Rafe Bartholomew
11 articles · Slate
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Sergey Kovalev Isn’t A Gangster; He’s Russian
As far as boxing ring entrances go, light-heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev keeps things simple. No Roman gladiator outfits or frilly fireman costumes ? la Hector ?Macho? Camacho. No five-minute, curtain-silhouetted dance routines…
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Has Manny Pacquiao Ruined His Legacy?
One of the perverse joys of following boxing is fooling yourself into thinking you understand its inner workings. You learn to sift through the jetsam of promotional hype, hidden agendas, half-truths, and…
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L?Affaire Pacquiao: Dissecting the Cross-Cultural Beef Between Daniel Orton and the Filipino Champ
Start with the obvious: Was Daniel Orton, formerly of the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Philadelphia 76ers, kicked out of the Philippine Basketball Association for insulting Manny Pacquiao? That?s what the…
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The Taming of Paulie Malignaggi
Does it matter that so many of the most memorable moments of the Brooklyn welterweight Paulie Malignaggi's career have been tangential to what the boxer has done in the ring? Sure, most…
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The Beatdown That Heals: Pacquiao-Rios
When welterweight contender Brandon Rios absorbs a sharp, hard punch, he smiles. Among boxers, that's not uncommon, but the delighted sneer that spreads across Rios's face after his bell gets rung is…
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The Pariah
It should have been ? no, it was ? the greatest day in Timothy Bradley's career, but it sure didn't look like it. It was June 9, 2012, inside a rowdier-than-usual media…
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Donaire’s Opponents Quickly Go From Fighting to Surviving
It's unclear whether Nonito Donaire's opponents enter the ring afraid of the 122-pound super bantamweight champion's power, or if they realize sometime early in the first round that they've bitten off more…
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Pacquiao-Bradley: What Just Happened?
W hen Michael Buffer read the scorecards Saturday night in boxing's worst robbery in a major fight since Pernell Whitaker and Julio Cesar Chavez fought to a "draw" in 1993, I was…
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Manny Pacquiao’s Many Prizes
W hat the hell is Manny doing now? For anyone who has followed Manny Pacquiao's career ? especially since 2008, when he has won title fights in five different weight classes and…
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Thrilla in Manila<br>Manny Pacquiao just won a seat in the Phillipine congress. But will he be KO’d by corruption?
According to early news reports, world-champion boxer Manny Pacquiao looks like a shoo-in to win a congressional seat in his native Philippines. Back in December, Rafe Bartholomew wrote that the fighter's fans…
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Don’t Vote Pacquiao 2010
Last week, boxer Manny Pacquiao donned red spandex for an upcoming superhero flick, filed candidacy papers for next year's congressional elections in the Philippines, and agreed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in…
