Robert Ecksel
752 articles · The Sweet Science
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Is Canelo the New Man?
It?s not as though fighters are lining up to be anointed. Most fighters are focusing on their next opponent? When Floyd Mayweather reaches 50-0 and retires after having surpassed Rocky Marciano?s 49-0…
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Five-Dollar Pay-Per-View
Large purses are now humongous. Medium-sized purses are now respectable. And small purses are as small as ever? Pay-per-view has changed the boxing landscape. The change is good for some and bad…
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In Defense of Floyd Mayweather
?Mayweather needs someone to bring it out of him. It?s like hip hop. Nobody rapping for the music. They rapping for that big check?? There?s no more polarizing figure in boxing than…
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Show Me the Money Too
The meme that people pay money to see Mayweather lose lacks credibility, despite being repeated ad nauseum? Floyd Mayweather?s wattage has not dimmed. Despite the obits pronouncing the pound-for-pound king?s waning popularity,…
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Boxing by the Book: ?Pugilatus? by Ted Spoon
?The greatest thing about boxing might not be the characters, fights or inspirational stories, but the promise that more are on the way?? ?Of one thing I am certain. Boxing will never…
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Vegas Hold ?Em: Mayweather Decisions Maidana
Floyd Mayweather, ably assisted by referee Kenny Bayless, kept his unbeaten streak alive by decisioning Marcos Maidana over 12 one-sided rounds? ?He held me even more than my wife.??Former light heavyweight champion…
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Mayweather on Domestic Violence
Few people are defending Ray Rice, at least publicly, but it sounds like Floyd Mayweather may be one of them? Everyone loves a one-punch knockout, except when it?s a running back separating…
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See You in September
Will Floyd Mayweather retire with the satisfaction of having merely tied Rocky Marciano? It?s hard to imagine? Has there ever been athlete who played the media with the proficiency of Floyd Mayweather?…
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Floyd Mayweather on Literacy
?What I do for a living, I?m a boxer, but I didn?t get to where I got to not being able to write, read and do arithmetic?? In anticipation of the Sept.…
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Love Is Just a Four-Letter Word
During an argument in 2013, Floyd allegedly pointed a gun at Shantel?s foot, asking ?Which toe do you want me to shoot??? We thought we?d heard the last of Shantel Jackson. After…
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Pacquiao-Algieri: Good or Great?
I was interviewed by a CUNY journalism student, which failed signally in bringing Top Rank or Tecate girls to my side? Moe: What?s the matter, you scared? Larry: No, just apprehensive. Moe:…
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Reconstructing Adrien Broner
His credibility or lack thereof will be determined by what happens in the ring, not in front of an iPhone or looking glass? On Saturday, Sept. 6, at the U.S Bank Arena…
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Joe Frazier vs. Rocky Balboa
The artist Stephen Layne, who is putting the finishing touches on the Frazier statue, isn?t that fond of the Rocky statue? When Joe Frazier was in his prime he was virtually indestructible.…
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Love Never Felt So Bad
Love made the mistake of hooking with a hooker and got caught with a picture-perfect left hook that dropped him face-first to the canvas? Saturday night at the Pearl Concert Theater at…
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Is Arum Contagious or Outrageous?
Mayweather has let it be known that he refuses to ?put money in Arum?s pocket,? no matter the circumstances? Steven Soderbergh?s ?Contagion? is a great film. Not only did he knock off…
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Marcos Maidana Meets the Press
Maidana?s taunts are an assumption, a distortion, an oversimplification. Mayweather will fight as he always fights? The rematch between Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather (46-0, 26 KOs) is fast…
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Taylor-Made: Jermain/Germane
According to Lt. Carl Minden, a fight broke out, when ?[Jermain Taylor] grabbed a weapon and opened fire?? Many thought it was a bad idea when newly crowned IBF middleweight champion Sam…
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Floyd Goes on the Defensive
Intelligence takes many forms. There are book smarts. There are street smarts. There are body smarts? For those who pay attention to such things, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is in the…
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Turning the James Page
There is no shortage of bad endings in boxing. Listing them here is not only time-consuming, it?s morbid. But suffice to say that after the adulation stops, after the money dries up,…
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Triple G: Go West Young Man
Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (30-0 with 27 KOs) has conquered the East Coast. The West Coast is next. The knockout artist from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, is taking his show on the road. On…