TQBR Radio 7/30: Soto Karass vs. Berto, Figueroa vs. Arakawa, Shiming vs. Ortega Recap with Lupe Contreras

 
(The cast of "The Walking Dead" at the 2012 San Diego Comic Con, probably NOT talking, laughing about this upcoming episode of TQBR Radio; photo credit: zombiesurvivalguide.us)

One excellent week in pugilism doesn't mean us boxing fans should be popping champagne corks and throwing our collective bongs out of highrise windows -- we leave that to Amanda Bynes. Alright, enough of the non-boxing stuff. (Though according to the link, the prosecutor in that party foul of the week's last name is Ibeabuchi, so stick that in your Nigerian bank scam pipe and smoke it.)

The last week of boxing was just flat-out good. There doesn't necessarily need to be a "What does it all mean?" attached to that. As Tim Starks pointed out, the three major cards televised in the U.S. were all entertaining. And this week on Queensberry Rules Radio, James Foley of Bad Left Hook and TQBR's Patrick Connor will be going down the list of bouts, from Jesus Soto Karass vs. Andre Berto to Zou Shiming vs. Jesus Ortega, and to Juan Francisco Estrada vs. Milan Melindo and Omar Figueroa vs. Nihito Arakawa, and back again. Playing a game of cartomancy with Foley and Connor this week is ring announcer Lupe Contreras.

Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m.  Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

Jesus Soto-Karass Plows Through Andre Berto; Omar Figueroa, Keith Thurman Survive Battles

Photo: Darren Abate/AP

It's one thing for a fight card to kind of, sort of live up to potential. In the pugilistic world, that's normal. There's a reason why we say "...on paper." Fights on paper might be much better than how they actually play out, and vice versa.

Following a gap in entertainment, it was only a natural that fans looked to the Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto-Karass Showtimecard with a skeptical eye, aware of the potential, but expecting an okay televised card. 

Hope for the best, expect the worst, right?

Well, we may have gotten about as good as tripleheaders go, as Jesus Soto-Karass endured Andre Berto's offense to earn a stoppage, Omar Figueroa survived Nihito Arakawa, in a way, and Keith Thurman proved a thing or two against Diego Chaves. Forget all the interim belts.

Zou Shiming and Playing the Gold Odds

Photo: Andrew Weber/USA Today

Quickly, name a few of the most difficult or loathsome professions in the history of history. Sin-eater, coal miner, chimney sweep. Perhaps a gong farmer.

When the words "boxer" or "fighter" are tossed into the discussion, your average person would likely think of a Muhammad Ali, or a Mike Tyson, or someone else with a similarly huge name, and dismiss the idea. Those guys made armloads of money and commanded global attention while double-fisting drinks with little umbrellas in them and living large, didn't they? 

The reality for most fighters is a low income existence with not much to show for it at the finish. And on top of that, they got punched in the face repeatedly for their effort. How many fighters get their hand wraps taken off after their first serious sparring session and think, "This seems like an easy way to not become rich"?

A safe assumption is that, upon choosing to become a fighter, most have a hankering to be great. The sugar plum fairy dancing in the head of nearly every amateur fighter is Olympic gold drapery, and your average professional fighter's fairytale ends with winning a world title. 

Two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming plants roots in the pro leagues this weekend against Jesus Ortega in Macau. And while Shiming seems to be serving as the key to unlocking a potentially enormous boxing market in China more than anything else, one can't help but wonder what exactly will come of his pro career, or what the odds of him winning a major belt will be. 

TQBR Radio 7/23: Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto-Karass, Zou Shiming vs. Jesus Ortega Preview with Doug Fischer

Okay, that's a lie. Summer is technically already here. And while boxing has no official "season," the upcoming schedule makes it clear that 2013 will be closing out with much more bang than whimper. It's nothing to lose your head over, though, Ned.

This week on Queensberry Rules Radio, James Foley of Bad Left Hook and TQBR's own Patrick Connor slap an audio track onto the violence that awaits us. From recapping the controversial stoppage of Malik Scott at the hands of Dereck Chisora, to previewing Andre Berto vs. Jesus Soto-Karass, Zou Shiming vs. Jesus Ortega, Juan Carlos Burgos vs. Yakubu Amidu, and so on and so forth, TQBR Radio should satisfy whatever bloodlust the weeks-long lull gave you. And joining the pasquilant pair this week is Doug Fischer, associate editor of Ring Magazine.

Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m.  Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

TQBR Radio 7/16: Recaps, Previews and More, With Brian Campbell

Photo: Ed Mullholland/USA Today

Adventure, excitement... A jedi might crave not those things, but boxing fans do. Unfortunately this July hasn't quite been the month to provide said adventues or excitement -- at least not on a very high level, for the most part. But in times of need, Queensberry Rules Radio will provide. Well, perhaps not the excitement part, and they're more misadventures than adventures, but you can be sure that Bad Left Hook's James Foley and TQBR's own Patrick Connor will try to both make you laugh, and deliver some semblance of boxing knowledge. This week, Brian Campbell of ESPN joins the show to recap bouts like Kell Brook vs. Carson Jones II, Edwin Rodriguez vs. Denis Grachev, Glen Tapia vs. Abie Han, and a lot more.

Click this link to tune in live at 12:30 p.m.  Pacific/3:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes or Stitcher Radio.

TQBR Radio 7/9: Tony Thompson vs. David Price II Recap, With Corey Erdman

David Price, left, eats a right hand from Tony Thompson (Photo: Peter Byrne/AP)

What's a boxing fan to do after a slower-than-wanted weekend followed by a week without much notable action? Why, listen to Queensberry Rules Radio, of course. Sally forth with your boxing psychosis, and join James Foley of Bad Left Hook and TQBR's own Patrick Connor once more this week as they recap Tony Thompson vs. David Price II, last week's Friday Night Fights, in addition to this coming week's somewhat paltry action. This week, however, the pair of philalethists will be joined by Corey Erdman of Ring Magazine, The Fight Network, WealthTV and more.  

Click this link to tune in live at a special time of 1 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes, or Stitcher Radio.

Alexis Arguello - The Rise and Fall of a Legend

Once more I lent my voice to an extremely well-edited video put together by Jordan Singleton of BoloPunch Productions, and this time for a short biographical piece called "Alexis Arguello: The Rise and Fall of a Legend." If you liked the Roberto Duran video we worked on previously, there's a good chance you'll like this one as well. Thanks for checking it out. 

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @Integrital

Book Review: "One Punch From The Promised Land"

Cinephiles and film buffs have, especially in recent years, lamented the retelling and rehashing of old stories -- especially the "grasping at straws" attempts to inject new life into a tale that seemed to be concisely summed up the first time. 

In "An Evening With Kevin Smith," the director related an anecdote about being approached to write a script for a "Beetlejuice" sequel called "Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian." He went on to say, "Didn't we say all we needed to say with the first 'Beetlejuice?' Must we go tropical?"

Mr. Smith has a point, and it would seem that there are only so many ways to tell one story. Yet so many legends and myths and parables are but altered versions of an original. 

In boxing, likely the most common tale is a lowly fighter from squalid beginnings slithering his way through the greedy reptiles, past contention and into the grip of a championship belt. And money. The reality is far more grim for your average pugilist, but the fantasy does a carrot dangle that pushes men to sacrifice all for a mere glimpse. 

Leon and Michael Spinks took turns both affirming stereotypes, and swatting them away with stacks of cash. 

TQBR Radio 7/2: Gennady Golovkin KO3 Matthew Macklin Recap, with Jimmy Tobin, Alex McClintock

Photo: Gennady Golovkin stand over Matthew Macklin after landing a fight-ending body shot (Joe Camporeale/USA Today)

The boxing world is still clutching its collective liver after Gennady Golovkin's body shot knockout over Matthew Macklin last weekend, but TQBR Radio beat the count and returns this week with plenty more boxing discussion. This week, Bad Left Hook's James Foley and TQBR's own Patrick Connor are joined once more by Jimmy Tobin of The Cruelest Sport in recapping last weekend's Golovkin-Macklin disembowelment, as well as previewing this coming weekend's Tony Thompson vs. David Price rematch and ESPN2's Friday Night Fights action. An added bonus: Alex McClintock, also of TQBR, will be getting in on the discussion as well.
 
Click this link to tune in live at a special time of 1:30 p.m. Pacific/4:30 p.m. Eastern, or download the episode later via iTunes, or Stitcher Radio.

Follow these men on Twitter:

Patrick Connor: @Integrital
James Foley: @therealFOL
Jimmy Tobin: @jet79
Alex McClintock: @axmcc