New Boxing Monthly Dec 2011

[MightyWarrior]

Just arrived & looks excellent. Nice cover, I prefer shots like that, rather than closeups of bloody torn up faces, which BN tends to go for (which makes you possibly look like a psycho to other passengers on the train ).

Just read Terry's very good article on Kenny Anderson - I'd have been interested to hear a few more details about his bizzare arrest, for what I think was a hammer attack ( not mentioned ) but can understand why you didn't want to press him on it !

Nice to see 5 pages given over to Smokin' Joe. Pleased to see Mike Marley in there, an excellent writer who's been around forever, and Eric Raskin is one of the best new writers out there ( how about getting Tom Gerbasi, he's possibly the best out there now - his piece on his own single boxing fight is brilliant, he lost in a round ) Can Mike Katz ever be tempted back ?

Articles by Jessica Sinyard & Declan Warrington, think I recognise those names ?

[T.M.K]

Hi gents,

all-in-all I think the December BM is a belter, just one of those issues which really "works" for me and stands-out as such.



"T.M.K"/Col

[-KOKid-]

Eric Raskin is one of the best new writers out there

Raskin was a writer for The Ring from 1997 and up until quite recently.
He has also done work HBO, ESPN and The Sweet Science for the last coulpe of years.

As for the December edition of Boxing Monthly, I got mine yesterday and spent most of last night reading it.
The article on Russian boxing was excellent - you won't find a report like that on the web.

I also enjoyed Glyn's editorial on the current boom of boxing on British TV.
Good work, Team BM!

[Jeff Thomas]

Loved the pictures. We're lucky to have boxing news and boxing monthly. The best boxing mags in the world.

[gasman]

Eric Raskin is one of the best new writers out there

Raskin was a writer for The Ring from 1997 and up until quite recently.
He has also done work HBO, ESPN and The Sweet Science for the last coulpe of years.

As for the December edition of Boxing Monthly, I got mine yesterday and spent most of last night reading it.
The article on Russian boxing was excellent - you won't find a report like that on the web.

I also enjoyed Glyn's editorial on the current boom of boxing on British TV.
Good work, Team BM!

I didnt want to say anything!

[MightyWarrior]

Ah ok, new compared to Marley & Katz then

I stopped reading Ring about 20 years ago, but used to read Raskin on Maxboxing - he fell out with Steve Kim, and Ring before that I think.

[Glyn Leach]

Ah ok, new compared to Marley & Katz then

I stopped reading Ring about 20 years ago, but used to read Raskin on Maxboxing - he fell out with Steve Kim, and Ring before that I think.

Eric got the boot along with Nigel Collins a few months back when GBP wanted yes men. He is absolutely gutted about what has happened to Ring since, he'd put years and years of work into it. Collins is said to be particularly distraught as the much vaunted ratings policy was his, apparently, and now there is a fear it will go to the dogs through even further GBP bias. For instance, when Dawson got that weird win over Hopkins, Ring kept Hopkins as champ — that wouldn't have happened with Collins at the helm, he ran things purely on the strength of results, which was the perceived strength of the Ring ratings and belts. A fact was a fact, an opinion meant nothing.

Anyway Eric's writing for BM now, he's a good writer, nice fella and he seems comfortable with us given that this has been a very traumatic period for him. I'm not close to Collins nor would I call myself a fan, but I do feel very sorry for him, it was his life, and I hope he will be ok.

[MightyWarrior]

Ah ok, new compared to Marley & Katz then

I stopped reading Ring about 20 years ago, but used to read Raskin on Maxboxing - he fell out with Steve Kim, and Ring before that I think.

Eric got the boot along with Nigel Collins a few months back when GBP wanted yes men. He is absolutely gutted about what has happened to Ring since, he'd put years and years of work into it. Collins is said to be particularly distraught as the much vaunted ratings policy was his, apparently, and now there is a fear it will go to the dogs through even further GBP bias. For instance, when Dawson got that weird win over Hopkins, Ring kept Hopkins as champ — that wouldn't have happened with Collins at the helm, he ran things purely on the strength of results, which was the perceived strength of the Ring ratings and belts. A fact was a fact, an opinion meant nothing.

Anyway Eric's writing for BM now, he's a good writer, nice fella and he seems comfortable with us given that this has been a very traumatic period for him. I'm not close to Collins nor would I call myself a fan, but I do feel very sorry for him, it was his life, and I hope he will be ok.

