the world,” he said. “During the 1950s and 1960s Carmen was everyone’s hero. They talked about him in the coffee shops, grocery stores, gas stations and barbershops all the time. And they still talk about him today. He was loved, respected and idolized. His career and memories will last forever in the Village of Canastota.”

    ESPN reports that Basilio died of complications from pneumonia. He is survived by his wife, four children, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

    Image: EastSideBoxing.com

  • Women’s Boxing: Vogue Features Marlen Esparza in Recent Issue

    Women’s boxing will finally make it’s Olympic debut at this year’s summer games in London. Since the bone-jarring sport is one of my favorite aspects of the event, adding even more matches featuring a bevy of talented scrappers isn’t going to bother me in the least. In fact, I’m surprised it’s take this long for women’s boxing to make an appearance at the Olympics. Although I’m sure you’re assuming my interest in the sport is entirely impure, I’m honestly just excited to see more people fighters into the ring. I don’t care if you believe me or not.

    To celebrate the debut of women’s boxing, Vogue, a magazine one generally doesn’t associated with sports, decided to do a story on professional bralwer Marlen Esparza. The 23-year-old from Pasadena, Texas started smacking people around the ring when she was just eleven. Her experience, combined with her raw talent, could put her in a position to take home the gold for the United States. Just how talented is she, you ask? Her current record stands at 69 wins, 2 losses. It would seem she knows precisely how to knock someone out.

    In fact, so accomplished is her career that sponsors such as Nike, Coca-Cola, and Cover Girl extended sponsorship deals to the boxer. As a result, Esparza was able to quit her job as a dental assistant to pursue her love of boxing without the restraints of a day job. As silly as it may sound, I kind of like the idea of professional scrapper who moonlights as a dental assistant. She’s knocking your teeth out one second, and helping you get them back into shape the next.

    However, Esparza doesn’t look like your typical fighter, and she’s willing to admit her looks are deceiving. “A track-and-field athlete, perhaps, or a runner, but at five feet three and 112 pounds she is neither brawny nor particularly fierce-looking.”

    To see Esparza and a host of other Olympic hopefuls square off against one another in the ring, be sure to tune into Olympic coverage during the dates listed on the official schedule. And congratulations to all the female fighters who are getting an opportunity to compete for the first time this year. I can’t imagine the excitement they must feel.

  • Jimmy Bivins, Heavyweight Boxer, Dies at 92

    Jimmy Bivins, Heavyweight Boxer, Dies at 92

    It is always sad to see such well-known talent go, especially the boxing talent that Jimmy Bivins had. Jimmy Bivins was a Heavyweight Boxer from Dry Branch, Georgia; however, Bivins was involved with fighting and defending from the town of Cleveland, OH. While active from the years 1940-1955, Bivins beat eight future world champions, but never received the title himself. Although, Bivins was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

    During his career, Bivins got to fight against other various well-known boxers, such as: Anton Christoforidis, Teddy Yarosz, Curtis Sheppard, Melio Bettina, Billy Soose, Gus Lesnevich, and Jersey Joe Walcott.

    Jimmy Bivins’ boxing statistics have been provided below.

    • Total Fights: 112
    • Total Wins: 86
    • Total Wins (by KO): 31
    • Total Losses: 25
    • Total Draws: 1

    To see some of Jimmy Bivins’ fighting techniques, please view the YouTube video below.

    Jimmy Bivins died on Wednesday, July 4th in a nursing home in Cleveland, OH. Bivins was 92 when he passed away. The Twitterverse has been active paying their respects to this great boxing legend:





  • Mike Tyson’s Famous Ear Bite Is Helping Evander Holyfield Sell BBQ Sauce

    Apparently, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are getting along just fine. At least their relationship is good enough that they can joke about one of the most famous moment in sports history to sell BBQ sauce.

    If you don’t know what Evander Holyfield’s been doing, other than continuing to box, you may not be alone. He’s actually been throwing his weight behind various business ventures. George Foreman has his grill (and it’s not doing too bad), and Evander Holyfield has his sauce. His “Real Deal BBQ Sauce” is the best in the world, according to him. He’s managed to get Real Deal BBQ sauce into about a dozen California stores and his special blend is the official BBQ sauce of the San Diego convention center. Plus, Real Deal is moving into a few new markets across the country.

    But, through the power of Twitter, Holyfield has garnered possibly the best endorsement for the BBQ sauce yet – from that guy who bit his ear off fifteen years ago.

    Holyfield tweeted this earlier today:

    And just a few hours ago, Iron Mike tweeted this out to his 2.2 million followers:

    He even knew to use the “.” before the @ mention so that everyone would have the tweet pop up in his feed – good going, Mike.

    If you’re unclear on why they are talking about eating ears, this should help:

  • Chris Brown, Drake Offered $1 Mil To Fight In The Ring

    Chris Brown and Drake, who had a famous knock-down-drag-out at a club earlier this month, have now been offered a cool million bucks each to get in the ring.

