Mark Whicker
108 articles · OCRegister.com
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Whicker: George Kambosos is the latest boxer to flip the odds
By Mark Whicker
The shock waves are just now receding. Not from Lincoln Riley. Not from Brian Kelly. Not from Corey Seager or Max Scherzer or Tiger Woods or Lady Gaga or Tony Bennett. If…
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Carlos Arias’ miraculous journey from past tense to Thanksgiving present
By Mark Whicker
Our project today is to go back six months and update all those solemn tweets and tributes. Carlos Arias was a great guy. (No. Is.) He was a tireless worker and had…
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Whicker: There’s little to say about 3rd Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder bout, especially from Wilder
By Mark Whicker
LOS ANGELES — Deontay Wilder said almost nothing on Tuesday, another sign that recovery is upon us. When Wilder was battered into hospitalization by Tyson Fury on Feb. 22 of last year,…
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Whicker: Where are the boxing champions who actually want to fight?
By Mark Whicker
As Mary Gauthier wrote, “Fish swim. Birds fly. Old men sit and think. I drink.” As the columnist Dave Kindred said on 60 Minutes, “Writers write.” Both are old enough to remember…
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Whicker: Canelo Alvarez is too good for whoever’s next, but for Gennady Golovkin’s sake it shouldn’t be him
By Mark Whicker
Callum Smith’s endless legs wouldn’t let him down Saturday night. He would be feeling better today if they had. The 6-foot-3 Smith walked into the ring in San Antonio on Saturday night…
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Canelo hopes giant leap against Kovalev finds a soft landing
By Mark Whicker
ARCADIA ? Hot-dog skiiers and bull riders show more confidence with each passing risk. That?s also the mindset of Canelo Alvarez. The middleweight champ is vaulting two weight classes to meet Sergey…
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Whicker: Errol Spence is undefeated, but Shawn Porter won?t let him go unchallenged at Staples on Saturday
By Mark Whicker
LOS ANGELES ? ?The key word,? Shawn Porter said, ?is resistance.? Make Errol Spence Jr. look both ways before crossing. Unplug the jukebox and upset Spence?s rhythm. Make him step backward, even…
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Whicker: Spence vs. Porter might get box office it deserves
By Mark Whicker
LOS ANGELES ? The promoters say Staples Center will be sold out. ?It better be,? Shawn Porter said. It is not supposed to be. The L.A. boxing fan is traditionally a spur-of-the-night…
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Whicker: Gennady Golovkin says he?s not getting old, but all the Canelo Alvarez talk is
By Mark Whicker
SANTA MONICA ? Gennady Golovkin still owns the smile of a college sophomore. He also remains a middleweight, comfortable at 160 pounds. He is virtually unchanged from 2012, when he first bludgeoned…
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Whicker: With few legitimate peers, Canelo eyes history
By Mark Whicker
LAS VEGAS ? All week Canelo Alvarez spoke of ?writing my own history.? At this rate he?ll have to fight off the biographers. If Canelo became boxing?s Paul Bunyan last year when…
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Daniel Jacobs is a fresh prince looking to dethrone Canelo Alvarez
By Mark Whicker
LAS VEGAS ? He is boxing?s closest approximation to Will Smith. Same flaps for ears, same gleaming smile. Daniel Jacobs is two days away from the final ringwalk of Saturday evening at…
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Whicker: Manny Pacquiao has a tight schedule, but retirement isn?t on it
By Mark Whicker
LOS ANGELES ? Justin Fortune is Manny Pacquiao?s conditioning man. His biggest task is to dispel boredom. Not Manny?s, but his. ?He?s run the same (deleted) hill for 15 years,? Fortune said…
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Whicker: Shane Mosley tells Mikey Garcia to avoid Spence (not that Mosley would have)
By Mark Whicker
Manny Pacquiao had just finished an impressive decision over Brandon Rios, late in 2013. The corridor outside his locker room at the Venetian Hotel in Macau was thick. One bystander was Mikey…
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Whicker: Boxing should be thankful Danny O?Connor survived, but it shouldn?t stop there
By Mark Whicker
Sometimes a fiasco isn?t enough. Sometimes it takes a tragedy. Perhaps the people who run boxing will wedge themselves between the two, to keep a bad night from going dark. The only…
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Leo Santa Cruz beats Abner Mares in another Staples classic
By Mark Whicker
LOS ANGELES ? Two unanimous decisions were announced at Staples Center on Saturday night. Leo Santa Cruz was declared the winner of the WBA featherweight title fight with Abner Mares, and a…
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Golovkin says he wants Canelo. Martirosyan says Canelo doesn?t want that
By Mark Whicker
CARSON ? Wherever Canelo Alvarez was on Saturday night, his message light was burning brightly. Gennady Golovkin invited him to meet him inside the ring once more. ?Of course he is still…
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Whicker: Canelo gets a break, Golovkin gets a new foe, and we get the rematch in September
By Mark Whicker
Gennady Golovkin wanted a fight. Now he has two. Golovkin wanted to squeeze the public vise on Canelo Alvarez. Done. All parties involved wanted the money a Golovkin-Canelo rematch would shake from…
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Whicker: The quiet man behind Golovkin?s big drama show
By Mark Whicker
The first time Tom Loeffler watched boxing, he was managing one of the fighters. ?That wasn?t the plan,? he said. Now he?s waist-deep in the asylum. So far he?s not an inmate.…
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Canelo calls positive drug test ?embarrassing?
By Mark Whicker
Canelo Alvarez?s rematch with Gennady Golovkin was complicated, but not endangered, by Monday?s news that Canelo has tested positive for small amounts of clenburetol. Maybe it?s just a reminder of the high…
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Let?s get small: Boxing?s mini-brutes put on another big show at The Forum
By Mark Whicker
INGLEWOOD ? Like basketball, boxing now lives on the wrong end of the binoculars. The smaller the fighters, the better the fight. That trend has reached its inevitable conclusion with the pound-for-pounding…