BoxRec

Hi all, I've been lurking around these parts for a few weeks now and thought it was about time I got involved.

So, who do people regard as good boxing writers? I don't particularly mean news writing, more along the lines of features, or fight write ups. Any blogs worth looking at?

Donald Macrae and Elliott Worsell are good

The names mentioned are spot on. I'll add Danny Flexen, Matt Christie, Terry Dooley, John Evans, Carlos Acevedo and Oliver Goldstein too.

A collection of my work for Boxing News is below. Thanks

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/author/chris-walker/

I write for Fight Hype. I'm Ron Scarfone. I began writing about boxing in 2006. I also worked for Boxing Insider, East Side Boxing, and the original Boxing Tribune.

Agree with all the above, I also like Eric Armit who does his exhaustive weekly round-ups on Boxeo Mundial (how does he get to see all these obscure fights!?)

O.F Snelling and Gilbert Odd were the masters of British boxing journalism. Not around with us sadly.

Jonathan Rendall.....sadly no more as JR lived hard, but a superb broadsheet journalist and writer.
He did not even report fights that well...missed deadlines by all accounts and was not that technical....but he profiled characters superbly.

Hit the Google button and it should bring up some of the stuff he did for The Independent and others.

Very few left these days. I think a lot of it is due to general standards of writing going down, along with the ease of getting your words out there due to the Internet.

Even boxing news reads like the copy of an enthusiastic 17 year old who needs to learn his craft, mixed with a tabloid sensationalist.

The aforementioned Rendall (RIP) is missed. Macrae is good, I really enjoyed Ben Dirs' book on Eubank Benn. Hugh McIlvanney is good (does he still write?)

Boxing is going through a popular stage, however apart from the simpletons Jeff Powell and Colin Hart, there seem to be no more dedicated boxing journalists in the press. And they won't be replaced when they retire / die. Gareth Davies seems to lack knowledge. Tris Dixon is an insult to the English language, although I did enjoy one of his books (badly written though it was and expressed in the first person.)

I liked Dominic Calder Smith's books although he seems to have disappeared..... probably worn down by the politics of boxing and a lack of big fights....

samwbr wrote:Donald Macrae and Elliott Worsell are good

Agreed, does macrae still write monthly articles in boxing news ?.

afcpaul wrote:

samwbr wrote:Donald Macrae and Elliott Worsell are good

Agreed, does macrae still write monthly articles in boxing news ?.

no he hasnt done one for ages, flexen took over (probably cost cutting) and they were really good but he ballsed up a few (one about mitchell smith springs to mind) then disappeared. i enjoy steve lillis pieces in boxing monthly

veriton wrote:

afcpaul wrote:

samwbr wrote:Donald Macrae and Elliott Worsell are good

Agreed, does macrae still write monthly articles in boxing news ?.

no he hasnt done one for ages, flexen took over (probably cost cutting) and they were really good but he ballsed up a few (one about mitchell smith springs to mind) then disappeared. i enjoy steve lillis pieces in boxing monthly

Danny Flexen moved to another job for the publishing group I think. He's written a good piece on Liam Walsh just recently.

boxingknockout wrote:Very few left these days. I think a lot of it is due to general standards of writing going down, along with the ease of getting your words out there due to the Internet.

Even boxing news reads like the copy of an enthusiastic 17 year old who needs to learn his craft, mixed with a tabloid sensationalist.

The aforementioned Rendall (RIP) is missed. Macrae is good, I really enjoyed Ben Dirs' book on Eubank Benn. Hugh McIlvanney is good (does he still write?)

Boxing is going through a popular stage, however apart from the simpletons Jeff Powell and Colin Hart, there seem to be no more dedicated boxing journalists in the press. And they won't be replaced when they retire / die. Gareth Davies seems to lack knowledge. Tris Dixon is an insult to the English language, although I did enjoy one of his books (badly written though it was and expressed in the first person.)

I liked Dominic Calder Smith's books although he seems to have disappeared..... probably worn down by the politics of boxing and a lack of big fights....

Tris' Road to Nowhere is a great book.

I've enjoyed reading Brin-Jonathan Butler's work.

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, there's a fair few I'll need to check out.

I'm studying journalism myself and boxing writing is something I've thought about, probably a pipe dream though. Writers do seem to be more like robo-journalists these days; write, film, design, publish; I guess it's just the way it is now. Quantity over quality is the new rule. Whatever happened to cigarettes, whiskey, and a typewriter!?

boxingknockout wrote:Very few left these days. I think a lot of it is due to general standards of writing going down, along with the ease of getting your words out there due to the Internet.

Even boxing news reads like the copy of an enthusiastic 17 year old who needs to learn his craft, mixed with a tabloid sensationalist.

