Billy Joe Saunders
The head coach says relationship with owner Marinakis is ‘not so good’
Canelo on Cinco
AT THE time of writing, Billy Joe Saunders is close to agreeing terms to fight Mexican legend Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on May 2 in Las Vegas, thus continuing Canelo’s now annual ritual of fighting on the weekend of the most important national holiday in the Mexican calendar, Cinco de Mayo.
While officially this annual holiday marks Mexico’s victory over the French empire at the Battle of Puebla on May 5 1862, in more recent times it has come to be increasingly associated with the battles being fought by the country’s red-haired ring phenomenon. Indeed Canelo is a fighter who’s attained the status of national institution in a country the benighted condition of which calls to mind the sage words of Bertolt Brecht: “Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes.”
In this respect he joins and stands on the shoulders of an exalted group of fighters from Latin and Central America — countries located south of the US border and cursed by grinding poverty and societal dislocation in consequence. As with Canelo today, these were men who entered the ring as one of the few sources of national pride.
In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT
As we mark the anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, JOHN WIGHT reflects on the enormity of the US decision to drop the atom bombs
From humble beginnings to becoming the undisputed super lightweight champion of the world, Josh Taylor’s career was marked by fire, ferocity, and national pride, writes JOHN WIGHT
Mary Kom’s fists made history in the boxing world. Malak Mesleh’s never got the chance. One story ends in glory, the other in grief — but both highlight the defiance of women who dare to fight, writes JOHN WIGHT
