Fury vs. Wilder III: Fight Report
An edited version of this article was published on TheFightCity.com on 10th October, 2021: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-fury-vs-wilder-iii-boxing/
When a world heavyweight title fight delivers all it promises to be, the drama is unparalleled. There have been great heavyweight trilogies in the past: together, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier carved their names into history during the sport’s golden era, and more recently Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe fought three epic battles in the 1990s. It is no exaggeration to say that Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s trilogy, and the instant classic they delivered last night, will sit alongside these and so many other great rivalries of the past. You really couldn’t ask for more, or expect two men to give more of themselves, in a boxing match. Read more
Pacquiao vs. Ugas: Fight Report
An edited version of this article was published on TheFightCity.com on 22nd August, 2021: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-pacquiao-vs-ugas-boxing/
The well had to run dry sooner or later. Finally, for Manny Pacquiao, it did. The Filipino great made all the right noises and looked the part in the gym in the lead up to his latest PPV headline event, but under the lights where it mattered the body could no longer go where the mind willed it to be.
Jermell Charlo vs. Brian Castano: Fight Report
An edited version of this article was originally published on TheFightCity.com on 18th July, 2021: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-charlo-vs-castano-boxing/
Undisputed champions are a rarity in boxing, and the feat is only getting harder to accomplish with the proliferation of titles. After Bernard Hopkins became the first man to unify boxing’s “Big Four” sanctioning belts in 2004 and Jermain Taylor’s brief stint following Hopkins, we had to wait 12 long years before another fighter achieved the same status. Since 2017 we’ve been treated to a relative deluge of four-belt mega fights though, as first Terence Crawford, then Oleksandr Usyk, Teofimo Lopez (the WBC Franchise nonsense notwithstanding), and Josh Taylor were each crowned as undisputed kings of their division.
Fight Report: Crawford TKO4 Brook
An edited version of this article was originally published on TheFightCity.com on November 15th, 2020: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-report-crawford-vs-brook-boxing/
Pound-for-pound lists are not to everybody’s taste, but regardless of how you choose to rank the best fighters in the world, there’s no denying that Terence Crawford is one of the most outstanding talents of the last few years. The WBO welterweight champion from Omaha, Nebraska, is now 15-0 in world title fights across three weight classes, winning his last eight contests all by stoppage. If anything, Crawford only looks to be getting better. Read more
2019 Fight of the Year
An edited version of this article was originally published on TheFightCity.com on January 7th, 2020: https://www.thefightcity.com/fight-of-the-year-inoue-donaire-boxing/
Well before the final bell had sounded, it was clear the bantamweight World Boxing Super Series finale would be one to add to the “Classic Fights” collection. It had all the right ingredients: a timeless “old legend vs. young Monster” storyline, two endearing characters, twists and turns in the plot, elite skills, and true grit – all fired up in a 12-round pressure cooker to produce 2019’s Fight of the Year. Read more
Matt O'Brien
Boxing Philosophy 