By Matthew Brown 02/11/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Tiger Flowers stood at the intersection of faith, skill, and history. Born Theodore Flowers on February 14, 1895, in Georgia, he became known across the boxing world as the Georgia Deacon. From 1918 to 1927, he built one of the most remarkable careers of his era and became the first African American world middleweight champion. Flowers began his professional career at age 23 after working as a stevedore on the Geor

By Matthew Brown 02/11/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Two time WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston was one of the finest technicians of his era. Known as “Lil’ But Bad,” the Denver southpaw blended speed, balance, and ring IQ into a style that frustrated elite opponents. At both amateur and professional level, Johnston proved he belonged with the very best. Slick, clever, and precise, Stevie Johnston could box from the outside or trade in close quarters when requ

By Matthew Brown 02/10/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X He never wore a world championship belt as a fighter. Instead he forged champions with knowledge, discipline, and belief. In the long story of boxing, that legacy endures. Charles Henry Blackburn was born on May 20, 1883 in Versailles, Kentucky, the son of a minister. Known to history as Jack Blackburn and to Joe Louis as Chappie, he built a life in boxing that stretched from the bare knuckle grind of the early 190

By Matthew Brown 02/09/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Holman Williams was one of the finest pure boxers of his era, a master technician who built a reputation on skill, intelligence, and precision. Fighting from 1932 to 1948, Williams became a leading contender in the welterweight and middleweight divisions but never received the world title opportunity his talent deserved. His legacy stands as a testament to brilliance that could not be denied, even if it was too oft

By Matthew Brown 02/08/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Joe Jeanette was one of the toughest heavyweights of the early twentieth century, a relentless inside fighter whose endurance became legend. From 1904 to 1919 he faced nearly every top contender available to him and built a record of 106 wins, 20 losses, 12 draws, and 2 no contests, with 68 knockouts. Only two men ever stopped him inside the distance, once early in his career and once near the end. He was born on A

By Matthew Brown 02/07/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Harry Wills fought in many great battles, but history remembers him most for the championship opportunity he was denied. A boxing lifer once said that many powerbrokers believed Wills would have beaten World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, and that fear kept the fight from ever happening. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 15, 1889, Harry Wills, known as the Black Panther, stood as one of the most dominant he

By Matthew Brown 02/05/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Henry Hank was never a champion, never a safe bet, but most importantly, he was never boring. He lived on the thin edge between brilliance and frustration, a fighter who gave boxing everything he had, even when it gave him little back. That alone earns him remembrance and reverence. Born Joseph Harrison on February 9, 1935, in Greenville, Mississippi, Hank is regarded as one of the forgotten action stars in boxing

By Matthew Brown 02/05/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Top contender Prince Patel is calling on the UK boxing industry to end what he believes has been a long running blackballing of his career. Despite a glossy record (34-1-2, 29 KOs) filled with knockouts and accolades, Patel has remained largely ignored by major news outlets and promotional entities in his home country. In an exclusive interview with Brunch Boxing , Patel spoke candidly about where he believes thing

By Matthew Brown 12/04/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X In the annals of boxing history, especially among the lighter divisions, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson stands tall as a trailblazer, a technician, and a true champion. Johnson is  remembered not just for the belts he won, but for the standard of excellence he set every time he stepped into the ring. Born Marcellus Joseph Johnson on August 13, 1971, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson helped redefine black excellence in the sport’s

By Matthew Brown 02/03/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Sam Langford remains one of the most awe-inspiring, tragic, and misunderstood figures in boxing history. A Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1902 to 1926, Langford was once called by ESPN “The Greatest Fighter Almost Nobody Knows.” Among boxing historians, however, his reputation is far louder: many consider Sam Langford one of the greatest fighters of all time, regardless of era or weight class. His ni

