Basement Gym Boxing: July 2014

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Tim Witherspoon Weighs in and Shows Off: GIF Spotlight

Ahead of his bout with Frank Bruno, Tim Witherspoon had to show off the body that launched a thousand ships, for this 1986 event.

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Saturday, July 26, 2014

What should you do in case of a flash knockdown? GIF Spotlight With Kubrat Pulev

4-Step Maneuver:

Step 1:

Wring your hands in disbelief.

This can be mixed with a sense of accusation toward the referee, to make him second-guess himself or as a gesture of pure self-loathing, as to elicit pity.

Step 2:

Stand on one leg, preferably the left, to prove you are sober. This will either convince the referee you are not drunk, or it will make him laugh and humanise you in his eyes.

Step 3:

Stand on the other leg, preferably the right, if you took Pulev's example and began with the left, to prove you are sober from the other side. If he didn't laugh when you did this on the other leg, he will feel sorry for you, or admire your effort, which will humanise you in his eyes.

Step 4:

Turn your back and walk away in disgust. We are back to making the referee second-guess himself. It's possible he will feel this is all his fault and he is being irrational.

Please, remember, all of this worked for Kubrat against Joey Abell. If you are not confident in doing what Pulev is doing in this GIF, attempt to simplify the maneuver and only wring your hands in disbelief.

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Friday, July 25, 2014

Manny Pacquiao's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

This page is designed to be as complete as possible a reference list and guide to the sparring of multiple division champion Manny Pacquiao as can be found. It is part of our main page list for finding sparring partner history, to be found here:

Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes

Pacquiao, Manny:

1. Mike Dallas Junior, for at least Manny's match with Joshua Clottey.
Source: Discussed in interview with EsNEWS.

2. Jose Benavidez, for at least Manny's match with Joshua Clottey.
Source: Discussed in interview with EsNEWS.

3. Jorge "Kid Flash" Diaz: For Manny's first fight with Juan Manuel Marquez: Diaz says "Man, he was paying everyone a hundred bucks a day. A hundred bucks, come on, for three rounds." Diaz also says he probably sparred with Manny in this camp for 6-8 weeks somewhere.
Source: Discussed in interview with EsNews.

4. Ruslan Provodnikov: Pacquiao's chief sparring partner for 2012, before his first match with Timothy Bradley.

Trainer to both, Freddie Roach says: “The first day they sparred, Ruslan wore his regular headgear and he just got marked up so badly that I had to buy him one with the bar on it to protect him. . .He has that really light skin that bruises pretty easily.”

Source: Ring

5. Shawn Porter: Porter was meant to be in camp in 2009 for Pacquiao's match with Miguel Cotto.
Source: Boxing Scene

Shawn mentioned in January of 2014 that he was in two training camps with Manny and that Manny was humble and approachable. He said Manny is a very hard worker.

Secondary Source for their sparring: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/01/boxer_shawn_porter_on_being_a.html

6. Julian Rodriguez
Source: http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/543687/20140318/boxing-news-2014-pacquiao-s-sparring-partner.htm

7. Haskell Lydell Rhodes: For Pacquiao's rematch with Tim Bradley, chosen as chief sparring partner.
Source: International Business Times Australia

Hustle Boss

8. David Rodela: Has been in Pacquiao's camps to double digits. He was mentioned as Pac's sparring partner for Antonio Margarito, in the HBO 24/7 Episode 3 lead-up documentaries to that fight.
Source: Yahoo! Sports
Sports Illustrated

9. Ray Beltran: A regular for Pacquiao's camps. He was mentioned specifically as Pac's sparring partner for Antonio Margarito, in the HBO 24/7 Episode 3 lead-up documentaries to that fight.
Source: Sports Illustrated

"It's very intense training."
"It's hard to explain because even without throwing punches, you're working."
"He make you work harder than you can even imagine."
". . .I think it's the hardest fight I ever had, you know?"

Source: EsNews

10. Jamie Kavanagh: For both Juan Manuel Marquez (III) and Joshua Clottey.
Source: Sports Illustrated

11. Hastings Bwalya:
Source: Sports Illustrated

12. Amir Khan: For Manny's bout with Antonio Margarito and Khan's bout with Marcos Rene Maidana.
Source: Boxing Scene

While, it should be noted, in response to a proposed bout between the two, and after Amir Khan had left Roach for another trainer, Roach was quoted about the sparring as saying: "Pacquiao knocked him out in the gym. It's no big fight. . .He had Amir down at least four times."

Secondary source: Boxing Scene

Amir Khan was very frustrated by Roach's comments about their sparring sessions and in a December 2014 interview said that he'd not only never been knocked out by Pacquiao in sparring, ever, but that he'd never been knocked down in any sparring and Pacquiao didn't come close to putting him down. He did admit that he and Pacquiao did hurt each other at times.

Source: Boxing Scene

13. Glen Tapia, chief sparring partner for Pacquiao's bout with Antonio Margarito.
Source: Boxing Insider

14. Karim Mayfield:

15. Kendall Holt:

16. Jorge Linares:

17. Victor Ortiz:

18. Steve Forbes: For Pacquiao's fight with Joshua Clottey. "We would only go like three or four rounds."
Source: EsNEWS

19. Robert "Scrappy" Ortiz

20. Mikey Garcia: For Erik Morales rematch, three weeks at Wild Card Gym. Mikey says he's was probably nineteen or twenty and they had him spar Manny for sometimes up to eight rounds straight and were pleased enough to hire him as the main sparring partner. He says he felt his biggest thing was his speed, more so than his power. As of his interview with Hustle Boss, in September of 2012, he considers Edwin Valero to have been the hardest puncher he'd sparred, though implies it may have been because he was about fifteen years old that made it seem more than it was.

Source: Hustle Boss

21. Vanes Martirosyan:
Source: EsNews

22. Stan Martyniouk: For his match with Chris Algieri
Source: Boxing Scene

Before the sparring took place, Martyniouk said that he grew up watching Pacquiao and wanted to learn as much as he could from him and knew what to expect having watched him spar before, saying:

"What surprised me a lot is he doesn't go easy on his sparring partners. . .He brings the heat and is very explosive. With his style, you never expect what he's going to throw. He ends up hitting you with the punches you don't see, and that's what hurts you."

23. Rashad Holloway: Rashad was mentioned as Pac's sparring partner for Antonio Margarito, in the HBO 24/7 Episode 3 lead-up documentaries to that fight.

Rashad says:

"When you get the better of him, at times, like, I mean, you're getting the better of the pound-for-pound best. And back then he was the pound-for-pound best, you know, with no question. . . and it's always a challenge.

"He's a good dude. To be able to share the ring with a guy like that, man, it's just, it's a special experience."

Source: EsNews

24. Mike Jones: For Pacquiao's match with Chris Algieri.
Source: South China Morning Post
Secondary Source: Dontae's Boxing Nation (Jones discussing Pacquiao sparring)

25. Viktor Posto l: For Pacquiao's match with Chris Algieri. Pacquiao reportedly broke Postol's nose but Freddie Roach, who trained both Pacquiao and Postol, kept him in camp and said he was both a "tough kid" and better than Algieri himself.
Source: South China Morning Post

26. Urbano Antillon: For Pacquiao's match with Ricky Hatton.
Source: Ring

Antillon was also meant to be in camp for Pacquiao's match against Miguel Cotto.
Source: Boxing Scene

27. Bernard Dunne:
Source: The Sweet Science

Dunne has said of Pacquiao: "Manny is astonishingly gifted - so quick with both hands. Trading blows with him is a mistake simply because he can take your best shots and land more. He has an abundance of energy, relentlessly coming at you for twelve rounds."

