David Phillips

David Phillips has been writing on boxing for just over a decade for The Sweet Science and NY Fights. He runs his own blog dedicated to the appreciation of classic and overlooked films, reelreframe.com, and writes on film and television for Awards Daily. His essay "My Black Grandpa" was shortlisted as "Best of Folklore" by The Bitter Southerner in 2018. Author of Goodnight to the Peoples. You can follow David on Twitter @BrotherJulius83

Inoue vs Cardenas-The Epilogue: Has ‘The Monster’ Been Exposed?

May 4, 2025, was the first time Naoya Inoue had stepped into a US ring in nearly four years. In between Inoue’s last bout in the States against Michael Dasmarinas, Inoue had laid a path of destruction through the bantamweight and super bantamweight divisions over the course of eight fights. The combined record of the […]

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Mikaela Mayer vs Sandy Ryan 2 Fight Results: Mayer Earns UD

Tonight on ESPN’s Top Rank boxing showcase in Las Vegas, WBO welterweight champion Mikaela Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs) outworked, outboxed, and even out-slugged Sandy Ryan (7-3-1, 3 KOs), earning a rugged unanimous decision victory (97-93, 97-93, and 98-92). If their previous tilt was a wild-swinging affair, the rematch was much more tactical, allowing Mayer to

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Q&A With Boxing HOF Christy Martin Ahead of Her Biopic Due To Release This Year

Long before there was a Katie Taylor and an Amanda Serrano, there was Christy Martin. While Martin may not have been the first female boxer, she was the first to gain widespread exposure. Her siege of knockouts and high-octane fights caught the eyes of legendary promoter Don King, and then heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.  King

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‘Queen of The Ring’ Is An ‘Admirable & Entertaining Film Anchored By Rickards’ On-Point performance’

Queen of the Ring tells the heretofore cinematically untold story of Mildred “Millie” Burke, a trailblazer in women’s wrestling. Director and screenwriter Ash Avildsen’s third film (after the largely unseen American Satan and What Now?) sticks mainly to the straight and narrow path of the inspirational sports film narrative but with a heaping dose of

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Claressa Shields Hosted A Media Roundtable To Discuss ‘The Fire Inside’

On Friday, December 13, Claressa Shields conducted an online roundtable discussion with several boxing writers (me among them). The focus of the presser was to talk about The Fire Inside, the upcoming biopic based on Shields’ and her pre-professional career in boxing. Shields revealed the movie was a challenge to get made. The original idea

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Film Review: Claressa Shields’ Biopic ‘The Fire Inside’

Claressa Shields is one of the most polarizing figures in boxing–female or otherwise. Despite being the first American boxer to win consecutive gold medals at the Olympics (2012/London, and 2016/Rio) and boasting an unblemished professional record of 15-0 with championship belts won over five different weight classes, Shields’ self-proclaimed GOATness is a little like when

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The Netflix Series ‘Mr. McMahon’ Is A ‘Portrait of A Slug Who Made It Big’

The goal of any documentary about an individual is usually the same: Who is this person? That’s the task Netflix’s Mr. McMahon attempts to take on. And what an effort it requires. Vince McMahon is undoubtedly a business genius but also a true Cro-Magnon. There are many ways to describe the man who brought wrestling

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The Claressa Shields Biopic ‘The Fire Inside’ Is Set To Release Christmas Day

Today, all sudden-like, MGM dropped the trailer for the biopic The Fire Inside, a film that will tell the story of Claressa Shields and her humble beginnings from Flint, Michigan, to her groundbreaking Olympic boxing victories and beyond. I always like to say that it’s pretty easy to cut a great-looking preview, even from a

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Q&A With Director Eric Drath: ‘Assault In The Ring’ Celebrates 15 Year Anniversary

On the night of June 16, 1983, on the undercard of the Roberto Duran/Davey Moore middleweight title fight, undefeated up and comer “Irish” Billy Collins Jr. stepped into the ring as part of the undercard. His opponent was a man named Luis Resto; a tough guy with a strong amateur background, but a disappointment as

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