By Matthew Brown 02/02/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Long before boxing was governed by gloves, commissions, and bright lights, the sport was shaped in open fields by raw courage, brutality, and survival. Among the most remarkable figures of that era was Tom Molineaux, an African American bare-knuckle boxer whose life and career challenged both opponents and the racial boundaries of the early 19th century. Born into slavery in Virginia around 1784, Molineaux was intr

By Matthew Brown 02/01/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Boxing history is filled with champions crowned and belts won, but some of the sport’s greatest figures never received the opportunities their talent demanded. Eddie Booker stands firmly among them. One of the greatest fighters of his era, a Hall of Famer in every sense, and a name that history can no longer overlook. Eddie Booker, born Hilton Edward Booker on November 5, 1917, was an African American boxer whose p

By Radhika Kumar 01/29/2026 Figure 1 Boxing has changed. But has it really been for the better? - Source: Pixabay Boxing has always been a business as much as it has been a sport. It is one of the few sports that values promoters almost as highly as the athletes themselves. The promotion of an event has always indicated how big the fight will be, even if the two people in the ring are not the highest-ranked in their weight class.   But the business of boxing has become almost

By Matthew Brown 01/21/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Credits: Janibek Alimkhanuly X Sources tell Brunch Boxing that the positive drug test for WBO and IBF Super Middleweight Champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has been confirmed following the analysis of the B sample. Alimkhanuly initially tested positive for the banned substance meldonium in the lead-up to his December 6 unification bout with WBA Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara. The fight was scheduled to co-headline

By Matthew Brown 01/19/2026 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Sources tell Brunch Boxing that former WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder is set to return to the ring against longtime heavyweight contender Derek Chisora. The bout is slated for April 2026 and will take place in the United Kingdom, with a press conference scheduled for next week in London to make the matchup official. Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) will be looking to build momentum with a second consecutive knocko

By Matthew Brown 12/23/2025 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Photo Credit: Naoki Fukuda Sources tell Brunch Boxing that former multi-weight world champion Nonito Donaire has officially petitioned all four major sanctioning bodies for an immediate title opportunity following his razor-thin loss to Seiya Tsutsumi. Donaire (43-9, 28 KOs), the Filipino boxing legend and future Hall of Famer, dropped a split decision to Tsutsumi in their hotly contested WBA Bantamweight Champion

By Matthew Brown 12/20/2025 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X The biggest fight in the history of Japanese boxing has reportedly been finalized. Sources tell Brunch Boxing that the long-anticipated mega-fight between undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue and undefeated former three-weight world champion Junto Nakatani is a “ done deal. ” The historic showdown is slated for May 3 in Tokyo, taking place during Japan’s annual Golden Week, which is the most cultural

By Matthew Brown 12/15/2025 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Ryan Garcia is reportedly fuming over the newly formed partnership between Hall of Fame trainer Joe Goossen and his February 21 opponent, Mario Barrios. The development that has reopened one of the most contentious chapters of Garcia’s career: the so-called “MoleGate.” According to sources close to the situation, Garcia’s frustration is rooted in his preparation for the April 2023 super fight against Gervonta “Tank

By Matthew Brown 11/10/2025 Updated 12/09/2025 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X Sources tell Brunch Boxing that undisputed heavyweight champion Claressa Shields is slated to take on unified super middleweight champion Franchón Crews-Dezurn in a blockbuster showdown between former friends turned fierce rivals. The two women share a long history. Shields (17-0, 3 KOs) and Crews-Dezurn (10-2, 2 KOs) met in their respective professional debuts, with Shields earning a unanimous

By Matthew Brown 12/02/2025 Follow Brunch Boxing on Twitter/X WBO and IBF Middleweight Champion Janibek Alimkhanuly has tested positive for a banned substance, prompting the cancelation of Saturday’s planned unification showdown with WBA Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara. According to a VADA source, Alimkhanuly returned an adverse analytical finding during his Voluntary Anti-Doping Association testing protocol. Multiple sources tell Brunch Boxing that as a direct result o