Dunne says they sparred hundreds of rounds together and that Fredie Roach said he was the only one to "handle" him in the gym. Dunne says he enjoyed sparring with Pacquiao.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book.

28. Justin Juuko: Juuko has mentioned that Pacquiao is "very strong" and "very awkward" when discussing him. He also mentions that he thinks a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather would be a 50/50 fight in his opinion. Juuko faced Mayweather in 1999.

Source: Dontae's Boxing Nation
Second clip from Dontae's Boxing Nation

29. Jose Luis Castillo: For Pacquiao's match with Miguel Cotto. Beforehand, Castillo said "I was invited for my body punching, which Cotto does, and for my ability to apply constant pressure on my opponents."
Source: Boxing Scene

Pacquiao's camp implied the sparring was very worthwhile.
Secondary source: Fight News

30. Willie Price/Pryce: It is unclear which boxer was mentioned but he was mentioned as Pac's sparring partner for Antonio Margarito, in the HBO 24/7 Episode 3 lead-up documentaries to that fight, as one of the "more sizable" partners.

Other sparring notes:

*For his match with Antonio Margarito, Margarito used Austin Trout as a sparring partner to prepare for Manny's southpaw stance. Margarito also used K. C. Martinez, Cleotis Pendarvis and Ricardo Williams for this purpose.

As always, for any corrections you think you have, please post a source with your comment, unless it's something like a simple typo. If you like what we do, please, bookmark, share, etc. The more traffic we get, the more likely we are to keep going, at this stage, and building our material.

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Ray Robinson Rocks Out: GIF Spotlight

From HBO Sports' Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion (1998).

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Floyd Mayweather Junior's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

This page is designed to be as complete as possible a reference list and guide to the sparring of multiple division champion Floyd Mayweather Junior as can be found. It is part of our main page list for finding sparring partner history, to be found here:

Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Gennady Golovkin's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

This page is designed to be as complete as possible a reference list and guide to the sparring of major world Middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin as can be found. Whatever claim of sparring, I will try to track it down and source it. It will be updated as I get more information to add. It is part of our main page list for finding sparring partner history, to be found here:

Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes

1.Tyrell Hendrix:

Tyrell says: ''I'm gonna tell you the truth, man, that Golovkin dude, he's no hype. He punch so hard, man, he punch through the headgear, man."

"He has freakishly unreal power, man. But people don't know, I knocked him down in the first round when I came to sparring, and after that he beat me up every other day, it was nasty."

"I knocked him down in sparring, man, Abel Sanchez got the video, they might not want to show that, but I heard the HBO announcers saying he's never been down in sparring. I dropped him to the body, you know what I'm saying? But, he took it, he took it out on me the rest of the day."

"He don't do nothing real special, he just hits so hard you can't even implement your game plan because he hits so hard."

"He's a nice guy. He invited me out. I was up there and we sit down and ate but after in sparring he tried to kill me."

Source: EsNews

2. Lamar Russ:
Russ says he was in three camps for him and that he is a pound for pound top five fighter.
"He's an all-around fighter."
"He's actually improved my game."
Source: Boxing Socialist

Interview published on Oct 22, 2013

3. Latif Mundy

Source: Hustle Boss

4. Derrick Findley

Source: Hustle Boss

5. Julio Cesar Chavez Junior:
Source: Ring

Secondary source: Abel Sanchez taking questions from Hustle Boss:
Abel says Golovkin went easy and Golovkin isn't an "abusive fighter". He says Golovkin sparred three rounds with Peter Quillin on the same day as five rounds with Chavez Junior, at the Wild Card Gym. He mentions Freddie Roach is always accomadating when he brings in guys who need good sparring partners. Roach, of course, had worked with Chavez Junior and Quillin, despite both being campaigning middleweights.

6. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez: Specifically mentioned, for Alvarez's match with Ryan Rhodes and Gennady's match with Kassim Ouma. These are both June 2011 matches.
Source: Ring
Source for Rhodes and Ouma camps: Boxing Scene

Via translation to English by another party, Alvarez is meant to have confirmed: "I've sparred with Golovkin many times." while in the lead-up to Alvarez's fight with Floyd Mayweather Junior.
Source: EsNews

Secondary Source: Max Kellerman in interview with Chris Young for Xfinity/Comcast

This exchange took place in the interview regarding Alvarez and Golovkin's sparring:

Kellerman: Canelo Alvarez will never get within a 100 miles of Gennady Golovkin.

Young: Why?

Kellerman: In September I asked Golovkin about Alvarez because people were asking about that fight and he basically said that when he sparred with Alvarez (in Big Bear, California) he had to take it easy because he didn’t want to hurt him.

7. Sergey Kovalev:

“Kovalev was afraid of Golovkin when he was in the ring with him. . .I couldn’t spar them too much because Kovalev showed Gennady too much respect in the ring."
"When he did spar Gennady, Sergey would fall apart and wouldn’t pose much of a challenge for Golovkin. It was either too much respect or too much fear.”

Source: Fight Saga

Kovalev says:
"He hits like a sledgehammer."
Source: English translation of a Kovalev interview from this site: Kovalboxer.com

8. Peter Quillin:
"That never happened, that he ran me and Chavez out of the gym."
''We just did regular sparring. It ain't like he's like knocking me out, knocking all over the ring. That never happens to Kid Chocolate."

Source: EsNews

Abel Sanchez, Golovkin's trainer, says that Peter and Gennady sparred only one time, telling Hustle Boss in an interview in June of 2013. He said Golovkin sparred three rounds with Quillin and five rounds with Chavez Junior on that day. He said they try not to show each other too much, being in the same division but that they worked well together. He says this took place at Wild Card and also that he's sure either would fight the other but that the problem was Peter fighting for a different television channel.

Source: Hustle Boss

9. Alfredo Angulo:
Source: Ring

10. Shane Mosley: Shane says: "He has great punching power. Very heavy-handed." and that he started working with him before Golovkin was a world champion, guesses 2009 or 2008. Shane also says "He's very strong, very disciplined and he works hard." He also mentions at this time that he stills spars with him at times or his son does.
Source: VIDEO HERE
Speaks about it here in an interview published in March of this year: Hustle Boss

11. Tavoris Cloud:
Source: Knockout Digest

12. Tony Harrison:
Source: Sports Illustrated

13. Ryan Coyne: For Golovkin's match with Gregorz Proksa. Coyne is known as both a Cruiserweight and Light Heavyweight prospect at this time.
Coyne says:

“I’ve sparred with heavyweights who can punch, including Mariusz Wach and Mike Perez, nobody has hit me as hard as Golovkin. His power is out of this world.”

