Bob Velin
249 articles · USA Today
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Oscar De La Hoya’s penchant for making big fights is why Canelo-Khan was made
By Bob Velin
As a fighter, Oscar De La Hoya never met an opponent he wouldn?t fight. His list of ring foes reads like a Hall of Fame roster. Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Bernard…
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Sergey Kovalev easily defeats Jean Pascal by seventh-round TKO
By Bob Velin
Former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal didn?t seem to have it Saturday night as unified champion Sergey Kovalev won a seventh-round technical knockout against a badly overmatched Pascal at a disappointed Bell…
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Five fights boxing absolutely needs in 2016
By Bob Velin
With the Floyd Mayweather era in our rear-view mirror, the Manny Pacquiao era in its final rounds, and the disappointment of the Mayweather-Pacquiao debacle in May finally beginning to fade from peoples?…
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Is Floyd Mayweather Jr. really done, or just done for now?
By Bob Velin
LAS VEGAS ? Now that Floyd Mayweather is "officially" retired from boxing, there?s another sport he could seamlessly slide into tomorrow if he wanted: dodgeball. Mayweather played a masterful game of dodgeball…
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Danny Garcia beats Lamont Peterson to stay unbeaten
By Bob Velin
BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- Barry Hunter, the trainer for Lamont Peterson, thought his fighter worked his gameplan to perfection against undefeated junior middleweight champion Danny Garcia Saturday night. Peterson moved around the ring…
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‘Superman’ looks to give CBS viewers a knockout debut
By Bob Velin
He's a knockout artist with a million-dollar smile, he's named for a Greek god and has the nickname of a superhero. Yet Adonis "Superman" Stevenson, beloved in his home country of Canada,…
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Roach: More pressure on Mayweather than Pacquiao
By Bob Velin
Freddie Roach didn't really want to spend his 55th birthday on Thursday halfway around the globe to be in the corner of his pupil, Zou Shiming. Not because the seven-time Boxing Writers…
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NBC hopes boxing becomes ‘event television’ with PBC
By Bob Velin
NBC's debut in the professional boxing arena on Saturday night features a card that includes four current or former champions with a combined record of 113-4-2 with 75 knockouts. Impressive? You bet.…
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Why isn’t Golovkin’s pound-for-pound ranking higher?
By Bob Velin
On boxing's most credible pound-for-pound lists, Gennady Golovkin ranks anywhere from No. 6 in the world to 10th, or lower. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are generally ranked 1-2. Few would argue…
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Boxcino will give exposure to little-known boxers
By Bob Velin
At a casino in the middle of Connecticut, eight little known but hungry boxers will lace up their gloves and hope to get lucky on Friday the 13th. The eight junior middleweights,…
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Mayweather, Pacquiao have ‘productive’ talks at hotel
By Bob Velin
Whether their first-ever meeting at halftime of an NBA game Tuesday night in Miami and again afterwards at a hotel was an amazing coincidence or an elaborate set-up, it's a fact that…
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Deontay Wilder brings heavyweight title back to U.S.
By Bob Velin
Deontay Wilder fought past the fourth round for the first time in his career, but used a brilliant exhibition of boxing to remain undefeated with a unanimous decision victory against Bermane Stiverne…
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Kovalev tops boxing’s best of 2014
By Bob Velin
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about boxing in 2014 is that 2015 is right around the corner. And the elusive fight the world has begged to see for much…
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WBC boss proposes some big changes for boxing
By Bob Velin
Some of the most common complaints in professional boxinginvolve bad judging, too many champions, mismatches in the ring, and drug abuse outside of it. Mauricio Sulaiman, who presided over his first annual…
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Timothy Bradley looks to resume winning ways against Chaves
By Bob Velin
After he lost for the first time in his career, to Manny Pacquiao in their rematch in April, Timothy Bradley wasn't sure how he would react to not having his hand raised.…
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Manny Pacquiao defeats Chris Algieri: Round-by-round recap
By Bob Velin
Manny Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight belt by scoring a unanimous decision against Chris Algieri in Macau Saturday night. Pacquiao knocked Algieri down six times during the fight and had him nearly…
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Bernard Hopkins not ready to decide on future after loss
By Bob Velin
ATLANTIC CITY ? Less than two hours after receiving a beating in the ring like he hasn't seen or felt in years, Bernard Hopkins still had a smile on his somewhat swollen…
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Kovalev hands Hopkins, 49, a crushing defeat to unify titles
By Bob Velin
ATLANTIC CITY -- The Alien finally met his match. Although he hung in there for 12 rounds against Russian slugger Sergey "Krusher" Kovalev, Bernard Hopkins showed his age and lost a unanimous…
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Bernard Hopkins: In the ring, I’m a Ph.D, Kovalev’s a GED
By Bob Velin
With AARP knocking on his door and a real-life Ivan Drago awaiting in the ring, Bernard Hopkins can be forgiven if he can't understand why he still has to talk up his…
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Sergey Kovalev puts up ‘Krusher’ image vs. Bernard Hopkins
By Bob Velin
His nickname is "Krusher" because that's what Sergey Kovalev does. His powerful fists have knocked 23 of his 26 professional boxing combatants out, most of them early. One of those opponents, fellow…