The aforementioned Rendall (RIP) is missed. Macrae is good, I really enjoyed Ben Dirs' book on Eubank Benn. Hugh McIlvanney is good (does he still write?)

Boxing is going through a popular stage, however apart from the simpletons Jeff Powell and Colin Hart, there seem to be no more dedicated boxing journalists in the press. And they won't be replaced when they retire / die. Gareth Davies seems to lack knowledge. Tris Dixon is an insult to the English language, although I did enjoy one of his books (badly written though it was and expressed in the first person.)

I liked Dominic Calder Smith's books although he seems to have disappeared..... probably worn down by the politics of boxing and a lack of big fights....

So true, mainly enthusiastic amateurs these days, thanks to the internet: the quality of boxing news has gone through the floor.

MacRae is excellent, but he's a part time boxing writer who mainly does occasional profiles for the Guardian. ( try his book Dark Trade )

Graham Houston is still King, a hell of a writer, but truth be told, he's no great editor; it's not one of his strengths, and the quality of boxing monthly has markedly slipped since the sad passing of Glynn - I stopped buying it for first time in 27 years ( !! )

And when I very mildly criticised the content on twitter ( no preview of Frampton/Delacruz 1 - WTF?! ) I was promptly blocked but saying that, it's almost worth buying just for Grahams previews...but the rest,of it, not so much..

For me Bob Mee is the top man, also I believe Bennie, who only occasionally posts here now, is one of the Connolly brothers who used to write for the boxing news and his input here is missed.

Donald Mcraes book on Emile Griffith is the best boxing book I've read.

Online I like Terry Dooley. Always has a good sense of humour in his articles.

Magazine- Matt Christie. Even though he's editor any section he's wrote is usually the best bits of the week.

Michael1988 wrote:Thanks for all the suggestions guys, there's a fair few I'll need to check out.

I'm studying journalism myself and boxing writing is something I've thought about, probably a pipe dream though. Writers do seem to be more like robo-journalists these days; write, film, design, publish; I guess it's just the way it is now. Quantity over quality is the new rule. Whatever happened to cigarettes, whiskey, and a typewriter!?

Wrong trade to go into mate. The thirst for stories online has diluted the quality wanted. If you faff about checking sources and producing accurate in-depth copy on anything current, you will miss the boat with lesser researched pieces all being churned out hours earlier and by the time you publish, everyone has moved on past the story and will not give a rats ass about your piece.

Do people care about seeking trusted sources for news stories? Not really, not enough people anyway. And it is all about clickbait. Rather than going out and finding a decent story and putting it together with some fact checking behind it, you will be required to sit in a cubicle and will be given a few shitty stories subjects to write about then you need to come up with a sensational headline to get the clicks and direct traffic to online so that those above can sell advertising based on bullshite click figures.

Such a shame but it is the modern world. Journalism in the sense of news reporting as it was has died as an art. However I believe there remains a road towards feature writing and producing cracking pieces on a subject matter.

MightyWarrior wrote:

boxingknockout wrote:Very few left these days. I think a lot of it is due to general standards of writing going down, along with the ease of getting your words out there due to the Internet.

Even boxing news reads like the copy of an enthusiastic 17 year old who needs to learn his craft, mixed with a tabloid sensationalist.

The aforementioned Rendall (RIP) is missed. Macrae is good, I really enjoyed Ben Dirs' book on Eubank Benn. Hugh McIlvanney is good (does he still write?)

Boxing is going through a popular stage, however apart from the simpletons Jeff Powell and Colin Hart, there seem to be no more dedicated boxing journalists in the press. And they won't be replaced when they retire / die. Gareth Davies seems to lack knowledge. Tris Dixon is an insult to the English language, although I did enjoy one of his books (badly written though it was and expressed in the first person.)

I liked Dominic Calder Smith's books although he seems to have disappeared..... probably worn down by the politics of boxing and a lack of big fights....

So true, mainly enthusiastic amateurs these days, thanks to the internet: the quality of boxing news has gone through the floor.

MacRae is excellent, but he's a part time boxing writer who mainly does occasional profiles for the Guardian. ( try his book Dark Trade )

Graham Houston is still King, a hell of a writer, but truth be told, he's no great editor; it's not one of his strengths, and the quality of boxing monthly has markedly slipped since the sad passing of Glynn - I stopped buying it for first time in 27 years ( !! )

And when I very mildly criticised the content on twitter ( no preview of Frampton/Delacruz 1 - WTF?! ) I was promptly blocked but saying that, it's almost worth buying just for Grahams previews...but the rest,of it, not so much..