Source: Ring

14. David Imoesiri: For Golovkin's match with Gregorz Proksa.

David says: “It’s crazy. I sparred with Alexander Povetkin and he never hurt me like this guy."
Source: Ring

15. Antonio Margarito:
Source: Doghouse Boxing

16. Farah Ennis: Ennis boxes as a Super Middleweight and Light Heavyweight. Farah says: "He's the strongest dude I ever sparred. And I been in there with heavyweights, cruiserweights."

Source: EsNews

17. Dhafir Smith: Smith boxes as a Super Middleweight, Light Heavyweight and even Cruiserweight.
Sourch: Doghouse Boxing

18. Paul Mendez: Mendez boxes as a Middleweight and Super Middleweight.
Source: EsNews

19. Ola Afolabi: Afolabi is a Cruiserweight title challenger who has been the distance with Marco Huck three times and is a sparring partner to Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Source: EsNEWS

20. Carson Jones: Jones has been all over the weight classes from Welterweight to Light Heavyweight.
Source: Hustle Boss

21. Ryota Murata: Murata is thought to be a Middleweight prospect, with most of his fights taking place barely inside Super Middleweight early in his career yet.
Source: Asian Boxing

22. Julius Jackson: Julius, a Super Middleweight prospect, says: “Sparring with Gennady Golovkin is amazing. I've learned a lot of things about balance, strength and power punching. He's one of the hardest punchers right now in the sport of boxing and he focuses a lot on key exercises that I've begun to work into my routine.”
This is his second trip to spar with Golovkin, the article says, and this time it is for Golovkin's defense against Daniel Geale.
Source: St. Thomas Source

Jackson would come to Golovkin's aid once again to help him prepare for his fight against Marco Antonio Rubio.

The source article cites a quote to BaylorIC:

“The rumors are true, GENNADY GOLOVKIN is an animal. I’ve never been hit as hard from anybody else and I’ve sparred heavyweights,” Jackson said to Bayloric.

Source: Sports News 24

23. Shane Mosley Junior: This is assumed, as Mosley mentions only that his son, without naming names, spars with Golovkin at times.
Source: Hustle Boss

24. Fredrick Lawson: Leading up to Golovkin's bout with Marco Antonio Rubio and Lawson's bout with Ray Narh.
Source: It was mentioned on ESPN2's broadcast of Ray Narh VS Fredrick Lawson and also Allsports, the Ghanian sports site.

25. Chris Hunt, interviewer for Men's Fitness, took time from his interview of Gennady Golovkin in the lead up to Golovkin's match with Marco Antonio Rubio to do some presumably very light sparring with him. Hunt said it was one of the coolest things he'd ever done and thanked Gennady for not killing him.

Source: Men's Fitness

26. George Groves: For Golovkin's match with Daniel Geale.

George says:
“He’s a compact fighter, yeah. He packs a punch."

"He definitely hit me with a few shots, you know, and I hit him back with a few shots.'

"Great, absolutely priceless bit of sparring. . .Perfect timing."

"If there was any doubts about, you know, myself, my ability, my, you know, temperament, my mind, whatever, to go back in and spar with another world champion, one of the best pound for pound in the world right now, who was a week away from fight fitness, a week away from his fight, you know, and spar well- perfect.”

''Big Bear's a fantastic place to be."

Source: iFL TV

27. Enrique Ornelas:

"Ornelas gave his all and got in his share of shots but it was obvious who the more accomplished fighter was."

~Observer, Anson Wainwright, who mentions just before their first of several sparring sessions, Abel Sanchez showed Ornelas footage of Golovkin VS Bute in the amateurs, because Ornelas had just come back from sparring Bute in Canada to spar Golovkin in Big Bear, California, USA.

It was noted as the Fall of 2011, or some time before Ornelas' match with Beibut Shumenov (2012) and Golovkin's match against Lajuan Simon.(2011).
Source: Max Boxing

28. Roberto Garcia:
Source: Mentioned during the Friday Night Fights broadcast featuring Garcia VS Norberto Gonzalez, in the preceding match of Kamil Laszczyk VS Daniel Diaz, by commentator Bernardo Osuna

29. Marcos Rene Maidana: Oddly, in a 2014 interview with EsNews, through a translator, it was mentioned that Maidana thinks he remembered sparring Golovkin in Germany and feeling his power.
Source: EsNews

30. Zapir Rasulov: For Golovkin's match with Kassim Ouma in June of 2011.
Source: Boxing Scene

31. Sullivan Barrera: Only implied in the source and they have been pictured working together, but it is unclear if they were real spars. It was mentioned in October interview, while he was preparing to fight Rowland Bryant and probably during Golovkin's training camp for Marco Antonio Rubio.
Source: Boxing News 24

Extra camp notes:

1. For his match with Daniel Geale, Geale trained with Jake Carr playing the part of Golovkin.
Source: The Australian

2. For his match with Gregorz Proksa, Doug Fischer for Ring, says that all of his sparring rounds were four minutes a piece.
Source: RingTV

3. Marco Antonio Rubio used Egidijus Kavaliauskas for his match with Golovkin.
Source: EsNews

As always, for any corrections you think you have, please post a source with your comment, unless it's something like a simple typo. If you like what we do, please, bookmark, share, etc. The more traffic we get, the more likely we are to keep going, at this stage. This page will be filled in with quotes and notes I find interesting, whether informative, odd or funny or any other form of interest. Thanks for checking in.

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Wladimir Klitschko's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

This page is designed to be as complete as possible a reference list and guide to the sparring of heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko as can be found. It is part of our main page list for finding sparring partner history, to be found here:

Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes

As always, for any corrections you think you have, please post a source with your comment, unless it's something like a simple typo. If you like what we do, please, bookmark, share, etc. The more traffic we get, the more likely we are to keep going, at this stage.

Klitschko, Wladimir:

1. Vitali Klitschko: Wladimir says: "The last time we sparred, and that was years ago," he said, "I broke my leg. After that, we said no more."
Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/22/sports/la-sp-dwyre-20110723

2. Francesco Pianeta: For Thompson rematch. Pianeta would later get a chance to challenge Klitschko and would say about sparring him "I was in Wladimir’s camp as a sparring partner last year. I saw his weaknesses and will use them for me. I know many experts see me as the underdog but I like this role and will shock the boxing world when I knock out Klitschko!“
Source: The Sweet Science

3. Steve Cunningham: For Haye
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488009

4. Corey Sanders: For Jameel McCline: Wlad says: "I have had seven or eight sparring partners, guys like Corey Sanders, Julius Long, Ty Fields, and others."
Source: http://www.boxinginsider.com/interviews/interview-with-wladimir-vitali-klitschko/

5. Julius Long: For Jameel McCline: Wlad says: "I have had seven or eight sparring partners, guys like Corey Sanders, Julius Long, Ty Fields, and others."
Source: http://www.boxinginsider.com/interviews/interview-with-wladimir-vitali-klitschko/

6. Tye Fields: For Jameel McCline: Wlad says: "I have had seven or eight sparring partners, guys like Corey Sanders, Julius Long, Ty Fields, and others."
Source: http://www.boxinginsider.com/interviews/interview-with-wladimir-vitali-klitschko/

7. Jordan Shimmell: For Francesco Pianeta
Source: http://www.boxinginsider.com/headlines/jordan-shimmell-is-training-with-wladimir-klitschko-to-help-prepare-for-pianeta/

8. Ola Afolabi: For Haye:
Source: http://rt.com/sport/boxing/klitschko-haye-unification-america/

9. Simon Barclay: For Alex Leapai
Source: http://www.boxnation.com/boxing-news/barclay-spars-with-heavyweight-great-klitschko/

10. Deontay Wilder: For Mariusz Wach: Wilder says: "They loved it so much that I became the head sparring partner. I did 45-plus rounds with that man. Sometimes, everybody would be ready to spar, but it was just me."
Source: http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/176045-wilder-2

James Ali Bashir, Wladimir's co-trainer, says he was working the corner with Deontay Wilder and Richard Towers in sparring Wladimir and both were knocked down trying to be aggressive and that he was impressed with their aggressiveness against Klitschko.

