Phil Rogers

London based freelance writer specialising in boxing.


•Interviews •Features •Fight breakdowns •Post-fight reports

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London based freelance writer specialising in boxing.

•Interviews •Features •Fight breakdowns •Post-fight reports



Boxing Scene •

Oscar Collazo: ‘We do this for money, legacy don’t pay the bills’

Puerto Rico is on a roll. With René Santiago being crowned the WBA and WBO titleholder at junior flyweight in December, and Xander Zayas doing the same at junior middleweight in January, the island is enjoying a hot streak in its beloved noble art. On March 14, their third unified champion, Oscar Collazo, will have the chance to keep this upward trajectory intact when he defends his own WBA and WBO strawweight titles against Jesus Haro. “We wanted a certain type of money, but we didn't get it,”...
Boxing News •

Another Chance

Kazuto Ioka is no stranger to comebacks. A casual look at his record shows a career peppered with historic victories and sanctioning body titles in four different weight classes. Yet, scratch below the surface and the Japanese super-flyweight has endured more than his fair share of disappointment; missing out on the 2008 Olympic squad, losing controversial decisions in the ring, and even being wrongly accused of testing positive for cannabis by the Japanese Boxing Commission. Now, as he prepares...
Boxing News •

Laser Focus

DMITRY BIVOL has been a very difficul tman to track down. It’s been an unusual pursuit; the Russian ordinarily so available to the incessant media demands that come with being one of the sport’s finest fighters. Yet this next challenge is like no other. This one is for all the marbles, and it’s against one of the sport’s deadliest finishers. Preparation for Artur Beterbiev has needed to be meticulous; the focus laser-like. When a phone call to the WBA champion does finally connect, however, the...
Boxing News •

Never Back Down

Is it possible to be both a prospect and a world champion? This is the question Anthony Olascuaga ponders ahead of the first defence of his WBO flyweight title, against Jonathan Gonzalez on October 14.With just eight professional fights on his record, Olascuaga is acutely aware of how rare his position is in the sport; a 7-1 fighter at the start of his development while also getting used to having a target on his back. Is it possible to be both a prospect and a world champion? This is the question...
Boxing News •

The life and incredible times of Michele Aboro | Boxing News

By Phil Rogers OF all the battles Michele Aboro has faced in life, only some have been conducted inside a boxing ring. Now fifty-six years old and residing in Shanghai, China, the undefeated former world champion and trailblazer for the women’s sport has had to conquer sexism, bigotry and cancer to get where she is today. Her key to victory? Refusing to accept “no” for an answer. “I was able to achieve things that, if I’d said it at the time, people would’ve said I was off my rocker,” she tells...
Boxing News •

Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez is eyeing world honours in a fifth weight division | Boxing News

The big comeback is on for 37-year-old master Gonzalez, who boxes Rober Barrera in Managua on July 12. After winning world titles at minimumweight, light-flyweight, flyweight and super-flyweight, the ageless stylist has his sights set on conquering a fifth weight class. Few would bet against him, writes Phil Rogers. Every nation needs its heroes. Some provide inspiration and hope through their remarkable feats; others symbolise a set of collective ideals to aspire towards. For the people of Nica...
Boxing News •

Pushing Forward: Lightweight Abdullah Mason may be the next star of American boxing

IN Abdullah Mason’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, the Museum Of Art displays a painting that has become one of the world’s most famous depictions of the noble art. ‘Stag At Sharkey’s’ may be 115 years old but – in its speed-blur of sweat and sinew – George Bellows perfectly conjures the drama, the tension, and the thrill of witnessing a fighter plying their extraordinary trade. Fast forward to 2024 and the city is once again in thrall to a local fighter’s exemplary skillset, a young southpaw who
Boxing News •

Abdullah Mason and the next generation of lightweight stars

On Saturday night rising prospect Abdullah Mason steps out for his 13th professional bout against Ronal Ron on the undercard of Top Rank’s heavyweight doubleheader in Corpus Christi, Texas. The unbeaten lightweight has thus far looked scintillating in the pro ranks, with 12 wins and 10 stoppages on his record and a chilling ‘KO of the Year’ contender in his previous fight against Benjamin Gurment. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, 20-year-old Mason is one of a quintet of boxing brothers, all of wh
Boxing News •

Watch Me: Junto Nakatani wants more experience, more glory, and more recognition

FAMILIAR nations still dominate territories on the boxing landscape but few can stake a claim on the lighter weight classes quite like the Japanese. Stylistically thrilling but removed from the glare of sport’s spotlight, the likes of Naoya Inoue, Kazuto Ioka, Kenshiro Teraji, the Shigeoka brothers and Kosei Tanaka have, in recent years, provided us with some of boxing’s most enthralling fights. Yet keeping abreast of their exploits in the Far East isn’t always easy, with fights often taking pla
Boxing News •

It Ain't Over Till It's Over: Now 48, DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley continues to fight

WHEN the bullet hit DeMarcus Corley’s spine he lay helpless on the Washington tarmac and remembered the warning he’d received the previous night. The gun fire, the panic, the attempt on his life; all of it had come to him in the most incredible premonition. “This career, this life that I’m living, should have been gone in 1997,” he recalls. “I had a dream I was in a shootout. And then I go to the gym and tell my friends about the dream. That evening, I go pick my son up from day care, and I ta
Boxing News •

To Hell and Back: 10 years later, Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov recall the night they went to war

TEN years ago, almost to the day, Tim Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov stepped into a boxing ring in Carson, California, to face one another. What took place over those 12 incredible rounds became more than just the Fight Of The Year, it crystalized for many of us why we fell in love with this great sport in the first place. For Bradley it was a chance to break free of the anguish he’d suffered at the hands of an incredulous sport following his hugely controversial win over Manny Pacquiao. For P
Boxing News •

California Dreamin': Ireland's Callum Walsh on staying focused in La La Land

LIFTING his head from the pillow, Callum Walsh drinks in the Californian sunshine and ponders his journey from Cork, Ireland, to Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in glamorous Los Angeles. “It’s a crazy feeling,” he tells Boxing News. “It’s, like, I’m here! Right now! In LA! Waking up and I’m just about to go to the gym. It is a crazy feeling. But I can’t let any of that go to my head. The plan is working, I just have to keep doing what I’ve always done and just work hard until I’m a world
Boxing News •

Terminator-like Artur Beterbiev says: "I am very human"

DON’T LET the bloodcurdling look in his eyes fool you. Artur Beterbiev may stare down his opponents like a butcher surveys a carcass but the emotions flickering away at the back of his mind are familiar to us all. Few of us, however, are able to weaponise these feelings the way the Russian can. “You have to feel fear but you have to control your fear. It’s normal. I’m a very simple guy. I’m just a boxer. I’m just very human. I’m not a robot,” he tells Boxing News, his untamed beard exposing a w
Boxing News •

Shakur Stevenson: "I'm cut from a different cloth"

Shakur Stevenson is brash and cocky but thus far has delivered on his promises. Ahead of his next bout he talks to Phil Rogers about that self-belief, his next opponent and his struggle to make 130lbs CONFIDENCE is a precious commodity. Most of us improvise and blag our way through life, shaking off the familiar foe of self-doubt but always aware of its corrosive powers. How, then, do some people seem equipped with a roadmap for life? “I just feel like I’m the best in boxing,” declares the und
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