Boxing.com

Boxing News by Ezra Salkin

Ezra first became a boxing fan during his formative years on Long Island, specifically, when Oscar De La Hoya knocked out Fernando Vargas in 2002. A decade and counting later, stuck in the small city where he went to art school, Savannah, GA—a hamlet composed of young hipsters and Old Southern Wealth—Ezra found himself on the outs of the fight community. Excluding Savannah’s large underprivileged demographic, the closest thing resembling a fight fan Ezra found was his often abusive Japanese employer at the restaurant where he serves sushi. It wasn’t uncommon for his boss, Yoshi, to resemble the impetuous Roberto Duran after his decision victory over Sugar Ray Leonard, only in the form of a rotund middle-aged Eastern Pacific cook. One night, however, when Ezra came in as a customer, wearing a tee-shirt illustrating Muhammad Ali battling Joe Frazier during “The Fight of the Century,” the divine emperor of the kitchen actually seemed to smile down upon his humble server. But when Yoshi asked Ezra what he knew about Alexis Arguello and Ezra had trouble understanding Yoshi’s admirable attempts at all those r(s) and l(s) in the late Nicaraguan champion’s name, Yoshi became angry and reverted back to his typical self. Rather than risk incurring the cultural sadomasochistic shame cooked up in that kitchen, should he want to talk boxing, Ezra was fortunate to stumble upon a worthy boxing writers’ forum at boxing.com. When not serving sushi, Ezra works as a freelance writer and illustrator. His illustrations can be viewed here: www.ezrasalkin.com.

• Punch Trajectories: A Study of Hard Times in Life’s Squared Circle – March 7th, 2013

  By the time of the stoppage, every punch, or even any slight touch in the vicinity of Seeger’s buzzed dome was like being struck with an anvil…
  
  

• The Inquisition of Manny Pacquiao – June 21st, 2012

  If there’s one conclusion that we’ve always been able to draw about the dynamic Filipino slugger—it’s that status quo bores him…
  
  

• A Literal and Literary Boxing Journeyman – April 4th, 2012

  “People who think they’d have nothing in common with someone like me,” says Bozic, “and then all of a sudden, I’m reciting Emily Dickenson…”