Source: From a great interview with Ingram Jones on the BaylorIC Youtube Channel, published March 09, 2013

11. Sherman "The Tank" Williams: Leading to his brief sparring for Klitschko's match with Alex Leapai, he'd sparred twice with Wladimir and six other times with Vitali Klitschko.

Has sparred twice with Wladimir and six other times with Klitschko’s brother, recently retired world champion Vitali, at the time of this source's article:
Source: The Sweet Science

12. Vyacheslav Glazkov: For Alexander Povetkin
Source: Stated on NBC Sports Broadcast leading into Glazkov's fight with Tomasz Adamek

13. Michael Sprott: For David Haye and Alexander Povetkin

Leading up to Haye:
"For a heavyweight, he is a very technical fighter."
"Wladimir is up there with the greats of boxing, like Lennox Lewis"
Source claiming he spent three weeks with Haye for this match.

Sources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-1263339/Klitschko-brothers-hot-David-Haye-says-British-rival-Michael-Sprott.html
http://www.boxingscene.com/wladimir-klitschko-taste-british-sparring--70273

14. Sam Sexton: For Alexander Povetkin + Alex Leapai
Sources: http://www.boxingscene.com/wladimir-klitschko-taste-british-sparring--70273

http://asia.eurosport.com/boxing/klitschko-i-m-not-going-to-take-alex-leapai-easy_sto4208547/story.shtml

15. Dillian/Dellian Whyte: For Alexander Povetkin
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/wladimir-klitschko-taste-british-sparring--70273

And for Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

16. Tony Thompson (became opponent, twice)
Source: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3484672

17. Eddie Chambers, sometime in 2006, for "a couple weeks". He became an opponent of Klitschko in 2010. Eddied said:

"There were times I saw things, like with my jab, honestly, I was outboxing him. I was moving around - pop! I was like 'Man, it's working.' If I can keep going like that, you never know."

Source: http://articles.philly.com/2010-03-19/sports/25215111_1_wladimir-klitschko-eddie-chambers-heavyweight-title-belts

Chambers became Wladimir's opponent in 2010, shut out on the cards heading into the twelfth round, knocked out by a single left hook, unconscious, in the final seconds of that final round.

18. Richard Towers:
Source: http://www1.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/9003657/richard-towers-faces-a-crossroads-fight-against-lucas-browne-says-trainer-dom-ingle

James Ali Bashir, Wladimir Klitshcko's co-trainer, said: "He surprised me, because, one day, Wladimir knocked him down, I mean sat him down, with a hard-a** hook-a hard hook. Bam! I mean, FOOM, he's sitting on the floor and he's like, looking up like 'What the hell happened?' You know, he was just sitting on the floor looking, man, he was just like 'What in the world?' and we had to help him up, say 'Hey, man. You come on out this ring, man, before you get killed.' You know? And he wanted to keep going. I said 'No, no, no, there ain't no shame in that. Get out this ring, man.'

Bashir says that Towers had given him the surprise of saying that Wladimir was only the tenth fighter he'd ever sparred in his life. He also says Richard Towers is a really good person and he loves him. Bashir says he was working the corner with Deontay Wilder and Richard Towers in sparring Wladimir and both were knocked down trying to be aggressive and that he was impressed with their aggressiveness against Klitschko.

Source: From a great interview with Ingram Jones on the BaylorIC Youtube Channel, published March 09, 2013

19. Jarrell Miller: For David Haye (2011): Jarell says: "His defense is superb, with his head movement and a lot of people don't know that, don't see it the way-how we see it." He says it's his second camp with Wladimir.
Source: Told Sky Sports News, mentioned: http://www.boxingfutures.com/opinion/0609-klitschko-training-camp

20. Michael Hunter: For David Haye (2011), while still an amateur. He'd become a 2012 Olympian. He says Wlad hurt his back and had him out of fighting shape for a little while from leaning down on him. Says he's a "big and smart dude." and "actually pretty fast". He says that he's been working with him "a couple weeks now".

Also for Jean Marc Mormeck, 2012.

Source: Sky Sports News Interview
Source: Ring Polska

Later, in a 2013 interview, when asked by Elie Seckbach "Who's the toughest guy you ever sparred" he would reply "I would have to say Wladimir Klitschko."
Source: EsNews

21. Tony Harrison: For Alex Leapai
Sources: EsNews
http://asia.eurosport.com/boxing/klitschko-i-m-not-going-to-take-alex-leapai-easy_sto4208547/story.shtml

22. Joshua Tufte, for Alex Leapai
Source: http://asia.eurosport.com/boxing/klitschko-i-m-not-going-to-take-alex-leapai-easy_sto4208547/story.shtml

23. Johnathan Banks, Wlad refers to Banks in the lead up to his match against Mariusz Wach as "My main sparring partner - my man, Johnathan Banks"
Sources: http://www.boxingscene.com/w-klitschko-emanuel-stewards-spirit-always-here--58618

24. Malik Scott: Malik calls him a "supreme athlete".
Sources: EsNews

Later: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

25. Kevin Johnson:
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/johnson-discusses-artur-szpilka-vs-bryant-jennings--73361

Later also for Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

26. Phil Jackson: Phil mentions Wladimir is a harder puncher than Vitali Klitschko and Lennox Lewis both. He mentions sparring with Klitschko at the time of Klitschko's fight with Ray Mercer. He said of the Klitschko brothers "They're just real polite, real good people, man."
Source: East Side Boxing

27. Andy Lee: First record of this partnership that I have is when Wladimir was training for his second match with Chris Byrd in 2006. Emanuel Steward, then Wladimir's trainer, said:
"Wladimir told me after beating Byrd that Andy was much harder to hit than Byrd and much faster, too. For the first day, Andy's speed really gave Wladimir problems and by the time we got Wladimir to the actual Byrd fight, Chris Byrd was slow in comparison to what Wladimir had been having with Andy in sparring."
Source: Seconds Out

The second specific match Lee worked with Wladimir for was his unification bout with Sultan Ibragimov.
Source: HBO

The third specific match I am aware of is for Lee's scheduled match against Daniel Urbanski and Wladimir's match against Dereck Chisora. Neither fight happened at the time.
Secondary Source: RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann)

28. Charles Shufford: (former opponent) for first Samuel Peter match.
Source: Interview transcript with Wladimir Klitschko aired on episode 36 of On The Ropes Boxing Radio, August 24, 2009

On The Ropes Boxing Radio

29. Samuel Peter (unverified, for Charles Shufford)
Source: The now defunct Bragging Rights Corner, in my notes, from a writer listed as Stephen Jones.

