Stay tuned every month to www.dmboxing.com for your complete boxing schedule
NOTE — Listed bouts subject to change or cancellation
Continue reading FIGHT CALENDAR for January 2026 / dmboxing.comFIGHT CALENDAR for January 2026 / dmboxing.com
Merry Christmas 2025
I sincerely wish everyone a wonderful and blessed “Merry Christmas” with good health, love, joy and happiness!
Jimmy Barry / The Little Tiger
*** FLASHBACK *** This article was originally published for viewing on www.dmboxing.com on August 15, 2017
By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
There is a boxer that nobody ever talks about these days. A boxer who seems to have been lost in the fog of time, but whom I rate as one of the finest to ever come out of Chicago! His name is Jimmy Barry. He was known as “Little Tiger” and this 5-feet-2 Irish kid was as good as they come.
Born on March 7, 1870 he started his professional boxing career in 1891, winning 27 straight without a loss, with 18 of those wins coming by knockout. On December 5, 1893 he knocked out Jack Levy in 17 rounds to win the “100 pound Championship of America”.
On September 15, 1894 Barry knocked out Casper Leon in the 28th round to win the bantamweight championship. They would fight in a rematch in May 1895. The bout was ruled a draw when police stepped in to halt the bout in the middle of the 14th round. He and Leon would eventually fight each other four times, with three of the fights being a draw and the other ruled a six round no-contest decision.
On December 6, 1897, at National Sporting Club, Covent Garden, London, England Barry defeated Walter Croot in the 20th round to gain undisputed recognition as Bantamweight Champion of the World. Croot died after the fight, due to injuries he received when he was dramatically knocked out cold with a tremendous right hand to the jaw. An autopsy ruled his death resulted from being hit with such force that his skull was fractured when striking the mat.
Continue reading Jimmy Barry / The Little TigerRING TRIVIA for December 2025
I have always been intrigued with boxing trivia. This actually began back when I was a young kid in 1961. I would pick the minds of the older generation and ask questions about their era to educate myself. It’s now my pleasure to bring the boxing trivia format to my website www.dmboxing.com for everyone to enjoy. On a quarterly basis I post five multiple choice questions – in March, June, September, and December – with the correct answers to follow by end of each posting month for your viewing.
David Martinez / Boxing Historian
1) Which world champion never had a fight at the Los Angles Olympic Auditorium?
A — Marvin Hagler
B — Sonny Liston
C — Muhammad Ali
D — Leo Randolph
2) What boxing family had a sibling who went into baseball, and eventually played six years in the Major Leagues?
A — The Ayala’s
B — The Zivic’s
C — The Balthazar’s
D — The Goossen’s
Continue reading RING TRIVIA for December 2025FIGHT CALENDAR for December 2025 / dmboxing.com
Stay tuned to www.dmboxing.com every month for your complete boxing calendar
NOTE: Listed bouts subject to change or cancellation
Continue reading FIGHT CALENDAR for December 2025 / dmboxing.comFight Club OC / Upcoming Show Set For: December 11
Fight Club OC BIGGEST Show of Year! December 11th Inside The Hangar at The OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, CA
You know you have the premier club fight show in the country when some of the sport’s biggest promoters and managers place their fighters on a Fight Club OC show. It has happen almost every show for the past two years and the Thursday, December 11th Fight Club OC show in The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa is no exception.
Fight fans will get to see three undefeated boxers in action as Golden Boy Promotions displays their Hawaiian Connection with both Asa Stevens and Dalis Kaleiopu bringing their 7-0 records into the ring. And after a spectacular KO on the October 23rd show, 6-0 Stanford grad Dante Kirkman will return to give fight fans a big time night of action.
Tag on two solid MMA bouts plus a great Tequila Mandala Young Champions Bout featuring 7-1-0 Juan Higuera vs undefeated 4-0 (4KO’s) Anthony De La Cruz, Plus two other exciting boxing bouts and a chance to win $1,000 in our Hustler Knockout Promotion and this is a show you do not want to miss! Tickets are still available for this Dec 11th show priced at $75 and are available online at www.socafights.com.
Continue reading Fight Club OC / Upcoming Show Set For: December 11J.J. Johnston (R.I.P.)
By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
A friend to all that knew him was J.J. Johnston … actor, author, and a top and very knowledgeable boxing historian. Born in Chicago, Illinois on October 24, 1933, he passed away on November 4, 2022.
Johnston lived in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and began appearing in movies and stage productions in 1972. He is known for his roles in Fatal Attraction (1987), JFK (1991), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), and Spartan (2004), just to name a few. He also had roles in many selected television programs throughout his career.
