Norm Frauenheim
Comebacks a way of life for Ray Beltran
By Norm Frauenheim-
Comebacks, always perilous and often controversial, help separate the good from the bad in a notoriously unpredictable craft. It just wouldn’t be...
First Impact: Oscar Valdez Jr. back with new trainer, repaired jaw...
By Norm Frauneheim-
“Everybody has a plan until you get hit.”
-- Mike Tyson
A sensible quote from a dysfunctional life in a violent business has...
Welcome Back Mat: Welterweight restoration starts with Pacquiao and continues with...
By Norm Frauenheim-
Call it the Welcome Back Division. At least, that what it is in mid-to-late January as the welterweights shake out who’s real....
Pacquiao beats Broner easily and then calls for a Mayweather rematch
LAS VEGAS – Let the rumors begin.
Manny Pacquiao’s career after 40 moved from the scorecards to speculation about a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The...
Pacquiao’s enduring smile still gives him the last word
By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – The smile never changes. It was there, forever young, all over again Friday as Manny Pacquiao looked into Adrien...
Krael stops Ogundo in 1st round
LAS VEGAS –Cameron Krael stopped Michael Ogundo in the 1st round of their scheduled ten round welterweight fight that kicked off Pacquiao - Broner...
Canelo Alvarez, Danny Jacobs agree to fight on May 4
LAS VEGAS – Canelo Alvarez and Danny Jacobs will fight on May 4 for three pieces of the middleweight title, according to Alvarez and...
Modest Manny: Pacquiao back in America with his quiet confidence still...
By Norm Frauenheim-
Manny Pacquiao is back in America amid a mix of inevitable questions faced by any boxer about to fight for the first...
A few picks for a New Year
By Norm Frauenheim-
Predictions are like punches. Some land. Many miss. Some are wild. A few are silly. Some are feints. Some are cheap. A...
One vote, One Fight: Fury-Wilder is Fight of the Year in...
By Norm Frauenheim-
It was preceded by great expectations. But it began amid disappointment, delay and controversy. Another year ends and new one is about...
Profiles In Courage: John McCain’s name added to an award that...
By Norm Frauenheim-
John McCain’s name will be added to the Boxing Writers Association of America award for courage, alongside Bill Crawford, a Medal of...
New deal, New Weight: Only the same Canelo can make it...
By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a new way to watch and a new weight. But don’t look for a new Canelo Alvarez. He was a reliable...
Wilder-Fury: Heavyweight revival only starts with an immediate rematch
By Norm Frauenheim
It’s been called a heavyweight resurrection and maybe that’s what it was when Tyson Fury climbed to his feet while Jack Reiss...
Joshua Can Wait: Wilder-Fury draw sets up a rematch
LOS ANGELES --Forget Anthony Joshua. Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury still have some unfinished business.
A Wilder-Fury draw in a terrific fight Saturday night at...
No more masks, just an opening bell awaits Wilder and Fury
By Norm Frauenheim-
LOS ANGELES – Deontay Wilder wore a mask. It covered his mouth and nose in menacing black. Tyson Fury laughed at the...
Pounds and Pints: Without them, Tyson Fury has a chance against...
By Norm Frauenheim-
LOS ANGELES – There aren’t many hints. Just the taunts, trash talk and everything else expected in the parade of hyperbole before...
Pacquiao Back In The USA: The nostalgia is there, but is...
By Norm Frauenheim-
Manny Pacquiao’s return to the United States this week has a nostalgic feel. He stopped in New York. Then, Los Angeles. It...
From the stage to the ring: Thomas Valdez wins split decision...
TUCSON – There were hand signals. There were looks. There were cheers and probably a few prayers.
In the end, there were thumbs up, one...
Oscar Valdez Jr.’s dad poised to take the first step in...
By Norm Frauenheim
TUCSON – It’s the beginning of a comeback, for a father and a son.
The dad, Oscar Valdez Sr., will take the...
Wilder One-Dimensional? Not if you listen to him
By Norm Frauenheim-
Deontay Wilder is a man with one punch and many words.
Those words – unending, often contradictory and always brash – were...
Tony Bellew looks forward to stopping the “monster’’ he sees in...
By Norm Frauenheim-
The gap-toothed smile is Alfred E. Neuman-like. But the eyes are mad, full of enough menace to definitively answer that comic-book...
On The Ropes: Decades of corruption have put Olympic boxing in...
By Norm Frauenheim-
Michael Conlan’s obscene gesture at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games threatens to become a symbolic goodbye to Olympic boxing in a...
All In The Family: Thomas Valdez sees some of himself in...
By Norm Frauenheim-
TUCSON, Ariz. – They are first cousins. Sparring cousins, too. They even look alike.
Look into Thomas Valdez’ eyes, and you see Oscar...
Phoenix flyweights put super into six-round battle for 115-pound Arizona title
PHOENIX, Ariz. – The fury was uninterrupted. Unrelenting from beginning to end. It lasted six rounds. It felt like 12.
Twelve rounds jammed into...
Arizona state title at stake on Iron Boy card in Phoenix
PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Old-school Phoenix is the theme. Old-school Arizona is at stake.
Iron Boy Promotions will stage card a Saturday at Celebrity Theatre that...
Big Deal: It is a long shot, but Canelo has a...
By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a huge bet on one fighter. That also makes it oh-so risky. But give DAZN, a global streaming service, credit...
Crawford delivers a beatdown and a punishing stoppage of Benavidez
OMAHA. Neb. – A lot was said. Terence Crawford’s answer took some time. Almost 12 complete rounds of time. But it was definitive.
Crawford delivered...
Wild scuffle erupts at Crawford-Benavidez weigh-in
By Norm Frauenheim-
OMAHA, Neb. – Terence Crawford and Jose Benavidez Jr. did more than exchange insults Friday as escalating tensions led to a weigh-in...
What’s left to say? Crawford, Benavidez about to fight for the...
By Norm Frauenheim-
OMAHA, Neb. – There’s not much left to say, or even places to say it. They’ve insulted each other in the gym....
Big Talk, Big Risk: Benavidez talks his way into a fight...
By Norm Frauenheim-
It’s a role nobody ever foresaw for Jose Benavidez, Jr.
At 19, he was shy and talented, a prodigy embarrassed by what...