30. Teke Oruh (unverified, for Charles Shufford)
Source: The now defunct Bragging Rights Corner, in my notes, from a writer listed as Stephen Jones.

31. Jakarta Nakuru (unverified, for Charles Shufford)
Source: The now defunct Bragging Rights Corner, in my notes, from a writer listed as Stephen Jones. Nakuru is assumed as he's mentioned only as "Jakarta" and a local heavyweight, from where Nakuru did fight.

32. Tony Tubbs (unverified, for Charles Shufford)
Source: The now defunct Bragging Rights Corner, in my notes, from a writer listed as Stephen Jones.

33. Travis Walker:
Source: Fight Hype

34. James Toney: Pepper Roach says: "James Toney, he sparred both Klitschkos at Freddie's gym. He looked good with both of them. He didn't dominate them. But he looked good with both of them. . .You know James plays with people. . .He spun both of them around, patted them in the a**. They were mad but that's how James is."
Source: EsNews interview with Pepper Roach

35. Anthony Joshua: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

36. Emmanuel Nwodo: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

37. Dorsette Barnwell: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

38. Iago Kiladze: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

39. Wladimir/Vladimir Tereshkin: For Klitschko's September bout with Kubrat Pulev, August of 2014
Source: Fight News

40. Natu Visinia: For his match with Alex Leapai.
Source: Courier Mail

41. Rene Dettweiler: This was meant to have taken place in Klitschko's training camp in Mallorca/Majora, a Spanish island with a gym converted from a ballroom, and one Klitschko would use again later. Boxing Scene has this mentioned in a 2006 article, saying Dettweiler went to Klitschko's camp in March, so it's assumed the camp was for the Chris Byrd rematch, which took place in April of 2006.

Source: Boxing Scene

42. Willie Chapman:
Source USA Today

43. Maurice Harris: Harris says that he worked with both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in the same year, 2005(read further). He worked with Wladimir for Wlad's match with DaVarryl Williamson and Vitali for his match with Danny Williams. To make a slight correction, Harris likely worked with both in 2004, when both of those matches took place. Harris says this is the last time he worked with them, up until the time of a 2012 interview with Boxing Talk.
Source: 2012 interview for Boxing Talk

44. Joseph Parker: Parker was apparently invited to Klitschko's next training camp. I have no record of them sparring before, though there is record of previous invites to the Klitschko camp.
Source: TVNZ

Parker was apparently asked by Wladimir's camp to spar two earlier times, including for Wladimir's match with Kubrat Pulev but both other times the timing coincided with his own matches very poorly and it wasn't feasible. Parker's trainer, Kevin Barry, mentioned "I want Joe to work with Klitschko because he is the measuring stick. I think it would be a huge growth thing for Joe and a very good mental test for Joe to be with the elite of the elite. There's no doubt about that. There's Klitschko, then there's the rest. That's our yardstick, so I'm very keen for him to go."

Source: Boxing Scene
Update: The sparring took place and it was for Klitschko's match with Bryant Jennings.

45. Aaron Pryor Junior:
Source: Boxing Insider

46. Murat Gassiev: For Klitschko's match with Bryant Jennings and Gassiev's match with Felix Cora Junior. Abel Sanchez says Gassiev "did" well, according to FS1's commentators during broadcast of Gassiev's match with Cora Junior. This was meant to be at least one 3-round sparring session with a few others scheduled.
Source: FS1 commentating, PEC,

47. Domonique Dolton:
Source: Commentator Ray Flores mentioned that Dolton had sparred Wlad, twice, during Dolton's match with Jamontay Clark. While I have no source for the fighters mentioning the sparring themselves, directly, Domonique mentions being a fan of Wlad in an interview where he mentions that he's a cool guy who told him a joke he laughed at all day, the first time he met him in the gym. He noted that Wlad was serious about training but cool outside the ring.

Extra notes:

1. For the first match with Sam Peter: Emanuel Steward mentions to those covering the camp that Wladimir is closing in on 120 rounds of sparring for the fight and “The most I’ve ever had a fighter spar before a fight.”
Source: The Sweet Science

2. For his bout with Alex Leapai, Klitschko's camp made an offer to hire David Tua, who could've used the money, but decided out of loyalty to Leapai to reject the offer.
Source: Courier Mail

3. At some point, a Klitschko's camp, likely Wladimir Klitschko's camp, but possibly Vitali's, offered contender Bryant Jennings a spot as a sparring partner. Jennnings' camp declined, despite knowing the money was good.

Bryant says: “I think you have to go to their camp (as a sparring partner) so they can test you, see what you’re all about, so they can figure out what they’re getting into … whether or not they can handle you. . . That seems to be the only way. A lot of their opponents have been their sparring partners, so that’s one strategy (for moving to the front of the line). But I don’t want them to figure me out just yet. I want them to find out what I’m all about when we get in the ring.”

Source: The Sweet Science

4. For the Kubrat Pulev bout, it is mentioned that Wladimir had a total of fifteen sparring partners, in his Austrian training camp.

Source: East Side Boxing

5. For his bout with Wladimir Klitschko (2005) Eliseo Castillo sparred with Michael Grant (Former opponent of Lennox Lewis at the time), Lance Whitaker and Jameel McCline (former opponent of Wladimir's at the time) to prepare him for Wladimir.

Source: East Side Boxing

6. Bryant Jennings prepared for Wladimir Klitschko with Gerald Washington. Jennings and Washington had said this, while Fred Jenkins, Bryant's trainer, told Ingram Jones he would not confirm it, coyly. Washington complimented Jennings conditioning and intelligence.

Source from Washington: https://www.facebook.com/GeraldWashingtonFanPage/photos/a.456948307755771.1073741831.254265691357368/743102835806982/?type=1

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Zou Shiming Can't Help His Nature VS Luis De La Rosa

Today, Chinese star athlete and arrived prospect of the professional Flyweight Division, Zou Shiming, was seemingly at odds with the desire to pace himself for 10 professional boxing rounds in only his fifth professional fight. At odds, because, well, Shiming seems to be a showman with a work ethic that matches his Chinese background. His style is that of a risk-taking volume puncher. Combination punching with all the speed you need, over and over. He likes to work. He likes to fight. He smiles. He throws, he moves. He's light on his feet. Well-coordinated, catlike reflexes, dynamic combinations, a superb athlete is Shiming. He reminds me, in some ways, regardless of how far he may or may not go in the sport, of Manny Pacquiao. The pre-politics Manny Pacquiao. The raw talent Pacquiao. He fights with relish. It would be hard for me not to like that.

Luis De La Rosa landed some very, very big shots, though he arguably didn't win a round. Shiming smiled at those shots. His nose bloodied at some point, but still most of the blood on Shiming was from De La Rosa's eye, as a result of an official accidental headbutt, but more than aggravated by Shiming's fists. Larry Merchant was on call for this terrifically atmospheric Macau card, like the last with Shiming on HBO. As always, he found a gem of a line for Shiming, whose four other contests Larry is said to have also watched. Larry's line, during the tenth and final round was "In the famous, ancient Chinese Art of War, one of the first sayings is, is that the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Obviously, Shiming never read that."