That's bad news all round with The Ring - such blatant crap from golden boy about not bringin any bias to it when they took it over.
Shame about Nigel Collins, he's been around forever, I met him once around 30 years ago at their NY office.
I think another good writer also got the boot, William Dettloff.

[Glyn Leach]

I'd just like to echo the general sentiments. I had a good 20-25mins read in Smiths earlier and decided it was almost good enough to buy.

Ballbag

[Glyn Leach]

That's bad news all round with The Ring - such blatant crap from golden boy about not bringin any bias to it when they took it over.
Shame about Nigel Collins, he's been around forever, I met him once around 30 years ago at their NY office.
I think another good writer also got the boot, William Dettloff.

In all honesty I have no idea who the people producing it now are, but I know from what Eric has told me that believed the pressure to be pro GBP was growing and growing to the point of being almost untenable and that in his opinion the new regime have buckled under - which, essentially, is what he believes they were employed to do. (I'm not revealing any confidences here, this is all stuff that Eric has written elsewhere.)

[gasman]

I'd just like to echo the general sentiments. I had a good 20-25mins read in Smiths earlier and decided it was almost good enough to buy.

I do a similar thing with Boxing News when I am in Tesco, but it is usually a five minute job.

[-KOKid-]

Ah ok, new compared to Marley & Katz then

I stopped reading Ring about 20 years ago, but used to read Raskin on Maxboxing - he fell out with Steve Kim, and Ring before that I think.

The Ring has gone downhill fast recently.
The new format and layout reminds me of how Boxing Digest did towards the end of it's run, which should be a warning sign.
I like round card girls too, but devoting thee whole pages to one per issue is a complete waste of space in a boxing mag imo, and does nothing to boost sales.

As a news source it has almost zero value, and the articles do not offer anything that can't be found elsewhere (as BM frequently does).
They sitll have some good writers, but they are not getting the most out of them.

Their website has also fallen off a great deal in terms of quality and credibility.
As for Golden Boy influence, look no further than the aforementiond Hopkins-Dawson situation, or the recent list they published consisting of boxing writers who had Marquez beating Pacquiao.
The list was compiled by The Ring and Golden Boy's publicist, Bill Caplan!
And guess what - the two Ring writers that did not have Marquez winning the were not included in the list.
How is that for no GBP influence?

[n1ebf]

Hi gents,

all-in-all I think the December BM is a belter, just one of those issues which really "works" for me and stands-out as such.



"T.M.K"/Col

mines on the dining room table in a Smith's bag I ain't opened the cover yet! I've got copies of BM & BN all over the house in piles and now and then I think I need to sort myself out and get shot but I just put them out the way somewhere.
The stories , the writing, the fighters - it's something that even when they've retired it's never really "out of date" if u ask me.
I bought it today because I know there'll be stuff in there that is educative, informative and just too good to miss.
Sometimes I think I buy the BN too much, specially when it's got Tyson's big posing mug on the front or worse - David Haye
but I just read the piece on Tyson Fury this morning and I have to say it's very entertaining. Reminds me of when the press would sit in front of Ali and say.. "there ar no questions - just talk!" and off he'd go.
There - a similarity between Ali and Tyson Fury
I'd love to see him go for a job interview...just a plain normal job and watch him waffle the fck on it would be too funny.

[steve689]

Do people actually still buy the The Ring magazine??

[-KOKid-]

Do people actually still buy the The Ring magazine??

I've been a subscriber for years, but I'm not so sure I will be re-newing it once it runs out.
If I do, the main reason is probably because I already have 83 complete years of The Ring in my collection and have always had a goal to have the complete run, which would be cool as there are only 13 collectors in the world who have complete sets of The Ring.

But in terms of reading enjoyment, it's a far cry from what it once was - and looks to be going further south in a hurry.

[MightyWarrior]

Do people actually still buy the The Ring magazine??

I've been a subscriber for years, but I'm not so sure I will be re-newing it once it runs out.
If I do, the main reason is probably because I already have 83 complete years of The Ring in my collection and have always had a goal to have the complete run, which would be cool as there are only 13 collectors in the world who have complete sets of The Ring.
.

Really ? 83 years, that's amazing. How about issue # 1 ? I've got loads in the garage, fairly random, and nothing like a complete year pre 1980's. I started buying them religiously after the Tommy Hearns front cover, with the machine gun. Bert Sugar brought out some issues with brilliant covers in the 80's....Sanchez, Arguello, Matt Saad, Pryor, Holmes - what an era that was.
Stopped buying Ring probably about the same time as Boxing Monthly debuted, with the Tyson cover.