Another highlight was when he and David Mamet played “Tweedle Dee” and “Tweedle Dum” in a Chicago stage production of “Alice in Wonderland”.
I met J.J. back in the mid-nineties while attending a Golden State Boxing Association luncheon at the old Spaghetti Factory in Hollywood, California. J.J. would always attend with his display of incredible boxing collectables in those years (1997-2007) which was during my tenure with the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
I was truly honored when he presented me with his outstanding publication “Chicago Boxing” which he personally autographed on November 15, 2005. The book is simply amazing with outstanding photos, all in black and white, and arranged in chronological order.
USC Boxing: Bringing A Whole New Dimension To The Words “Fight On”
***** FLASHBACK *****
This article feature was originally published for viewing on www.dmboxing.com courtesy of Steve Corbo from Chicago, on November 14, 2023
On Thursday November 9th boxers from the University of Southern California blew into the Windy City to compete in an Intercollegiate Boxing Show, featuring five Universities. The event was sanctioned and approved by USA Boxing and The United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association. That’s right… Trojan Boxers! Along with all its other fabled sports, boxing is alive and well at USC.
Front Row Left to Right: YC, Noah “Sting” Ng, Parker Chang, Jade Brewer
Back Row Left to Right: Coach Cesar Lopez, Assistant Coach Brian Robillard, Ring Announcer and USC Alumnus Steve Corbo, Head Coach Omar Lopez and Patrick Carbone
Together with boxers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Xavier University in Cincinnati, the University of Illinois Chicago, and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, four USC fighters stepped into the ring to compete against some of the best collegiate boxers in the Midwest. The event took place at the magnificent Union League Club in the heart of downtown Chicago. Initially, it was hard to find anybody cheering for Cardinal and Gold. But fighting in this environment only seemed to motivate the Trojans on to victory.
First to fight for USC was Patrick Carbone. He took on Kobe Rogers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Being amateur boxing, all the bouts were scheduled for three rounds of action, with this one being in the 176-pound weight division. Carbone used his superior reach and height to dominate a very tough Rogers, who threw everything he had and never quit trying to find the key to get to Carbone. In the end it was Carbone who won on every judge’s scorecard to take home a unanimous decision victory.
Continue reading USC Boxing: Bringing A Whole New Dimension To The Words “Fight On”Current Champions
Displayed are the “Current Champions” in boxing with each shown in their respective weight division, world title belt organization, professional ring record in the following format: win-loss-draw-no contest (knockout wins) and the date of winning their title.
As of: November 11, 2025
Heavyweight (+200 lb/+90.7 kg or +224 lb/+101.6 kg)
| WBA | WBC | IBF | WBO | The Ring |
| Oleksandr Usyk Super champion 24–0 (15 KO) September 25, 2021 | Oleksandr Usyk 24–0 (15 KO) May 18, 2024 | Oleksandr Usyk 24–0 (15 KO) July 19, 2025 | Oleksandr Usyk 24–0 (15 KO) September 25, 2021 | Oleksandr Usyk 24–0 (15 KO) August 20, 2022 |
| Kubrat Pulev Regular champion 32–3 (14 KO) December 7, 2024 | ||||
| Fabio Wardley Interim champion 20–0–1 (19 KO) June 7, 2025 | Agit Kabayel Interim champion 26–0 (18 KO) February 22, 2025 | Fabio Wardley Interim champion 20–0–1 (19 KO) October 25, 2025 |
Carlos Ortiz (R.I.P.)
***** FLASHBACK *****
This article was originally published on July 18, 2022 for viewing on www.dmboxing.com
David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
On June 13, 2022 the boxing world lost a great champion. Carlos Ortiz passed away at the age of 85. He was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, on September 9, 1936.
Ortiz began his outstanding professional career in 1955 with a first round knockout over Harry Bell in New York.
He suffered his first loss losing to Johnny Busso via 10 round split decision on June 27, 1958. Ortiz was 21 years old and held an undefeated ring record of 26-0 entering that bout. Three months later in September, Ortiz reversed his loss with a convincing 10 round decision win. Both Busso fights were held at Madison Square Garden, New York.
After posting a ring record of 29 wins, 2 losses, and one no-decision, Ortiz met Kenny Lane for the vacant junior welterweight / super lightweight title in New York on June 12, 1959. Lane had given Ortiz a 10 round loss prior, on December 31, 1958, but this time Ortiz would win by knockout after two rounds to become the second Puerto Rican world champion since Sixto Escobar did it more than thirty years before.
Continue reading Carlos Ortiz (R.I.P.)