Larry's comment was perfect. De La Rosa was punished for every big shot he landed on Shiming. His face turning slowly into that of a stereotypical fighter, bloody cut, cauliflowered ear too, I think. He was dominated. And yet, Shiming worked hard, never made it easy on himself, perhaps underutilising his quick, snappy jab, but always taking risks to land more punches than he really needed to, to win. Shiming has a tremendously unpredictable arsenal of punches. He's as unpredictable from moment to moment as he is busy. I did not envy De La Rosa's task. But I do admire Shiming's work ethic and showmanship. I don't know if he is truly capable of coasting in a fight like this, especially this early in his career, but he never tried to find out either. This is something we can appreciate as viewers. Zou Shiming is a natural showman who keeps fighting hard, whether he needs to or not, to the last bell.

Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Who Were Their Sparring Partners? A Boxing Reference List For Research Purposes

This page will be the starting point for a database listing as many sparring partner connections as I can find. I say "connections" because sometimes the facts of sparring, as we all know, can cause different recollections. It's meant as a general help to anyone, for any reason. Please, bookmark it and I will be adding to it, little by little, with links to sources, the Boxrec pages of the fighters, some quotes about it that I found helpful/interesting/amusing, etc, If they are very big names, I'll likely eventually link this to a special sparring profile page for that fighter alone, or if they're well known for sparring but not necessarily a big name (e.g. Steve Forbes, Malik Scott) I may give a separate also. Many of the less popular names will only be mentioned going one way, under their more popular sparring partner.

For everyone else, I'll either keep them on this page or divide them into multiple pages by alphabetical order, with possibly a separate page for each letter. The format might change if I find a better way to do it than the way I begin. Thanks so much for any feedback. If you have corrections that aren't of typo natures (which are also welcome) please link me to a source. Hopefully, this will be a big enough reference by the end of the year that we will have a very useful tool for those looking up this kind of thing. If you like how it turns out, please share with anyone you think might be interested. The more traffic I get, the more likely I am to continue working on this site. Here are the names from all the records I've kept:

Alphabetical order, by surnames:

A:

Adamek, Tomasz:

1. Vyacheslav Glazkov;
The talk was that Glazkov had success with Adamek, whom he'd later defeat.
Source: Stated on NBC Sports Broadcast leading into Glazkov's fight with Tomasz Adamek

2. Derrick Rossy: For Adamek's match with Nagy Aguilera.
Source: Tomasz's personal blog

3. Bobby Gunn: For Adamek's match with Nagy Aguilera. (Adamek had already defeated Gunn years prior)
Source: Tomasz's personal blog

4. Mariusz Wach: For Adamek's match with Przemyslaw Saleta and Mariusz's match with Alexander Povetkin: Wach says: “I spent 20 rounds with Adamek, going full speed with no mercy. He’s fast. . ."and also refers to Adamek as his buddy.

Source: Fight News
*Fight News claims Adamek had 7 total sparring partners for Przemyslaw Saleta.

Alexander, Devon:

1. Miguel Cruz:
Source: Commentator Ray Flores says they sparred 36-40 rounds during Cruz's fight with David Grayton. He says Cruz said he picked up quite a bit of tricks from the sparring.

2. Amir Imam

Source:

3. Cletus Seldin:
Source: https://www.ringtv.com/522221-cletus-seldin-says-he-deserves-a-title-shot-has-adrien-broner-in-his-targets/

Algieri, Chris:

1. Marcos Rene Maidana:
For his bout with Ruslan Provodnikov:
Source: Ring

2. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez
For his bout with Ruslan Provodnikov:
Source: Ring

3. Brandon Rios
For his bout with Ruslan Provodnikov:
Source: Ring
In a brief interview, Rios mentions:
''I worked with him a couple times."
"He's a great boxer."
and having faced Manny Pacquiao, tabs Algieri to defeat him in their scheduled bout but also mentioned Algieri's lack of power.

Source: Hustle Boss

4. Zab Judah: This was for Algieri's match with Manny Pacquiao. Judah remarked that he thought Algieri had "decent power"and was a physically strong person and Manny should not underestimate his power. He said Algieri is also a "slick boxer".
Source: Bad Left Hook
Secondary source: Dontae's Boxing Nation

5. Michael Brooks: For Algieri's match with Manny Pacquiao. Brooks claims to have been sparring Algieri for years, since 2005, when Algieri was still a kickboxer.
Source: Hustle Boss

Ali, Muhammad:

1. Jimmy Ellis
2. Larry Holmes
3. "Big " Roy Williams
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography

4. Willy Moran (likely spelled as Willie, on boxrec):
Source: The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life's Journey, By Muhammad Ali, Hana Yasmeen Ali

5. Greg Page: Some sources have Page as being a known sparring partner of Muhammad Ali as early as the age of fifteen.
Source: BET

6. Tim Witherspoon: Witherspoon says Ali actually gave him his nickname ''Terrible" due to how tough he was in sparring.
Source: The Observer
Secondary Source: Sports Illustrated

Alvarez, Saul:

1. Francisco Santana: For Canelo's match with Josesito Lopez. Francisco says: He basically says he's trying to learn from Alvarez and he's much more mature than most fighters his age.
Source: Hustle Boss (August 2012 interview)

2. Abraham Lopez: (we're uncertain which Abraham Lopez to link to) For Canelo's match with Josesito Lopez: Santana mentioned that they both sparred Canelo in 2012.
Source: Hustle Boss (August 2012 interview)

Angulo, Alfredo:

1. Amir Khan, for Angulo's match against Saul Alvarez. Alfredo says: "I believe that the velocity that Amir fights with is really helping me out with my reflexes through this camp. . .I've been sparring with Amir Khan virtually every day through this whole camp on all of the sparring days, and we're boxing about three or four rounds each day."

2. Tony Hirsch, for Angulo's match against Saul Alvarez. Alfredo says: "Tony Hirsch is another sparring partner who has been working with me. He has been an integral part of the training camp as well."

Source: Ring

Arreola, Chris

1. Damian Wills, for Chris' match with Jameel McCline

Source: East Side Boxing

2. Cisse Salif, for Chris' match with Jameel McCline, and for his match with Vitali Klitschko.

Source for the McCline match: East Side Boxing
Source for the Vitali Klitschko match: My Boxing Fans

3. Rod Willis, for Chris' match with Jameel McCline

Source: East Side Boxing

4. Lance Whitaker: For Chris' match with Vitali Klitschko.
Source for the Vitali Klitschko match: My Boxing Fans

5. Malik Scott: For Chris' match with Vitali Klitschko.
Source for the Vitali Klitschko match: My Boxing Fans

Augustama, Azea:

1. Ahmed Elbiale/Elbiali
Source: Miami Herald

B:

Beck, Owen:

1. Deontay Wilder: Beck claims that Wilder's sparring, like his fight with him was "Pretty much no good either. He was complaining about his elbows, about tendinitis. . .We didn't spar but I think two rounds, maybe." He picks Bermane Stiverne against Wilder by fifth-round knockout. He thinks Stiverne hits harder than Wilder having both fought and sparred Wilder and sparred Bermane. He feels Wilder and his team were okay to his face but disrespected him behind his back. He feels Wilder is a very disrespectful person. He also says he feels he observed that Wilder specifically doesn't like to get hit with body punches.

Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.

2. Bermane Stiverne: Says he is an "awesome guy to be around" and that he's had good work with him. He says Stiverne hits harder than Deontay Wilder, having sparred and professionally fought Wilder. He picked Stiverne to defeat Wilder by fifth-round knockout and says Bermane's hands feel like bricks. He says he had to move in sparring with him because he couldn't stand toe to toe with him, that Stiverne was simply too powerful.
Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.
3. Chris Byrd:
Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.
4. Lamon Brewster:
Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.
5. Lennox Lewis: He says he used to play basketball with Lennox.
Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.

Boone, Darnell:

1. Kelly Pavlik: Mentioned that Pavlik was about 22-0, so likely about 2004. Boone says this is after trying to talk the man running the gym into letting him spar, when Boone had never learned to box, let alone spar. This was Boone's very first sparring session, according to him. He eventually got them to let him pick a guy to spar and he picked Kelly, not knowing who he was. He says: "We went about a round and a half; he beat me from corner to corner, but after the rounds were over, he gave me a hug and said, 'Man, you got heart. You would do real good in this sport.' And I have been boxing ever since."

Source: Fight Hype(2014 interview)

Bradley, Timothy:

1. Lucas Matthysse, for Bradley's match with Juan Manuel Marquez, noted as even being Bradley's first spar back after his concussion-inducing match with Ruslan Provodnikov. Bradley says that Matthysse was a harder puncher than Provodnikov.
Source: USA Today

2. Terence Crawford: Tim says: "In camp, I like to get beat up. He did that. He beat me up." and mentioned Crawford is naturally right-handed but fought lefty. It was in India and for Tim's match with Devon Alexander. "The thing that I like about him is, is that he makes adjustments. . .Sometimes I will press, and I will press hard. And most people, most people, what they do is they will crumble. They will crumble, you know, and he didn't. . .He's a dog."

He also mentions they sparred for TIm's match with Joel Casamayor. Tim says the first camp with Terence was hard, but the second one was harder because of the adjustments Terence made, and that they talked about their sessions and learned from each other. He also says he is a future champion and would no longer be a sparring partner for anybody and that they can't kill each other in sparring again and they know each other too well now and have to have their own camps, each of them.

Terence says: "It was rough." and "Tim Bradley a bull." He also says that a lot of people don't see Tim as a great boxer but a slugger that just comes forward but that it's not like that when you get in the ring with him.

"With Tim it was way different than I ever sparred anybody. You know, like, he took me in his house, you know, took me to see football games. So, I looked up to him like a big brother. We done had personal bond conversations. You know, he done gave me a lot of great advice that I ain't got from nobody, you know, really. So, I looked at him totally different, you know. His family embraced me, they all liked me, you know. We went on little trips, like going to see them play soccer and stuff like that so I felt like I was part of the family."

Source: Hustle Boss, April 2013 interview.

Broner, Adrien:

1. Errol Spence (When Spence was still an amateur)
Source: Boxing Scene

2. Hank Lundy
Source: Boxing Scene

3. Robert Easter
Source: Robert Easter, while commentating on FS1 for PBC, during the Ryan Karl VS Kareem Martin match in November of 2017

Bruno, Frank:

1. Jeff Sims:

2. Leroy Caldwell: Commentator mentions Caldwell was brought over "at considerable expense, for three weeks"
Caldwell says in an interview featured on the broadcast: "I think he's the strongest heavyweight right now that's coming up I even seen." and that he "trains like a mad dog". He goes on to say he's been hit by Earnie Shavers, Cleveland Williams and George Foreman, and that there was no difference between their punches and Frank's.

Source: During the fight broadcast of Frank Bruno VS Floyd Cummings

Bute, Lucian:

1. Daniel Judah: For his 2011 bout with Brian Magee
2. James McGirt Junior: For his 2011 bout with Brian Magee
Source: Boxing Scene

Brewster, Lamon:

1. Lennox Lewis: Lamon says: "Lennox Lewis was great, and a good friend."
Source: East Side Boxing

2. James Toney: Lamon says:" James gave me so much experience and he always gave me advice and encouragement." He says that the best (for sparring only, I have to assume) he ever sparred with were Toney and Lionel Butler, despite sparring Lennox Lewis.
Source: East Side Boxing

3. Lionel Butler: Lamon says: "Lionel, he tested me the hardest in the gym, with his unforgettable power."
He says that the best (for sparring only, I have to assume) he ever sparred with were Lionel and James Toney, despite sparring Lennox Lewis.

Source: East Side Boxing

Burns, Ricky:

1. Luke Campbell: For Ricky's match with Terence Crawford. Ricky says: “The sparring with Luke went really well and I couldn’t be more pleased,”
Campbell says: “I was expecting a tough spar and that was exactly what I got,”
Source: Ring

2. Kevin Mitchell:
Source: Ring

C:

Campillo, Gabriel:

1. Andrzej Fonfara: Campillo mentions that this work was done in Chicago in an August 19, 2014 interview.
2. John Jackson: Campillo mentions that this was in the Virgin Islands in an August 19, 2014 interview.
Source: Boxing Scene

Charles, Don:

1. Danny Williams:
Source: Boxing Scene

2. James "Bonecrusher" Smith:
Source: Boxing Scene

3. Henry Akinwande:
Source: Boxing Scene

Charr, Manuel:

1-3. Nikolay Valuev, Sina Sinan Samil Sam and Cengiz Koc: Charr says he began sparring them in Berlin and "They were no problem for me."

4. Alexander Povetkin: Charr said "He had a lot of problems against me. I have no respect for him and I would fight against him every time, with or without money."

Source: 2007 interview with Andrew Wake at East Side Boxing

Chambers, Eddie:

1. Tyson Fury:
Source: British Boxers

2. Wladimir Klitschko: Chambers became an opponent of Wladimir later, being badly knocked out by a single left hook in the final seconds, having been shut out on points up to that knockout and unable to invade Wladimir's space. The sparring took place at least sometime in 2006, for "a couple weeks". He became an opponent of Klitschko in 2010. Eddied said:

"There were times I saw things, like with my jab, honestly, I was outboxing him. I was moving around - pop! I was like 'Man, it's working.' If I can keep going like that, you never know."

Source: http://articles.philly.com/2010-03-19/sports/25215111_1_wladimir-klitschko-eddie-chambers-heavyweight-title-belts

3. Jessie Hart: Hart is an undefeated Super Middleweight prospect at this time, Chambers was training for his 2013 match Thabiso Mchunu, which he lost decisively in his bid to step down from heavyweight to cruiserweight. Chambers calls Hart a "shining star prospect".

Source: East Side Boxing

4. Tony Thompson: It was mentioned leading up to a scheduled fight between the two which did not take place. The bout was an eliminator to decide which would rematch Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship. Chambers was forced to pull out for a back injury.

