Robert Ecksel
752 articles · The Sweet Science
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Is David Haye a ?Pre-Madonna??
Literacy has gone the way of the steam engine. What passes for education is often little more that a resuscitation of bullet points. With TV as most people?s professor-in-chief, is it any…
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Chavez Choo Choo
There?s a saying that ?rules are meant to be broken.? If that?s the case, Chavez and his promoter are doing nothing less than what?s expected of them? People all over the world…
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Mayweather and the Twerk Queen
Floyd Mayweather knows a thing or two about performance. He?s also adept when it comes to defying expectations. No one blinked when Lil Wayne accompanied Floyd on his ring walk. That made…
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He?s Back: Here?s?Junior
After a one-year absence from active duty, former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KOs), from Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, moves up in weight when he returns to the ring…
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Ken Norton, Thanks Now and Then
?I won the first fight and the third,? Norton told me. ?With Muhammad it was a mental thing. You had to beat him in and out of the ring?? In honor of…
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The Boxing Impurist
What is a boxing purist? A boxing purist is someone who relishes watching fighters hit and not get hit, which is the essence of boxing. Boxing purists respect the past, not in…
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Who?s Sorry Now?
There?s a downside to social media. Anything that pops into our heads or appears on our iPhones, however inane, is grist for the mill that has reduced discourse to the lowest common…
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All?s Well That Ends Well
Floyd Mayweather called her scoring ?a joke.? But unlike most jokes, no one is laughing, at least not in public. Even Keith Kizer, the well-known kibitzer who heads the Nevada State Athletic…
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By the Book: Mayweather Schools Canelo
Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd ?Money? Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) decisioned formerly undefeated Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (42-1, 30 KOs) by scores of 117-111, 116-112, and an…
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Mayweather, Broner, and Pacquiao
There?s something to be said for the ivory tower. The view is spectacular, even though pizza delivery boys bitch and moan about the stairs. But as much as I like the heights…
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Against All Odds: Teddy Atlas Picks Canelo
The One is fast approaching. After endless ballyhoo, including more press conferences and articles than even a mathematician could count, the long awaited showdown between Floyd ?Money? Mayweather and Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez…
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Money Meets the Press
Just days before the superfight with Canelo Alvarez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd Mayweather met with the press via teleconference call. Cool, calm, and collected, the…
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The Good Interview
?My father never wanted me to be fighter. He said, ?Raymond, it was the Depression, I had to fight, I had to eat. You have other opportunities??? We all like hearing ourselves…
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Money May Disses Canelo
Oscar De La Hoya is an odd bird. He sometimes says and tweets things at which I cringe. It?s not that they don?t make sense?even Adrien Broner?s statements and tweets make sense…
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ABC Democracy in Action
Democracy is messy. We see it in Washington, DC. We see it in San Antonio. I was recently in Texas for the Golden Boy/Showtime tripleheader headlined by Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto…
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El Rey: Gonzalez KOs Mares
Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, former two-division champion Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47 KOs) silenced his critics by flattening Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14 KOs) at 2:55 of the first…
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Leaving No Turning Stone Unturned
?The best decision I ever made was to retire from boxing. I hate the small of a gym. I hate the boxing game. That guy I used to be; I don?t know…
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Mares vs. Gonzalez Preview
Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, in a Showtime doubleheader, the main event features WBC featherweight champion Abner Mares (26-0-1, 13 KOs) defending his title against former two-division world…
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Beating a Dead Horse
?The only color Don King cares about is green.??Larry Holmes There has been some grumbling associated with the new Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame. The grumbling doesn?t question the need for another…
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Dazzling: Barker Dethrones Geale
Saturday night at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ?Dazzling? Darren Barker (26-1, 16 KOs), from London, England, outworked Daniel ?Real Deal? Geale (29-2, 15 KOs), from Mt. Annan, Australia,…