The Ring (magazine)

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Front cover of the first issue of The Ring

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 Pro Wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming just a boxing publication.

1 History
2 The Ring champions
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 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, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Julio César Chávez, Félix Trinidad, and Oscar de la Hoya. In 1977, boxer Cathy Cat Davis became the first and only female ever to be on a cover of The Ring.

The Ring is published by London Publications, which also publishes sister magazines KO Magazine and World Boxing—former competitors of The Ring.

[edit] The Ring champions

Main article: List of The Ring world champions

In 2002, The Ring attempted to clear up the confusion regarding world champions by creating a championship policy. It echoes many critics' arguments that the sanctioning bodies that control the championships in boxing had undermined the sport because of undeserving contenders fighting undeserving champions, and forcing the boxing public to see mismatches for a "so-called" world championship. It 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 decides to move up in weight or retire.

Generally, the Ring champion will hold at least one of the three major sanctioning bodies' titles (the WBA, WBC, or IBF belt.) However, it has broken ranks at times (for example, Ring declared the winner of the Antonio Tarver/Glen Johnson fights its champion, though neither held a sanctioned belt since both gave up their belts in order to fight each other).

While the seemingly more reasonable Ring policies have pleased some, critics claim that Ring championships are just opinions, and that a journalistic institution shouldn't be "making the news" of who is champion.^{[citation needed]} It has gained acceptance by such outlets as ESPN and, to an extent, HBO, but other media have not followed their lead.