By John Lumpkin

Every once and a while when a popular champion loses his title in a close fight we hear people proclaiming that it was somehow unfair.

By John Lumpkin

It used to be that heavyweights were king. The fights were exciting and there were many big names to root for. Those days, however, are long gone. Heavyweights are no longer the dominant force in the sport.

By John Lumpkin

Imagine if you have been asked to rank two fighters whose records stand at 20-0 (18) and 14-5 (6). The casual fan might assume that the undefeated fighter should be ranked higher.

By John Lumpkin

Ranking fighters is hard work and it is much more difficult than most of us realize. If it were a simple matter, all of those wonderful pound for pound lists you see posted would have the same fighters listed in the same order. Fact is, few of us even agree on what constitutes the credentials necessary to be placed on one of those lists.

By John Lumpkin

Most of us are fairly familiar with the rules of boxing contests, but how many of us really understand the rules of championships?

By John Lumpkin

If you peruse various boxing forums, there is a lot of concern that MMA is going to be the end of boxing. To some degree, the concerns are not unreasonable as we have witnessed a steady decline in the mainstream press coverage of boxing.

By John Lumpkin

Tell the truth now, how many of you recognized – scratch that, knew that Zsolt Erdei was THE reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion?

By John Lumpkin: Bernard Hopkins did everything right in his fight against Joe Calzaghe except one thing – throw punches in combination. From the opening bell throughout much of the fight, Hopkins had Calzaghe questioning his own moves and proceeding ever so uncharacteristically cautious throughout the contest.

By John Lumpkin: Every time Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto fight, we hear the cries of how Floyd Mayweather has avoided fighting them. We want to see these fights because they are fascinating to us and there is a chance that one or both these men could defeat Mayweather.

By John Lumpkin: How many of us have bet against Hopkins in the past? On paper, his upcoming fight with Joe Calzaghe seems daunting.