    The purse has been offered up by billionaire Alki David, who says he’ll also toss in a million to charity if the two artists agree to put on some gloves and duke it out in front of a crowd, preferably in Vegas. Celeb boxing promoter Damon Feldman has gotten involved, as well.

    “Obviously they have a grudge,” he said. “It’s just three 1-minute rounds. No one will get seriously hurt.”

    Brown and Drake were reportedly fighting over singer Rihanna, who was the victim of physical abuse at Brown’s hands in 2009. In what is either a shocking display of insensitivity or lack of self-awareness, Feldman says he’d like Rihanna to be the ring-girl at the fight.

    Both Brown and Drake say they weren’t aware of the offer until now, so no word yet on whether they’re considering it. NBA star Tony Parker may have something to say about it, since he suffered an eye injury during the melee when a bottle was thrown and is suing the club because of it.

  • Teofilo Stevenson, Cuban Boxing Legend, Dead at 60

    Teofilo Stevenson, the heavyweight boxer responsible for bringing three Olympic gold medals home to Cuba, passed away on Monday at the age of 60. Although no official cause of death has been released, an anonymous sports official stated that Stevenson likely died from a heart attack.

    Stevenson, who was born in Cuba on March 29th, 1952, began sparring at his father’s open air gym when he was just nine years-old. He soon found a friend and mentor in John Herrera, a former light heavyweight boxing champion who took the young boy under his wing. He began his career by fighting boxers that were clearly more experienced, though Herrera believed that Stevenson “had what it took” to make a name for himself in the sport. And while he was considered a growing threat in Cuban boxing, it wasn’t until he defeated East Germany’s Bernd Andern in Berlin that he left his mark in the amateur boxing world.

    As his skills as a fighter grew, so did his accolades. In addition to winning three World Amateur Championships and two gold medals from the Pan American Games, Stevenson snagged three gold medals during the 1972, 1976, and 1980 Olympic games. At one stage in his career, fans had hoped that he would square off against boxing legend Muhammad Ali, in what many considered to be the “fight of the century”. However, fearing that Stevenson would lose his amateur rank, Cuba decided not to schedule the fight.

    During his career, Teofilo stayed true to his homeland, passing up millions of dollars in the process. “I prefer the affection of 8 million Cubans,” he once said about his decision.

    Stevenson retired from the sport in 1988, with an impressive record of 302 wins and 22 loses. Twitter users are well-versed in the man’s legacy, and have taken to the site this morning to express their condolences. Have a look at some of the posts below.

  • Justin Bieber: “Boyfriend”, Boxing, and Blood

    Teen heartthrob Justin Bieber is changing up his image a bit, but it comes at a price.

    The 18-year old has certainly done some growing up in the past year or so, and a new photo shoot for Complex Magazine shows off a side of him that his young fans have never seen: the reckless, butt-kicking side.

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    The shoot was done for the magazine’s 10th anniversary cover, and it looks to be an interesting one. The theme involves Bieber holding his own against two huge boxers while wearing a tux, at first just taking punches–and getting bloody–and then giving them. A sexy ring-girl in a gold bikini alternately gives him water and cheers him on, giving him a second wind to get up and throw some fists.

    Bieber, who was discovered in 2008 at the ripe old age of fourteen, has seen mega success since his first full-length studio album was released in 2010.

    (image)@bieberfans10m
    Justin Bieberfans    Justin Bieber “Bloody” photo shoot for Complex: The Biebs is all grown-up and he is not going to let us forget i… http://t.co/xWI6Ao4K(image) 5 days ago via twitterfeed ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@dougspice
    Doug Spice    Taking Tips From Lady Gaga? Justin Bieber Gets Covered In Blood And Meat For Shocking Photo Shoot | Radar Online http://t.co/L8hwbD78(image) 5 days ago via Tweet Button ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

  • Pawel Wolak Retires Via Twitter, Facebook

    Just a few days after losing to Delvin Rodriguez in a unanimous decision, middleweight Pawel Wolak announced his retirement exclusively via social media.

    The 5’9″ “Raging Bull” out of Poland retires at the age of 30 with a record of 29 wins, 2 losses and a draw. Nineteen of those wins came by KO.

    On Facebook, Wolak said that he is at peace with his decision to retire, and that he “left it all in the ring.”

    Wolak also used Twitter to break the news to his fans:

    @PawelWolak
    Pawel Wolak    with heavy heart I announce my retirement . u need heart, passion, desire 2 compete, but the mind needs 2 know when it is time. FB has more 15 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @PawelWolak
    Pawel Wolak    I am truly humbled by the outpouring of kind words and well wishes. Thank u so much. It was my honor to entertain u. 13 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Wolak’s social media retirement shows just how instantaneous and real-time services like Twitter and Facebook can be. According to ESPN’s NYFightBlog, Wolak’s manager Cameron Dunkin (who Wolak’s Facebook post mentions as the desired recipient of all inquiries) had no idea about the decision. Apparently, he learned about it the same way everyone else did – Twitter and Facebook. Same goes for Wolak’s sponsor, Top Rank.

