Matthew Aguilar
176 articles · El Paso Times
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Pacquiao-Horn kicks off a new era in boxing
There?s a fight this weekend. And it features Manny Pacquiao - the Filipino Senator who was one-half of the richest boxing match ever in 2015. And while the matchup against an undefeated-but-unknown…
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Literary giant chronicles Ali, golden age of heavyweights
It had been an eventful preamble to the unlikely moment Muhammad Ali sent George Foreman to the canvas at 4 a.m., Oct. 30, 1974, to regain the heavyweight title in the African…
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Ward will use Kovalev’s anger against him to win rematch
Sergey Kovalev is known to be moody sort before fights. He?s flipped off fans and snarled at opponents. But he?s seemed more agitated than usual in the days leading to what is…
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Promoter thinks young Conlan is next big thing
Bob Arum hasn?t been around since Cain squared off with Abel. It just seems like it. He actually started in the 1960s when he decided, almost by chance, to promote a Muhammad…
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Crawford will dominate Diaz, then hope for Pacquiao
Terence Crawford is on everybody?s pound-for-pound list. But no one?s quite sure where to rank him. He could be number four. He could be number eight. It?s just not clear, as he…
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Lomachenko will state case in pound-for-pound race
Boxing produced some March madness of its own a few weeks back, as the two consensus best fighters in the sport, Roman ?Chocolatito? Gonzalez and Gennady Golovkin, faced formidable opposition with mixed…
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30 years ago, Leonard can thank sparring partner for Hagler win
t didn?t travel very far. But Quincy Taylor?s left hand connected with the force of a small explosive, caroming violently ? and shockingly ? off Sugar Ray Leonard?s chin. The blow was…
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Garcia won’t be underrated anymore; will beat Thurman
Two undefeated welterweight champions in their respective primes. Thirty-six years ago, you would?ve had to go to a coliseum to watch ?The Showdown? between Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns on closed-circuit…
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Legendary boxing sportscaster looks back at career
In the 1980s, Tim Ryan was known to fight fans as one-half of the best announcing duo in boxing. He and analyst Gil Clancy were the familiar voices for CBS telecasts ?…
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Crawford not losing sleep over Pacquiao
Terence ?Bud? Crawford has been tight-lipped about his eagerness to fight eight-time world champion Manny Pacquiao. And it?s hard to blame him. He?s defending his WBC/WBO junior welterweight title Saturday against dangerous…
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Crawford will be brilliant in fight against Molina
Terence Crawford has been a star-in-the-making since the summer of 2014, when he stopped Yuriorkis Gamboa in the 9th round. Since then, Omaha?s favorite son has gone 5-0, adding the WBC and…
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Lomachenko will show why he’s the future
Bob Arum has been around a little bit. The New York attorney who got his start promoting a prime-time Muhammad Ali in the late 1960s, will deliver his 2,000th show this weekend.…
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Aguilar: Ward will frustrate, dominate Kovalev
The year 2016 will be remembered as one of the worst in recent boxing history. There were few fights worth paying for. The free fights on network television mostly dried up. And…
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Where does Pacquiao rank over last 35 years?
It wasn?t that long ago that Manny Pacquiao was retired. Now, not only is he scheduled to battle Jessie Vargas Nov. 5 in Las Vegas, there?s talk of ?Pac-Man? fighting Terence Crawford,…
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Trump was outbid for De La Hoya fight in El Paso
There was a time Donald Trump was known as much for his position at ringside as his position on immigration. The billionaire real estate mogul and Republican Presidential candidate was a central…
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Little-known light-heavyweight Joe Smith stuns Andrzej Fonfara with first-round TKO
CHICAGO ? Andrzej Fonfara knew there was danger in taking on an unknown, an unheralded, anonymous mystery from Brookhaven, N.Y. He knew there was a danger of engaging in another daring tuneup…
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Matthew Aguilar: Like Ali, Lomachenko dares to be great
It?s fitting that Vasyl Lomachenko is fighting on the weekend of Muhammad Ali?s funeral. Not because Lomachenko is Ali, but because Lomachenko possesses that hard-to-describe intangible that convinces those who see him…
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Top Rank CEO: Pacquiao-Canelo matchup possible this year
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum has confirmed preliminary discussions about a possible fight later this year between Manny Pacquiao and Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, saying the Mexican superstar…
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Trainers’ reputation set Pacquiao-Bradley fight
It?s obvious why the April 9 Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight was made. And it doesn?t have to do with the fighters themselves, who have so far produced two decent ? if not…
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Bradley can’t help but produce a war with Rios
A quarter century ago, Meldrick ?TNT? Taylor was a powder keg about to explode. Blessed with stunning hand-and-foot speed, Taylor had a 1984 Olympic gold medal and a world championship belt in…