Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, who hung up his gloves for good then focused on politics, barged into the all-time Top 10 list of boxers by The Ring Magazine.
Manny Pacquiao (right) and Yordenis Ugas clash during their super WBA welterweight title bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, N
New York contender Tony Pellone and an unforgettable night chasing a paycheck Not only does he know all the wise guys, they all know him. Jose Corpas tells the story of his remarkable experience with former contender Tony Pellone
WHEN former contender Tony Pellone found out that my last paycheck was withheld, he turned to his friend and said, “Lefty, let’s go get this kid his money.” It was the spring of 1988 and there was nothing but lint and a few dollars in my pant’s pockets. My father had just passed away and I took a 9-to-5 unloading trucks for $3.50 per hour. Three months into the job, I got fired for keeping my mouth shut.
Cortina de Hierro –Castro’s Iron Curtain
In 1946 after the end of the Second World War what Winston Churchill described as an Iron Curtain stretched across Europe separating East and West with all professional sport banned in the East. That brought an end to any fledgling careers and any future hopes of a professional career for boxers on the Eastern side of the Curtain. After just over forty years with the dissolution of the USSR the Curtain is no longer a barrier to professionalism and fighters such as the Klitschko brothers and Vasyl Lomachenko have since graced our sport.
In 1961 after Fidel Castro adopted Communism as Cuba’s creed another Iron Curtain banning professional sport was woven in the West every bit as important for boxing as the one in Europe. Unlike the European Curtain this one is still in place and still denying professional boxing access to the wellspring of talent that has made Cuba the most successful nation in amateur boxing.