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The Ring (magazine)
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The Ring (often called Ring Magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication.
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Encyclopedia
The Ring (often called Ring Magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication. The magazine is owned by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Enterprises.
History
The Ring, first edited by hall-of-famer Nat Fleischer, has opened boxing scandals, helped make unknown fighters famous worldwide, and covered boxing's biggest events of all time. Dan Daniel was a co-founder and prolific contributor to The Ring through most of its history. It refers to itself (and is referred to by others) as "The Bible of Boxing."
In 1977, three international versions of the magazine came out. One, the Spanish version, was named The Ring En Espanol and was published from Venezuela and distributed around all Spanish-speaking countries and the United States until 1985. There was also a Japanese version published in Tokyo and a French version published in Paris.
The magazine was taken over by flamboyant publisher Bert Randolph Sugar in 1979, who hired Randy Gordon — who would go on later that decade to become New York's boxing commissioner — as his editor-in-chief. Together, over the next five years, they put together what is still regarded by many readers as the finest issues of The Ring the sporting world has yet to see. By 1985, both Sugar and Gordon had moved on, then watched from the sidelines as The Ring nearly went bankrupt in 1989, causing the magazine to cease publication for most of the year. It rebounded under new management in 1990.
Some of the boxers featured on the magazine covers have included Salvador Sanchez, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Marciano, Willie Pep, Muhammad Ali, Alexis Arguello, Wilfredo Benitez, Wilfredo Gómez, Roberto Duran, Larry Holmes, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, Bud Taylor, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Thomas Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Julio César Chávez, Félix Trinidad, Manny Pacquiao, Oscar de la Hoya, and Ricardo Mayorga. In 1977, boxer Cathy "Cat" Davis became the first and only female ever to be on a cover of The Ring. "The Ring" has used cover artwork created by famed artists such as LeRoy Neiman and Richard T. Slone
The Ring is published by London Publications, which also publishes sister magazines KO Magazine and World Boxing — former competitors of The Ring.
Golden Boy Enterprises subsidiary Sports and Entertainment Publications, LLC, a holding company whose principal shareholder is Golden Boy Promotions (established by de la Hoya), has bought Ring Magazine from the Kappa Publishing Group. Also acquired were KO, World Boxing and Pro Wrestling Illustrated. No dollar amount was disclosed. The magazine's rankings are recognized as "official" by some factions in the U.S. media, particularly ESPN. While some may see a conflict of interest in a boxing promoter being paymaster of what is essentially a magazine/rankings organization that awards world titles and belts, de la Hoya says that is not the case. "These magazines will be held in an editorial trust where they will be operating totally independent of any influence from me or others from the Golden Boy Companies as it relates to editorial direction or content," promises the Golden Boy. Nigel Collins remains as Editor in Chief.
[fightnews.com]
The Ring champions
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In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoed many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies in charge of boxing championships had undermined the sport by pitting undeserving contenders against undeserving "champions", and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for so-called "world championships". The Ring attempts to be more authoritative and open than the sanctioning bodies' rankings, with a page devoted to full explanations for ranking changes. A fighter pays no sanctioning fees to defend or fight for the title at stake, contrary to practices of the sanctioning bodies. Furthermore, a fighter cannot be stripped of the title unless he loses, decides to move up in weight, or retires.
There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Rings title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between the magazine's number-one and number-two rated contenders (or, sometimes, number-one and number-three rated). A vacant Ring championship is filled when the number-one contender in a weight-division battles the number-two contender or the number-three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number-two and number-three contenders are close in abilities and records).
The Rings championship policy has gained the acceptance of outlets in North America such as ESPN and, to an extent, HBO; as well as the BBC and Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom.
See also
External links
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