[-KOKid-]

Do people actually still buy the The Ring magazine??

I've been a subscriber for years, but I'm not so sure I will be re-newing it once it runs out.
If I do, the main reason is probably because I already have 83 complete years of The Ring in my collection and have always had a goal to have the complete run, which would be cool as there are only 13 collectors in the world who have complete sets of The Ring.
.

Really ? 83 years, that's amazing. How about issue # 1 ? I've got loads in the garage, fairly random, and nothing like a complete year pre 1980's. I started buying them religiously after the Tommy Hearns front cover, with the machine gun. Bert Sugar brought out some issues with brilliant covers in the 80's....Sanchez, Arguello, Matt Saad, Pryor, Holmes - what an era that was.
Stopped buying Ring probably about the same time as Boxing Monthly debuted, with the Tyson cover.

83 complete years, yes - everything from 1928 thru 2011.
I do have some single issues from the 1922-27 period as well.

I only have the very first edition of The Ring in reprint, which I believe was released for their 75th aniversary.
I do, however, have original edtions of the first issues of Boxing News - all in very good condition.
In total I have more than 50 complete years of Boxing news, including several years of the 1910s.

Anyone remember Boxing Outlook?
They started up around the same time as Boxing Monthly, but only lasted a couple of years.

[orbtastic]

I bought BM, BN annual and BN yesterday. Kind of remembered why I'd not bothered re-subbing my BN yearly but enjoyed the annual, oddly.

[Glyn Leach]

Anyone remember Boxing Outlook?
They started up around the same time as Boxing Monthly, but only lasted a couple of years.

Major wow on that Ring collection Kid, kudos. Bit of history on Boxing Outlook FYI.

One day I went into the BM office as usual, but no one else was there. Weird, I thought. Before long it came out that Barry Hugman, who co-owned, founded, published BM with another bloke, Edward Crawshaw, had left with the BM staff to start Outlook. I was thw only one they left behind, which made me feel a bit wank, as you might imagine. BM had been going about 20 months at this stage. The reason for the split was a falling out between Hugman and Crawshaw.
It was pretty clear that the Outlook crew, some of whom I am good friends with still, thought that BM would fold and they would have a clear run. Understandably so as I was the least experienced staffer at BM and the only one left. Circumstance dictated that was not the case though. My wife had kicked me out a month or so earlier due to my dedication to the job and I was alternating between sleeping on the office floor and at a mate's. Basically I hae nothing else but BM and no way was I about to roll over and die, least of all because I was offended by their leaving me behind. So with the help of my good mate and colleague Chris Bryans, we managed to put the first post-Outlook BM together. I know that shocked the Outlook crew. Then we got Graham Houston to come over from Canada to become editor, and he stayed for six months or so before he had to return home. But bottom line we kept BM going, never missed an issue, and within a year Outlook had folded. My reponse to which was hearty laughter and a great big 'fornicate you losers!'
An aside, do you remember Boxing Monthly Update? It was a smaller version of the Monthly that was brought out in between issues of BM, lasted about 8 issues I think, up until the split.

[dondada]

Anyone remember Boxing Outlook?
They started up around the same time as Boxing Monthly, but only lasted a couple of years.

Major wow on that Ring collection Kid, kudos. Bit of history on Boxing Outlook FYI.

One day I went into the BM office as usual, but no one else was there. Weird, I thought. Before long it came out that Barry Hugman, who co-owned, founded, published BM with another bloke, Edward Crawshaw, had left with the BM staff to start Outlook. I was thw only one they left behind, which made me feel a bit wank, as you might imagine. BM had been going about 20 months at this stage. The reason for the split was a falling out between Hugman and Crawshaw.
It was pretty clear that the Outlook crew, some of whom I am good friends with still, thought that BM would fold and they would have a clear run. Understandably so as I was the least experienced staffer at BM and the only one left. Circumstance dictated that was not the case though. My wife had kicked me out a month or so earlier due to my dedication to the job and I was alternating between sleeping on the office floor and at a mate's. Basically I hae nothing else but BM and no way was I about to roll over and die, least of all because I was offended by their leaving me behind. So with the help of my good mate and colleague Chris Bryans, we managed to put the first post-Outlook BM together. I know that shocked the Outlook crew. Then we got Graham Houston to come over from Canada to become editor, and he stayed for six months or so before he had to return home. But bottom line we kept BM going, never missed an issue, and within a year Outlook had folded. My reponse to which was hearty laughter and a great big 'eff you losers!'
An aside, do you remember Boxing Monthly Update? It was a smaller version of the Monthly that was brought out in between issues of BM, lasted about 8 issues I think, up until the split.

