JIM AMATO | Boxing at FightKings.Com

WHAT IF ? FOREMAN -VS- QUARRY IN 1973

Posted by JIM AMATO on Nov 10, 2013 in Featured Articles | 1 comment

By Jim Amato Super Fights.. It is a very over used term these days. Some of the PPV “Super Fights” of today would have been nice Saturday afternoon feature bouts on ABC’s Wide World Of Sports in my day. There were several bouts from the late 1960′s to the early 1980′s I wish would have been...

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Let us not forget Leon Spinks

Posted by JIM AMATO on Sep 12, 2013 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato Former world heavyweight champion Leon Spinks has surely received his share of negative press over the years. Many consider him just a footnote in heavyweight history. The man Muhammad Ali “loaned” his title to. Leon was much more then that. Much more. One should first look at...

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Ken Norton

Posted by JIM AMATO on Aug 28, 2013 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato When there is any talk of the greatest era of heavyweight boxing, the name Ken Norton has to be mentioned. Ken was a mainstay in the ratings throughout the 1970’s and he briefly wore the World Boxing Council version of the heavyweight title. Norton of course is remembered most for his...

Remembering Ron Lyle

Posted by JIM AMATO on Jun 2, 2013 in Featured Articles | 1 comment

Big,strong Ron Lyle was a heavyweight who fought during the talent rich 1970′s. He was a main stream contender for nearly a decade. He fought “The Greatest”,Muhammad Ali for the title and more then held his own until being stopped in round eleven. He had “Big” George Foreman on the canvas twice...

CLEVELAND’S PABLO RAMOS ; GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Posted by JIM AMATO on Mar 26, 2013 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato The city of Cleveland produced a world class light heavyweight in the late 1970′s and early 80′s. Pablo “Paul” Ramos was a ranked contender and please remember this was a glorious era in the history of the light heavyweight division. There were so many great boxers competing for the...

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Clevelands Ralph Moncrief – The Spoiler

Posted by JIM AMATO on Feb 19, 2013 in Featured Articles | 2 comments

By Jim Amato Middleweight Ralph Moncrief lost eighteen of 47 fights. Records are deceiving though as you will see in this article. Born in 1950,Ralph turned professional in 1972 and won his first three bouts.He suffered his first defeat in 1973 being stopped by Detroit’s tough Lee Barber. Two fights...

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BOOK REVIEW ; BELOVED WARRIOR ; THE RISE AND FALL OF ALEXIS ARGUELLO BY CHRISTIAN GIUDICE

Posted by JIM AMATO on Aug 23, 2012 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

This is by far the best boxing book I have read this year. Author Christian Giudice ( Hands Of Stone ; Roberto Duran), has scored another victory with this in depth look at the popular yet tragic Alexis Arguello. The author covers Arguello’s life from the beginning until the bitter end. His fights are...

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BOOK REVIEW ; THE NAME OF THE GAME

Posted by JIM AMATO on Aug 23, 2012 in Featured Articles | 1 comment

(About 1960’s Heavyweight Contender Thad Spencer) by Adam Heach When I received this book to review I was kind of skeptical. I was not familiar with the author. Also how could a book on former 1960’s heavyweight contender Thad Spencer involve 400+ pages of text ? Well I must say I was pleasantly...

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BIG BUSTER MATHIS ; HAS HISTORY BEEN UNKIND TO HIM ?

Posted by JIM AMATO on Jul 29, 2012 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

At one time, Buster Mathis Sr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan was the best amateur heavyweight in the world. This was in 1964, after he had twice defeated another promising amateur named Joe Frazier. He was on his way to the 1964 Olympics Games in Tokyo but an injury sidelined him. Frazier took his place as an...

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Alvin “Blue” Lewis

Posted by JIM AMATO on May 26, 2012 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato The late 60’s and early 70’s spawned an array of fistic talent in the heavyweight division. From the great champions Patterson, Liston, Ali, Frazier and Foreman along with Ellis and Terrell to the parade of bonafide contenders. Almost always among the top contenders of the day were the names...

Rest in Peace Eddie Perkins

Posted by JIM AMATO on May 12, 2012 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato In a career that spanned from 1956 to 1975, Eddie Perkins engaged in 99 professional fights. He won seventy five of those contests. He met opponents in over twenty different countries. He truly was a ” world ” champion. Ediie lost three of his first five bouts but rallied to win...

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What I Remember Most About “SMOKIN’ JOE

Posted by JIM AMATO on Nov 12, 2011 in Featured Articles | Comments Off

By Jim Amato sport of boxing lost a true legend with the passing of former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier. So much of my early days following boxing had to do with Joe Frazier. I was only ten years old when he won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1964. I remember how impressed I was seeing a photo of a smiling...

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As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.

In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.