The Ring (magazine)

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 professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming just a boxing oriented publication.

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, 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 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, 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. [1] [fightnews.com]

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 loses, decides to move up in weight, or retires.

There are currently only two ways that a boxer can win The Ring's title: defeat the reigning champion; or win a box-off between The Ring'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 class battles the number two contender or the number three contender (in cases where The Ring determines that the number two and three contenders are close in abilities and records).

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.

It has also gained acceptance by such outlets in North America as ESPN and, to an extent, HBO as well as the BBC and Setanta Sports in the United Kingdom.

See also

• Ring Magazine fighters of the year
• Ring Magazine fights of the year
• Ring Magazine knockouts of the year
• Ring Magazine upsets of the year
• Ring Magazine comeback of the year
• Ring Magazine event of the year
• Ring Magazine round of the year
• Ring Magazine progress of the year (discontinued)
• Ring Magazine prospect of the year (discontinued)
• Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time
• Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years
• Ring Magazine pound for pound
• Ring Magazine hall of fame
• The Ring Boxing The 20th Century

External links

• The Ring Online
• Ring Sports Magazine