Chicago Sun-Times

McGRATH: Muhammad Ali’s exploits helped 13-year-old navigate tough times

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 06:48:51 -0500

I don’t remember the name of the half-blind ex-fighter who sold us pencils to go with our scorecards outside Comiskey Park when I was a kid, but my father knew him. They were ordinary pencils, but Pops always slipped the guy a few bucks for them. My father worked security at ballparks, racetracks and boxing venues to augment his modest policeman’s salary. He had a soft spot for the fighters, a guilty pleasure passed on to me. I was all over the young Cassius Clay, his flash and dazzle a fun diversion in a grim, humorless game. My father voiced …

VIDEO: WBC lightweight champ Adrien Broner flushes money down toilet

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:56:42 -0500

Less than a week after the 23-year-old was arrested for battery, stemming from a Miami nightclub fight, WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner posted a YouTube video featuring himself tearing up three $20 bills and flushing them down a toilet. The video shows Broner thumbing through a stack of $100 bills and letting them drop to the floor. …

Granados-Cintron Ends In A Draw

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:58:03 -0500

Chicago boxer Adrian Granados (11-2-2, 7 KO’s) battled former IBF welterweight champion Kermit Cintron (33-5-2, 28 KO’s) to a 10 round draw during the co-main event on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights at the UIC Pavilion on Friday night. The judges scored the bout 97-93 for Cintron, 96-94 for Granados, and 95-95.

Boxer tracks down Twitter tormentor at his home

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:48:00 -0500

British boxer Curtis Woodhouse got so mad, he decided to track his Twitter tormentor down.

Rare outdoor boxing card scheduled for U.S. Cellular on Aug. 16

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:41:56 -0500

Boxing is scheduled to return to the White Sox’ ballpark for the first time in 50 years when U.S. Cellular Field hosts a professional card on Aug. 16.The promotional group of 8 Count Productions and Round 3 Productions, both out of Chicago, and Florida-based Warriors Boxing is in the process of completing negotiations with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, which oversees non-Sox events at the stadium. Dominic Pesoli of 8 Count said that seating for the rare outdoor show will be configured to accommodate up to 12,000 and that he expects the card will be picked up on national television …

Legendary boxer Jack Johnson gains support for presidential pardon

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:50:01 -0500

Lawmakers seeking a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the world’s first black heavyweight boxing champion imprisoned a century ago for his romantic relationships with white women, renewed their efforts on Tuesday.

Boxer Omar Henry appeared bound for glory until cancer took his life at 25

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:36:52 -0500

It was a birthday and a funeral. Omar Henry’s family and friends were gathered in a back room of Apostolic Church of God in Hyde Park, snacking on roast beef sandwiches and chocolate doughnuts and sipping iced tea. A video of Omar’s boxing highlights played on a TV in the corner. At 11 a.m., the group moved into the sanctuary. As stories were told, there were laughs and tears. Before it ended, a member of the congregation performed a Boyz II Men song. To read this story, please visit www.ChicagoSideSports.com …

Rare outdoor boxing card scheduled for U.S. Cellular on Aug. 16

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 21:41:56 -0500

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. suspended over failed drug test

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:56:01 -0500

LAS VEGAS — The Nevada State Athletic Commission has fined and suspended boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. over a failed drug test last year. The 27-year-old Mexican fighter tested positive for marijuana in September after his first professional loss. Chavez (46-1-1) was suspended Thursday for nine months and fined $900,000, which amounts to 30 percent of his $3 million purse for the fight against Sergio Martinez. The commission could have banned him for one year and penalized him for up to 100 percent of his purse. At a meeting in January, commissioners questioned why Chavez had not yet returned to …

Andrzej Fonfara’s puzzling TKO victory pleases Pavilion crowd

Sat, 17 Nov 2012 10:14:45 -0500

In an ending that had the crowd of 4,224 at the Pavilion scratching its head for a while, Andrzej Fonfara won the IBO light-heavyweight title Friday with a seventh-round technical knockout of Tommy Karpency. After being knocked down twice in the first round, Karpency had battled back to make it a close fight. In the seventh, he came out like a house of fire, but the fighters got tangled, and Fonfara (23-2, 13 knockouts) threw him off. Karpency (21-4-1) got up from the canvas but told referee Pete Podgorski that he had had enough, and the fight was waved off …

Former boxing world champion Mike Tyson sues Live Nation over embezzlement

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:29:17 -0500

LOS ANGELES — Mike Tyson is suing a financial services firm affiliated with Live Nation, claiming it cost him more than $5 million due to a former employee’s embezzlement and mismanagement. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles claims an adviser from SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises embezzled more than $300,000 from the former heavyweight boxing champ. The suit claims the losses hindered Tyson and his wife from emerging from bankruptcy. SFX is a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment Inc. The case claims Tyson and his wife lost millions more by having to hire new attorneys and advisers to handle …

It’s Showtime: Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to fight Robert Guerrero

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 14:44:01 -0500

Floyd Mayweather Jr. will fight Robert Guerrero on May 4, and he’s changing networks to do it. The biggest star in boxing dropped a surprise Tuesday while announcing his long-rumored next bout: After several years on HBO, Mayweather is moving to Showtime with a lucrative multi-fight deal. Mayweather’s move is a coup for Showtime. The CBS-owned network has always trailed behind HBO in boxing prominence, but Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) is the sport’s biggest moneymaker. Mayweather’s Showtime deal could include up to six fights over 30 months. His first bout is against Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), the WBC’s interim welterweight …

UFC 157: Ronda Rousey-Liz Carmouche Primetime episodes 1&2

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 19:34:10 -0500

UFC Primetime follows fighters Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche as they prepare to fight in the first women’s match in UFC history. The historic bout will take place at UFC 157 as bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey defends against Marine Corps veteran Liz Carmouche on Saturday, February 23 from the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

VIDEO: The Ultimate Fighter’s Uriah Hall ends UFC fight with amazing spin kick KO

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:38:00 -0500

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What’s next for Manny Pacquiao?

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:24:00 -0500

MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao has already achieved what most of his countrymen can only dream of: lifting himself out of wrenching poverty, securing a future for his children and becoming a hero to Filipinos the world over. Not content with just winning in the ring, Pacquiao also set about making his mark in politics. But after his stunning loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas on Saturday, the 34-year-old is facing some of the toughest questions of his remarkable 17-year career: does his future lay in boxing, politics, show business, religion, or perhaps there’s even a new challenge …

What next for Manny Pacquiao?

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 10:22:00 -0500