    We all know that social media can be full of landmines for athletes that have a tendency to fly off the handle – but as more professional athletes embrace Twitter and Facebook, will this become a trend? Will big announcements taking place on Twitter instead of via press conference become the norm?

    Earlier this year, NBA great Shaquille O’Neal announced his retirement from the NBA via Twitter.

    Here’s a pretty popular YouTube video of Pawel Wolak vs. Delvin Rodriguez, match one. You can see the heart in Wolak as he refused to throw in the towel, although you can clearly see he has every reason to.

  • Joe Frazier Dead At 67: Floyd Mayweather Makes An Offer On Twitter

    Boxing legend Smokin’ Joe Frazier passed away late Monday evening shortly after being diagnosed with liver cancer. The world famous heavyweight was 67 years old.

    Frazier, a hero in his hometown of Philadelphia, was known for his aggressive, hard-hitting style. Columnist Bill Lyon summarized Frazier’s fighting style like this:

    “He was swarming and unrelenting, and he prided himself that he never took a backward step, and he reduced the Sweet Science to this brutal bit of elemental math: ‘I’ll let you hit me five times if you’ll let me hit you just once.’”

    Frazier is known by many as the man who dealt the legendary Muhammad Ali his first ever defeat. It happened at the 1971 “Fight of the Century,” where Frazier downed Ali with a big left hook in the 15th round. The two boxing greats continued to give the world great matches with a rematch in 1974 (which Ali won in a decision) and 1975’s classic “Thrilla in Manilla.”

    The sports world (and many others) have mourned the death of Frazier since the news was announced late Monday, with boxer Floyd Mayweather making a particularly interesting offer on Twitter:

    @FloydMayweather
    Floyd Mayweather    RIP Smokin Joe. My thoughts and prayers go out to to the Frazier family. We lost an all time great tonight. 10 hours ago via Echofon · powered by @socialditto

    @FloydMayweather
    Floyd Mayweather    My Condolences go out to the family of the late great Joe Frazier. #TheMoneyTeam will pay for his Funeral services. 10 hours ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto

    Smokin’ Joe’s Facebook and Twitter accounts asked that fans post their thoughts and memories, and many of them have been posted on Frazier’s official site.

    He obviously meant quite a bit to many people:

    When i was a kid i heard a radio interview with smokin joe. my dad was a goldenglove and loved joe. he sat me down so we could hear the whole thing. from that day forth i was a boxing fan. smokin joe made a fan for life with his interview. thanks joe to this day im a fan – Tailyn, from Facebook.

    The greatest and most gracious heavyweight champion ever to grace the ring in my humble opinion.When I tell my kids about boxing legends,Joe Frazier comes above everyone.I hope by telling them the truth that I can keep Joe at the forefront of future generations’ thoughts. Godspeed, big man – Paul, from Facebook

    Other well-known people took to Twitter to express their condolences for the loss of Frazier:

    @DesmondHoward
    Desmond Howard    As a HUGE boxing fan it saddens me that Smokin’ Joe Frazier is no longer with us. He and Ali made boxing special when I was a kid. 10 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @TheRock
    Dwayne Johnson    “Life doesn’t run away from nobody. Life runs at people.”
    – “Smokin” Joe Frazier 1/12/1944 – 11/7/2011 #MissUChamp 9 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @KingJames
    LeBron James    R.I.P Joe Frazier! Heavyweight Great!! One of the best! #SmokingJoe 10 hours ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto

    @JimmyRollins11
    Jimmy Rollins    A Philadelphia legend and a great champion he was! R.I.P. Smoking’ Joe 10 hours ago via WhoSay · powered by @socialditto

    @JimIrsay
    Jim Irsay    Yes,we have lost a great,great Champion..Joe Frazier! His trilogy of battles with Ali,was the greatest sports event of the 20th century. 9 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    @iamdiddy
    iamdiddy    We’re Gonna Miss you Joe Frazier!!!! RIP #SmokinJoe !!!!! 1 of the Greatest EVER!!! RT to da World! 38 minutes ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry · powered by @socialditto

    @drewbrees
    Drew Brees    Never really followed boxing much, but have tremendous respect for Joe Frazier and the way he fought. Those heavywieghts were true warriors 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @rickygervais
    Ricky Gervais    RIP smokin Joe Frazier
    One if the greatest fighters of all time 2 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @SpikeLee
    Spike Lee    WAKE UP. Blessings and Prayers.We Lost A Giant Yesterday-Heavyweight Champion SMOKIN’ JOE FRAZIER.When I Was A Kid I Cried When Joe Beat Ali 4 hours ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    What are your memories of Smokin’ Joe? Let us know in the comments. And head on over to Famous Dead to express your condolences.