I never met Ismael Laguna, but I knew Beto Laguna, a man who told me he was his cousin. “He lived a few blocks away,” he said, and told me he would sometimes join Ismael whenever he saw the Panamanian doing road work. “He used to kick a soccer ball,” Beto told me. “That’s how
RIP Ismael Laguna: ‘The Tiger’ And His Cousin Beto Read More »
One of my favorite vacations was the summer I spent traveling through upstate New York with my daughter and nephew. Instead of movie theaters and cell phones, our days were filled with swimming in lakes, spotting bears in the woods, eating hot dogs that were almost white, and snacking on pink peppermint pig candies we
There’s an African proverb that says, “When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.” Boxing lost one of its biggest libraries the other day. Don Elbaum, aged 97 according to the reports, died in his hometown of Erie, Pa. Active and talkative until his final days, Elbaum, from his bed in his
RIP Don Elbaum: The Library of Elbaum Read More »
This past week, boxing fans in New York got a taste of what boxing used to be like during the so-called “Golden Age.” There were multiple weigh-ins to attend, and public workouts at The Oculus, the transportation hub beneath the World Trade Center. There was a unique, free-to-the-public, one-day sparring event near Brooklyn’s Navy Yard
Return of the Mecca: Past, Present & Future Champions Converge in NYC Read More »