good point about Houston, but then glyn was an impossible act to follow. I still subscribe to BM but it's not the same, Houston's column is far too dry for me and often isn't relevant to the big issues of the day. used to read glyn's piece first, now we may get some biog of a 1920s journeyman as the main comment piece!!! bunce should be elevated to the main bit and Houston should stick to the hardcore history in feature pieces in my opinion. but its still value for money and if you're a serious fight fan you should support it. if it went under it would be a huge shame.

veriton wrote:

afcpaul wrote:

samwbr wrote:Donald Macrae and Elliott Worsell are good

Agreed, does macrae still write monthly articles in boxing news ?.

no he hasnt done one for ages, flexen took over (probably cost cutting) and they were really good but he ballsed up a few (one about mitchell smith springs to mind) then disappeared. i enjoy steve lillis pieces in boxing monthly

Now I've 'reappeared' how was Smith ballsed up? Because he lost?

RScarf1 wrote:I write for Fight Hype. I'm Ron Scarfone. I began writing about boxing in 2006. I also worked for Boxing Insider, East Side Boxing, and the original Boxing Tribune.

That was a cool site. I used to enjoy their podcast with the two hosts.

'Y'all must have forgot!'

Can't blame you, to be fair :-)

armageto wrote:

RScarf1 wrote:I write for Fight Hype. I'm Ron Scarfone. I began writing about boxing in 2006. I also worked for Boxing Insider, East Side Boxing, and the original Boxing Tribune.

That was a cool site. I used to enjoy their podcast with the two hosts.

I created the name for the podcast: The 1-2 Punch. The two hosts were Matt Yanofsky and Thomas Marriott. I was the voice at the beginning which announced them like two boxers before a fight. I also created the title Mythical Matchups for that series of articles. After Boxing Tribune ended, another website used that title and now Ring Magazine also uses it. I should have trademarked it. I was the editor-in-chief and the website went to s**t after I left because of all the spelling and grammatical errors that were not being corrected. That's the truth. A few months later, the owner of the website sold it to 15 Rounds.

RScarf1 wrote:

armageto wrote:

RScarf1 wrote:I write for Fight Hype. I'm Ron Scarfone. I began writing about boxing in 2006. I also worked for Boxing Insider, East Side Boxing, and the original Boxing Tribune.

That was a cool site. I used to enjoy their podcast with the two hosts.

I created the name for the podcast: The 1-2 Punch. The two hosts were Matt Yanofsky and Thomas Marriott. I was the voice at the beginning which announced them like two boxers before a fight. I also created the title Mythical Matchups for that series of articles. After Boxing Tribune ended, another website used that title and now Ring Magazine also uses it. I should have trademarked it. I was the editor-in-chief and the website went to s**t after I left because of all the spelling and grammatical errors that were not being corrected. That's the truth. A few months later, the owner of the website sold it to 15 Rounds.

Too bad it went downhill, I liked the look and most of the articles. They seemed more "outside the box" from normal site articles. Do you know what became of the two hosts? Do they do any podcasts, or anything to do with the sport? What did you think of the podcast?

armageto wrote:

RScarf1 wrote:

armageto wrote:
That was a cool site. I used to enjoy their podcast with the two hosts.

I created the name for the podcast: The 1-2 Punch. The two hosts were Matt Yanofsky and Thomas Marriott. I was the voice at the beginning which announced them like two boxers before a fight. I also created the title Mythical Matchups for that series of articles. After Boxing Tribune ended, another website used that title and now Ring Magazine also uses it. I should have trademarked it. I was the editor-in-chief and the website went to s**t after I left because of all the spelling and grammatical errors that were not being corrected. That's the truth. A few months later, the owner of the website sold it to 15 Rounds.

Too bad it went downhill, I liked the look and most of the articles. They seemed more "outside the box" from normal site articles. Do you know what became of the two hosts? Do they do any podcasts, or anything to do with the sport? What did you think of the podcast?

It went downhill because the writers were not improving and I was spending about 20 hours a week editing. I sent the writers a list of the common errors I noticed so that they would not repeat those mistakes, but they did not care because they were not getting paid, but neither was I. I did it for the love of boxing, but it was taking too much time to edit. I did not get any money from the sale of the website even though I put a lot of time and effort into it with editing and my own writing and videos. Anson Wainwright was with Boxing Tribune and he went on to work for Max Boxing and now Ring Magazine. He's from the United Kingdom. He gets interviews with a lot of world-class boxers. I don't know how he got all those contacts. I get good interviews too, but they are mostly boxers in Florida which is okay because this state has a lot of good boxers training here. The podcast was good. I listened to it. I was going to be the substitute for one of the hosts one week, but we were having technical difficulties. I don't know what Thomas Marriott is doing, but Matt Yanofsky seems to be successful as a boxing manager. He's even on BoxRec: http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Matt_Yanofsky