History is Repeating Itself

For the first decade of commercial television, it was boxing - not NFL Football - that was the top sport on the tube. The Gillette Friday Night Fights were a staple of the small tube on NBC, as were the Pabst Blue Ribbon Wednesday Night Fights on CBS. THe Dumont Network ran regular cards from the St. Nicholas Arena and even the upstart ABC had the Muriel Cigar Fights on Saturday Nights.

Then came the deaths of Benny Kid Paret and Bobby Moore on TV and the outcry saw boxing reduced to an afterthought on television while profootball saw the NFL, then the AFL, rise dramatically in popularity. Todayu we have Fox, CBS, and NBC dividing the broadcast network pie with ESPN and the NFL Network complmenting with cable coverage. Boxing? Forget about it.

Now comes the brutality charges for the NFL, heightened by the Junior Seau suicide. The NFL is facing the same crossroads that boxing faced....will they do a better job of managing the outcome? Students of history are taking keen notice!

BOXING REVIVAL IN LAS VEGAS TO INCLUDE NEW CLUB VENUE

Ever since the 1960's, Las Vegas has been considered the capital of boxing in the USA. From the great pro championships at the old Convention Center, and then the outdoor arena at Caesars Palace to the legendary club fights at the Silver Slipper to the outstanding amateur programs that gravitated to Vegas, the sports was ubiquitous in Sin City.

Now, of course, the unconscionable conflict of letting the Barry Boxing group be both promoter and regulator has all but killed off amateur boxing here while the costs of running a club fight have seen the regular pro boxing card literaly disappear. There are hundreds of quality boxers still in Las Vegas, but nowadays they spend their time punching bags and hoping for SOMETHING good to happen for the sport.

Now that seems to be taking shape. Right on the shadows of the Las Vegas strip, plans are being finalized for a small Silver Slipper style boxing club. The building is up, and the finishing touches begin shortly. By the fall, Las Vegas again will have an intimate club boxing venue here the fine fighters trainintg here can again be showcased.

FORMER BOXING ILLUSTRATED OWNER AND EDITOR BERT SUGAR HAS DIED

Legendary boxing personaliy and historian Bert Sugar has passed away from lung cancer and a heart attack. He was 74 years old.

Bert Sugar was perhaps the best known boxing personality in the sport other than Muhammad Ali and maybe Mike Tyson. His signature fedora graced many a championship fight and many movies.

Bert once owned Boxing Illustrated from 1969-73. He later owned Ring Magazine. After his Ring Magazine stint, he returned to Boxing Illusrated as it's editor.

We are proud and honored to have had Bert Sugar as a part of this history of Boxing Illustrated.
The squared circle is a better place for his timeless contributions.

LOOK OUT....HERE COMES THE NEW MIKE TYSON.....AND IT'S A WOMAN!

Only once in a generation comes a boxer who can change the face of the sport. Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson all share that distinction. Each came along with an aura and a talent that transcended boxing and made the sport socially relevant.

Now comes the first woman to try to crash this exclusive club. Her name is Maricela Cornejo, a 5'10" , 165 lb. super middleweight. Discovered in the Hall of Famers (Freddie Roach) boxing gym Wild Card was where she fell in love with that boxing "stank". She then ran into Gil Martinez while training in Vegas and made the move from Hollywood to the boxing capital Las Vegas. She says it's been the best decision and has learned SO much from the famous Gil Martinez. He knows his craft and can explain the reason behind every punch u throw.
She has been so impressive in her first two amateur fights, both first round demolitions, that there isn't a 165 lb women in USA Boxing now willing to fight her.

Did I mention that she is also a movie star, TV star, and appears in TV ads for Chili Beer? This is a woman that looks like Ava Gardner and hits like Earnie Shavers!

Get ready, world, for Maricela Cornejo. Martinez is currently scouring the country for amateur opponents so she can work on her skills, but if not she may need to just turn pro and get the party started!

There is hope for boxing as a sport. Anyone who has experienced the Junior Golden Gloves, the Golden Gloves, or Collegiate Boxing knows that the sport still has a lot of life in it although it's top tier professional segment is being choked to death by the greed of the few promoters who keep the best of boxing relegated to the few willing to pay the PPV rates. Boxing fans need to remember that back in the 1970's the PKA Karate craze was in full bloom and many predicted that PKA Karate would replace boxing. It has now vanished. The MMA really seems to be encroaching more on the 'pro rasslin' crowds than the boxing crowd. The MMA is not killing boxing, it's just giving pro wrestlijng a legitimate alterative. Pro boxing is suffering from the lack of new blood in the top of the sport, and it needs some help right now. Those enamored with the success of the NFL need only to look back on the first decade of television, when there were Wednesday Night Fights on CBS, Friday Night Fights on NBC, and Sunday Night Fights on ABC.
Viewers knew the fighters and could follow them. With today's miniscule ratings on broadcast TV, the heretofore modest numbers pulled by the NFL on NBC on Sunday nights make it a staple of all TV viewing. It's high time that somebody come to the forefront in the boxing world and reintroduce the sweet science to a national TV audience. Done properly, it would be blockbuster ratings and would provide the sport with the ability to have the general sports fan enjoy top boxing and learn the fighters and the fight game.

BOXING ILLUSTRATED ANNOUNCES HOME VIDEO LABEL

Boxing Illustrated will now offer all of the fights on its IPTV channel Boxing Illustrated.Net, on DVD! You can find these DVDs at the Shop TV4U.Com store under the Reach Entertainment Sporting Goods E Store. What a great collection of fights, and most of them from the glory days of the Boxing Illustrated magazine. Enjoy!

We are saddened today by the loss of Bill Nimmo, the original 'Bill the Bartender' from the iconic Pabst Blue Ribbon fights seen on CBS back in the 1950's. Bill began his career in Cincinnati and eventally became an announcer for Jackie Gleason and even a game show host in addition to his duties peddling Pabst Blue Ribbon beer on Wednesday nights on CBS. You can still enjoy Bill on the Pabst replays seen on TVS Sports.Com and TVS Boxing.Net. Farewell, old friend. We'll keep your memory alive by continuing to call this blog 'Bill the Bartender'.

BILL THE BARTENDER IS BACK!

Hey boxing fans.....remember when ol' Bill the Bartender would pour you a cold Pabst Blue Ribbon during the CBS Wednesday Night Fights with Jack Drees? Well those fights are back on TVS Boxing.Net and I'm back right here in the legendary Boxing Illustrated magazine. There's a lot of great boxing on TVS Boxing.Net.....Ali, Liston, Quarry, Foreman, Basilio, Aragon, Marciano, Pep, Patterson, Walcott, Charles, Tyson, Robinson, Louis, and so many more champions. We have new fights too...and even top amateur fights like new college fights and the Golden Gloves!
And I'll be here to keep you up to date with boxing news and information, plus some great boxing stories. What is boxing, really, without those great stories? In the old days you could only join me, Bill the Bartender, on Wednesday nights. That's all changed now with the internet. Now you can see me 24/7 on TVS Boxing.Net and read what I have to say here at Boxing Illustrated.Net. It's nice to get reacquainted with you, or start a new relationship with a new boxing fan.

And, oh yeah.... What'll You Have?