Carlos Acevedo
262 articles · Mvn.com
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A History of the Pretty Boy: From Tony Janiro to Ryan Garcia
In Raging Bull, Jake LaMotta (as played, in ferocious Method mode, by Robert De Niro) discusses plans for his next opponent, the handsome welterweight Tony Janiro: “I’m gonna open his hole like…
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Power Surge: Gervonta Davis and That Elusive Star Quality
There were two explosions when Gervonta “Tank” Davis mollywhopped Leo Santa Cruz on Halloween night at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. First, there was the booming sound of a supersonic left…
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Rat Bastards: Roberto Medina
Like the raw and lawless frontier territories of Oklahoma or the Far West in the nineteenth century, boxing has often functioned as an open city, of sorts, for those with checkered pasts…
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A Dry Season: The Last Comeback of Joe Frazier
Somehow, they found themselves connected yet again. Years after the Thrilla in Manila, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali mounted quixotic, perhaps dangerous, comebacks eight days apart, and they hinted at renewing their…
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Rat Bastards: Thomas (Tommy Ryan) Eboli
Before he became just another chalk outline on the cratered streets of 1970s New York City, Thomas Eboli (aka Tommy Ryan) was part of the shady and shadowy boxing fraternity. As a…
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Rat Bastards: Jack Kearns
This is the first installment in Carlos Acevedo’s Rat Bastards series, which takes a look at the fight game’s greatest miscreants. *** “Hell, winning was the big thing. I never could stand…
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Shoot the Moon: The Title Reign of Larry Holmes Part VIII (Muhammad Ali)
October 2, 1980 He is having trouble sleeping. The long, long nights bleed away. From time to time this former chatterbox slurs his words. Occasionally, one of his fingers twitches uncontrollably. He…
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All That Terrible Blood: Bobby Chacon, Bazooka Limon, Atonement
“There she was, that little cutie. All that terrible blood. The blood just ran off. She looked pretty. I loved her so long—I only had love for her. I always loved her,…
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Without Stopping: Aaron Pryor, Champion at Last
By March 1980, not even Muhammad Ali could escape the wrath of “The Hawk.” Aaron Pryor, then an undefeated lightweight contender who inspired the sporting equivalent of Avoidant Personality Disorder across an…
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Shoot the Moon: The Title Reign of Larry Holmes Part VII, Scott LeDoux
This is the seventh installment in Carlos Acevedo’s Shoot The Moon series covering the career of Larry Holmes. *** July 7, 1980 For the good old American life: For the money, for…
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Double Impact: Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury II Preview
After more than a year of infomercials, mismatches, network cloak-and-dagger, promotional shell games, and the kind of 24-7 hype that makes “Hell is other people” (Sartre) a cyberspace specialty, the rematch between…
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Standoff: The Story of Jose Stable, from Contender to Inmate
It was not revenge—not exactly—that motivated Jose Stable during his long march toward Emile Griffith and a shot at the welterweight championship of the world. Stable had been friends with ill-starred Benny…
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Sand and Fog: Anthony Joshua Avenges his Loss to Andy Ruiz, Jr.
It was over, more or less, at the weigh-in. When Andy Ruiz Jr. scaled 283 pounds the day before his scheduled rematch with Anthony Joshua, he did so resembling a tipsy tourist…
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What Some Might Call Desire: Regis Prograis-Josh Taylor Preview
When Josh Taylor and Regis ?Rougarou? Prograis signed contracts in 2018 binding them to the World Boxing Super Series, they assured themselves of one thing: danger. The wallflowers, morning glories, and small…
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Grand Illusions: Errol Spence, Jr.‒Shawn Porter Preview
Just two and a half years ago, the PBC pettifogging machine announced a welterweight tournament, of sorts, that promised to bring some elusive clarity to one of the most talent-rich divisions in…
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Shoot the Moon: The Title Reign of Larry Holmes Part VI, Leroy Jones
March 31, 1980 ?Never being happy isn?t the same as being unhappy. Is it??? Montgomery McNeil, Fame In the weeks leading up to his title defense against Leroy Jones at Caesars Palace…
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24-7 Fantastamatic: A Bloody Tyson Fury Defeats Otto Wallin
When Otto Wallin was born, in 1990, professional boxing was still outlawed in Sweden, a country that turned its back on blood sports barely a decade after producing a national hero in…
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Desert Devils: Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua Meet in Saudi Arabia
It is no easy task for boxing to set off a firestorm during the dog days of summer, but Eddie Hearn, head of Matchroom, managed this improbable feat when he held a…
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Shoot the Moon: The Title Reign of Larry Holmes Part V, Lorenzo Zanon
This is the fifth installment in Carlos Acevedo?s Shoot The Moon series covering the career of Larry Holmes. *** February 3, 1980 Seems no one?s talking ?bout those crazy days gone past,…
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Situation Normal: On Anthony Joshua?Andy Ruiz Jr.
More than thirty years have passed since the last heyday of the jiggly heavyweight. In the 1980s, when boxing mirrored the ?Greed is Good? era with dollar bills wafting in the air…