Don't miss out on all the breaking boxing news. Sign up for FREE now.
Pele Reid briefly had the world at his feet, but his combat career – despite knocking Vitali Klitschko cold – didn’t quite map out as planned. Here, he tells Matthew Bozeat about the pitfalls of being a hyped British heavyweight
Matt Christie pays tribute to the South African bomber who took down Wladimir Klitschko
Chris Byrd was one of the slickest heavyweights of all time. Now he battles PTSD, prescription drug issues, and uses weed to reduce the pain in his feet
According to reports, Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko will meet again, this time in Kiev, 15 years on from their classic first encounter
David Fletcher tells the story of an unexpected and bloody classic that closed Lennox Lewis’ glittering career
What would have happened if Vitali Klitschko had fought David Haye, wonders James Slater
Deontay Wilder isn’t the first world champion to break the rules and have his technique come under scrutiny. Elliot Worsell looks at 10 other champions who embraced their imperfections
Matt Christie details the biggest heavyweight comebacks of all time
New inductees announced for Hall of Fame
Vitali Klitschko suggests, if he came back, he’d knock out Anthony Joshua
James Slater catches up with Ross Puritty, the heavyweight journeyman famous for upsetting the odds
To find out what happened with Vitali Klitschko after his brother Wladimir was defeated by Anthony Joshua, John Dennen discovers the view from the Klitschko corner
Anthony Joshua is a ‘nasty, horrible man’ inside the ring, explains Eddie Hearn
The Joshua-Klitschko weigh-in was a chaotic experience
Anthony Joshua will allow Wladimir to show off his skills, according to Vitali
Kubrat Pulev will box on the same weekend as Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko
Four years after his final outing Vitali Klitschko is honoured by the WBC
Boxing News sits at the heart of the boxing scene. We want to share with you our passion by guiding you through the world of boxing, share our ringside seats and experiences, to listen to your opinions as we form our own, and to retain the integrity and excitement that seduces boxing fans around the world.
Boxing News was founded in 1909 by original editor John Murray as, simply, Boxing. Murray had been a regular contributor to Health & Strength magazine and convinced its owner, Bill Berry (later Lord Camrose) to launch a weekly magazine dedicated solely to boxing. It is believed Murray had been inspired by Jack Johnson beating Tommy Burns to become the first black World heavyweight champion. In his first editorial, Murray stated, "Boxing will stand for good clean sport. Its success of failure is in the hands of those who believe in sport of this character. Our energies will be devoted to giving the best paper that time, thought and money can devise." When circulation began to decline in the depression days of the late 20s, the name of the magazine was changed to Boxing, Racing and Football. In October 1931, the paper was sold to a syndicate of London sportsmen, who installed Sydney Rushton, a long-time London fight reporter, as the new editor. The layout changed, the page size was increased and Rushton proved less popular than Murray. The paper was again put up for sale and, while waiting for a buyer, the old features were reinstated and there was no official Editor. Another set of sportsmen bought the paper and Godfrey Williams was named editor. He attempted to run Boxing as a newspaper, cutting popular features and reducing news stories down to the shortest possible length. The circulation quickly dropped to its lowest ever.
Billy Masters, a city printer and huge boxing fan, saved the paper, appointing W.H. Millier as the new editor. He completely reinvigorated the magazine, helped in no small measure by its first colour cover. In 1935, Millier departed and the owner replaced him with Sydney Ackland, who had previously worked as John Murray's assistant editor and had been taught by him. World War II brought many changes as first Sydney, then replacement Stanley Nelson, contributed to the war effort. Murray made a popular comeback as editor but ill health forced him to step down in 1941. Gilbert Odd took over until the building housing the paper was destroyed by the enemy. Odd was then called up for national service and both Masters and Murray served further terms. Now with the new name of Boxing News, the paper was bought by Australian publicist Vivian Brodzky and former promoter Sydney Hulls. Northern sports writer Bert Callis was the new editor. Odd took over for a second term upon Callis' retirement. Odd implemented the tradition of reporting the results and fighters' weights for every single fight in the country. When Odd quit to write books, he was succeeded by Jack Wilson and then Tim Riley. When Brodzky died, Boxing News was sold twice in quick succession, and Graham Houston became editor in 1971, immediately broadening the range of coverage, especially in North America. Houston left in 1977 to work on morning newspapers in Canada. This prompted the appointment of perhaps BN's greatest Editor of recent years, Harry Mullan. Circulation increased exponentially during the Mullan years, which doubled as a time of great change in the boxing world. Most notable new developments were the proliferation of 'world' titles and the increase in the number of major British promoters. Mullan was fiercely principled and tremendously well respected in the boxing fraternity. When Mullan left in October 1996, he was given this glowing tribute from then BN Publisher Peter Kravitz: "His writing stands comparison with the Lieblings, Hausers and Mailers of this century of boxing." Assistant Editor Claude Abrams succeeded Mullan in November 1996. Boxing News was redesigned and switched to a full-colour format and become more extensive in content. In March 1999 the paper went to A3 size before reverting to A4, and increasing in size to 48 pages (from 24) in September 2005. The magazine remained the main trade paper in Britain. Abrams left BN – after 22 years – in December 2009, just three months after the publication celebrated its centenary, and was succeeded as editor by Tris Dixon.
Tris left the magazine in December 2014, with Matt Christie taking over as editor.
