IBR on The Cruelest Sport

“Predictability, whatever drama it may bring to life, be it the looming inevitable or the hotly anticipated, is largely unwelcome in boxing. In boxing, predictability most often manifests as bogus scorecards, gross mismatches, unfulfilled expectations, bald-faced lies—all that conspires to remind enthusiasts what little reward enthusiasm gains. But mucking around in that predictable slop is also dependability, and the dependability, in and with the right hands, helps keep boxing alive.”

Read Ritual de lo habitual: Gennady Golovkin KO2 Marco Antonio Rubio on The Cruelest Sport.

“The fight between Gennady Golovkin and Marco Antonio Rubio at the StubHub Center in Carson, California this Saturday leaves much to be desired. If we are to believe his earnest interviews, where, in improving English, he delivers soundbites that provide him seemingly as much traction among enthusiasts as his fists do—and certainly more than his opposition does—even Golovkin himself will find his next victim unsatisfying. Golovkin wants big names and big shows, but Rubio is yet another sanctioned slaughter in a year blighted by mismatches. We should be honest about that.”

Read Every Ounce the Killer: Gennady Golovkin-Marco Antonio Rubio Preview on The Cruelest Sport.

IBR on The Cruelest Sport

Brought in to sell tickets and test Golovkin’s chin, Stevens, Brooklyn, New York, held up his end of the bargain. Brooklyn was in the house, and the former “chin-checker” slugged his opponent with enough leather to confirm the frightening reality that Golovkin, perhaps boxing’s foremost giver, can take too. Unfortunately for Stevens, on this night, Golovkin was his typical generous self.

Read The Nature Of The Beast: Gennady Golovkin TKO8 Curtis Stevens on The Cruelest Sport.