Sean Crose

By: Sean Crose At 14-0, there was no doubt that former WBO lightweight world titlist Keyshawn Davis was a fighter worth keeping an eye on. Davis, however,

By: Sean Crose When I was a young man growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut back in the '70s and '80s, sports was King. It seemed like every neighborhood

It’s been going on for years now – the phenomena of novelty boxing matches, where well known fighters square off against fighters generally looking for either a pay day or some last moment of glory. MMM legends versus world class boxers, MMA legends versus social media influencers, great boxers of yore fighting well beyond their sell by dates, it’s a circus that sometimes borders on the tragic – if so much money wasn’t involved. Yup – these novelty matchups can bring in a lot of eyeballs. Sure enough they are often in line to be the most watched combat sporting events of the years in which they take place.

Perhaps none of us should be surprised by what happened in Egypt tonight. Oleksandr Usyk, the unquestioned King of the heavyweight division, got the fight of his life against Dutch kickboxer and virtual boxing novice Rico Verhoeven against the backdrop of that country’s Great pyramids. It was supposed to be a novelty fight, but Verhoeven took all the novelty out of it and turned it into a real throwdown. Much credit goes to the Dutchman who thoroughly rose to the occasion, despite the fact that he ended up losing by a controversial 11th round stoppage.

By: Sean Crose Give Jake Paul this: He's a determined man. Around 6 months after getting his jaw destroyed by none other than Anthony Joshua the media

Gervonta Davis’ last fight was in March of 2025. His previous fight was in June of 2024. His previous fight before that was in April of 2023. Even by contemporary boxing standards, Davis doesn’t fight much. At the moment, Davis is not scheduled to fight anyone. He’s in the news, however, because there’s a warrant for his arrest in Delaware due to a reported parole violation. Unfortunately, fairly or unfairly, Davis is now known as a man who is perpetually in trouble with the law as much as he is a world class, highly decorated fighter (which Davis has repeatedly proven himself to be).

By: Sean Crose O'Shaquie Foster had a title to defend on Saturday night in Houston, the WBC junior lightweight title. Foster may not have been looked at

While it’s true there have been numerous women boxers who have have contributed to this Golden Age of female boxing, it would be impossible to talk about the rise of women in the world of the sweet science without bringing up Katie Taylor, who, according to reports, is about to have her swan song when she faces Floa Pili. Taylor is unquestionably a legend in the sport. She’s won eight world titles after all, and been in some of the most thrilling matches one can find..among male boxers as well as female boxers. In short, Taylor has helped to do what some might have thought impossible. And that’s make women’s boxing must-see TV.

It’s a part of contemporary boxing. Fighters watch footage of other fighters who they’re going to face as often as possible. Watching what a fighter has done before can logically be a sign of what he’s going to do again. It makes a lot of sense to watch films of future opponents, and many if not most fighters engage in doing it whenever they have the chance. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez however is another story. The undefeated, 23-0 fighter has made it clear that watching tape can be misleading. And indeed the man has a point as he points out a fighter can easily change his strategy.

Houdini had performed on the stage. So had the Grateful Dead. So had Pink Floyd. Rumor was that the first time Queen played Bohemian Rhapsody in America it was on that very stage. There was no doubt about it, the Palace Theater in Waterbury Connecticut had quite a history. It had never – at least until this night, however – hosted live boxing. In fact, Waterbury itself hadn’t had a live boxing card in just under 50 years. That’s quite a period of time. Willie Pep may have once fought in front of 20,000 people in Waterbury… but that was decades ago. On Saturday night however, boxing returned to what was once called The Brass City. The Palace Theater which usually hosted musicals and concerts was set up with a fully functioning boxing ring.