[NazNaci1]

Might take a look and pick up a copy.

[-KOKid-]

That's an interesting story, Glyn.
I'm glad to hear you came out on top

Also, it's another example how competitive things can get behind the scenes in boxing journalism.
I've heard countless stories of fierce competition, jealousy, disputes, back stabbing, broken fiendships and even actual fights between boxing writers.

What would be cool was if BM did a "history of BM" article sometime.
It's been around enough years for it to have it's own history and has played a significant part of boxing journalism, certainly in the UK.
It's also story that no other mag can tell.

As for Boxing Monthly Update, I can't say for sure if I remember it.
I do remember something called Boxing Weekly from around the same - how many boxing mags were there in the UK in the early 1990s anyway?

By the way, the first BM issue I got was the May 1997 edition, I think Robin Reid was on the cover.
I had in fact never heard of BM until then, they didn't sell it where I lived (Norway).
I don't think I've missed an issue since then though, and don't plan on doing it either

[MightyWarrior]

That's an interesting story to hear Glyn, I often wondered how the transistion came about. I worked there for 6 months or so before you came on board ( I thought Graham Houston was talked into coming on board earlier, as I recall Harry Mullan falling out with him over at Boxing News as a result ) but whatever, you getting GH over as editor would have meant game over for the opposition.
Crawshaw was my boss, he didn't have a clue about boxing, but knew enough to fire me as advertising manager, as I was useless at it ( boxing is a nightmare to sell to advertisers - I was fired over a full page Sky ad pulling out at last minute, while I was on holiday ) and I worked alongside the Connolly brothers, Steve and Tony, ex Boxing News men and great to work with, plus George Zelaney, who I think edited outlook (?) and good old Barry Hugman.

[Glyn Leach]

As for Boxing Monthly Update, I can't say for sure if I remember it.
I do remember something called Boxing Weekly from around the same - how many boxing mags were there in the UK in the early 1990s anyway?

By the way, the first BM issue I got was the May 1997 edition, I think Robin Reid was on the cover.
I had in fact never heard of BM until then, they didn't sell it where I lived (Norway).
I don't think I've missed an issue since then though, and don't plan on doing it either

Boxing Weekly was launched off the back of BM by the same people, that was where I got my break into boxing journalism. Wasn't very good but it was in colour, a rarity in those days, and tabloid. Lasted about a year, lost a load of money, and then when it folded they kept me on to work on the Monthly and the Update.

[gasman]

Anyone remember Boxing Outlook?
They started up around the same time as Boxing Monthly, but only lasted a couple of years.

Major wow on that Ring collection Kid, kudos. Bit of history on Boxing Outlook FYI.

One day I went into the BM office as usual, but no one else was there. Weird, I thought. Before long it came out that Barry Hugman, who co-owned, founded, published BM with another bloke, Edward Crawshaw, had left with the BM staff to start Outlook. I was thw only one they left behind, which made me feel a bit wank, as you might imagine. BM had been going about 20 months at this stage. The reason for the split was a falling out between Hugman and Crawshaw.
It was pretty clear that the Outlook crew, some of whom I am good friends with still, thought that BM would fold and they would have a clear run. Understandably so as I was the least experienced staffer at BM and the only one left. Circumstance dictated that was not the case though. My wife had kicked me out a month or so earlier due to my dedication to the job and I was alternating between sleeping on the office floor and at a mate's. Basically I hae nothing else but BM and no way was I about to roll over and die, least of all because I was offended by their leaving me behind. So with the help of my good mate and colleague Chris Bryans, we managed to put the first post-Outlook BM together. I know that shocked the Outlook crew. Then we got Graham Houston to come over from Canada to become editor, and he stayed for six months or so before he had to return home. But bottom line we kept BM going, never missed an issue, and within a year Outlook had folded. My reponse to which was hearty laughter and a great big 'eff you losers!'
An aside, do you remember Boxing Monthly Update? It was a smaller version of the Monthly that was brought out in between issues of BM, lasted about 8 issues I think, up until the split.

Cool story, I had no idea, I assumed you started from day one yourself. But, they must be kicking themselves now.