Source: On The Beak

5. Tony Bellew: For Tony's rematch with Nathan Cleverly, mentioning he guessed he'd sparred what must be over 100 rounds on the eighteenth of November, 2014. Tony's commentary about Eddie was glowing, saying:

"...Eddie Chambers is a Grade A fighter-skills, speed, power, he has everything, and he just doesn't get the respect he deserves, in my opinion."
"If Eddie Chambers came 20 years earlier, Eddie Chambers would be heavyweight champion of the world. No two ways about it."
"He doesn't get the respect he deserves, in my opinion."
He also said Chambers against Bermane Stiverne is a 50/50 fight, even though he rates Stiverne as a brilliant fighter since the amateur days.

Source: Interview with Michelle Joy Phelps

6. Hughie Fury: Chambers says in a November of 2014 interview: "We train like mad all the time, me and Tyson. Tyson helps step my game up to another level. Having Tyson and Hughie Fury to spar with has been great. When I spar with someone else now it's like sparring your little sister. I don't look forward to the sparring."

Source: ESPN
Chaves, Diego:

1. Luis Carlos Abregu
Source: Mentioned by HBO commentator Jim Lampley during HBO broadcast of Brandon Rios VS Diego Chaves. Also mentioned is that Chaves figures Abregu is very comparable to Brandon Rios in fighting style.

Note: I am assuming that Jim Lampley is referring to Luis Carlos Abregu, but he actually says "Juan Carlos Abregu'.

Secondary Source: Boxing Scene
Chaves says he's worked with "Carlos Abregu" and it is assumed he means Luis Carlos Abregu.

2. Marcos Rene Maidana: Chaves says he's worked with Maidana for Maidana's fights with Kotelnik, Victory Ortiz, Victor Cayo and others.
Source: Boxing Scene

Cherry, Edner:

1. Emanuel Augustus (Burton, formerly): For his last two weeks of training camp for Paulie Malignaggi (20070
2. Irving Garcia: For Paulie Malignaggi (2007)

Source: The Fight Writer

Chisora, Dereck:

1. Mariusz Wach: Chief Sparring Partner for Dereck's rematch with Tyson Fury, in the initial lead-up (the fight was postponed), Wach says: “Chisora is a very, very, strong fighter, he certainly surprised me with his strength. Even at this stage, with six weeks still left until the fight, he is physically prepared and as strong as bull,”

Source: East Side Boxing
Secondary Source: Behind The Gloves

2. A lexander Ustinov:
Source: Sky Sports
3. Nathan Cleverly: Cleverly's father and trainer Vince Cleverly said "He has handled heavyweights in sparring like Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora, and they have hit him with their best shots and not moved him." Vince said this in the lead-up interviews for Nathan's defense against Sergey Kovalev.

Source: ESPN

Cleverly, Nathan:

1. Dereck Chisora: Cleverly's father and trainer Vince Cleverly said "He has handled heavyweights in sparring like Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora, and they have hit him with their best shots and not moved him." Vince said this in the lead-up interviews for Nathan's defense against Sergey Kovalev.
Source: ESPN

2. Tyson Fury: Cleverly's father and trainer Vince Cleverly said "He has handled heavyweights in sparring like Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora, and they have hit him with their best shots and not moved him." Vince said this in the lead-up interviews for Nathan's defense against Sergey Kovalev.
Source: ESPN

3. Lateef Kayode: This was in Los Angeles for his defense against Shawn Hawk (2012), at Wild Cardy gym. Vince Cleverly, trainer and father, says: "[Kayode] went at Nathan like a bull, but Nathan handled him,"

Source: ESPN

Cotto, Miguel:

1. Willie Monroe Junior: Noted in 2012
Source: Generation News

Conn, Billy:

1. Max Baer: The source says Conn was training for Young Corbett III, at Duffy's Gym, in Oakland and that Conn rocked Baer badly in sparring while Baer was clowning around. Conn was likely in the 160's and Baer around 220, and notoriously durable.

Source: Book, Billy Conn - The Pittsburgh Kid, by Paul F. Kennedy

Cruz, Miguel:

1. Devon Alexander:
Source: Commentator Ray Flores says they sparred 36-40 rounds during his fight with David Grayton. He says he picked up quite a bit of tricks from the sparring.

Cunningham, Steve:

1. Tyson Fury: Cunningham became Fury's sparring partner after a seemingly contentious relationship with him as an opponent.

2. Chris Byrd:
Source: Interview with Chris Byrd for his Youtube Channel Byrd's Eye View

3. O'Neil Bell: Cunningham says it was when Bell was a professional and Cunningham was an amateur. He also says he got the better of it far more often than Bell and that this later caused Bell to vacate or be stripped of his Cruiserweight title, to avoid Cunningham.

Source: Interview with Chris Byrd for his Youtube Channel Byrd's Eye View

Curry, Donald:

1. Tony Montgomery: Montgomery went on to become a Curry opponent, disqualified for headbutts.

Source: Los Angeles Times - 1987, listed as former sparring partner

D:

Diaz, Jorge

1. Manny Pacquiao: For Manny's first fight with Juan Manuel Marquez: Diaz says "Man, he was paying everyone a hundred bucks a day. A hundred bucks, come on, for three rounds." Diaz also says he probably sparred with Manny in this camp for 6-8 weeks somewhere.
Source: Discussed in interview with EsNews.

Also from this same interview:

2. Joel Casamayor (assumed to be Joel, only says "Casamayor").

3-4. He mentions the Ruelas brothers when he "was a kid," assuming Gabriel Ruelas and Rafael Ruelas.

5. Z Gorres:

6. Gerry Penalosa, mentioning he was very aggressive when he first sparred him and turned into a slick fighter.

7. Rey Bautista:

8. Glenn Donaire (specifies not Nonito)

De La Hoya, Oscar:

1. Antonio Margarito: Margarito said he bloodied Oscar twice, and that Oscar's camp wanted him to go very easy on him, while Oscar was allowed to do his worst. Margarito was generally angered by the sparring, he indicated.
Source: Boxing Insider

2. Shane Mosley: In the amateurs, leading up to Oscar's run for the Olympic gold medal, and as a professional, leading up to Oscar's 2007 match with Floyd Mayweather Junior.
Source: ESPN

3. Ivan Calderon: Temporary trainer for Oscar, Freddie Roach, had Calderon spar Oscar in preparation for Oscar's 2007 match with Floyd Mayweather Junior. This became a very big deal because Roach spoke of tremendous difficulty in Oscar's hitting the tiny Calderon and he deduced that Oscar could not pull the trigger on a small, fast southpaw. Therefore, when it came time to discuss Roach's most famous fighter, Manny Pacquiao, facing Oscar in 2008, Roach figured it was easy pickings, apparently, and went over this point very publically. Calderon, for his part, was very respectful of De La Hoya, while not being particularly contradictory about Roach's comments.

Source: Boxing Scene

Dempsey, Jack:

1. Martin Burke: Burke says, having sparred Dempsey recently for six rounds in a week and then professionally fighting Gene Tunney over the distance: "The six rounds with Dempsey were worse than the whole 15 with Tunney."
Source: ESPN, VIA L.A. Times

Dolton, Domonique:

1. Wladimir Klitschko:

Source: Commentator Ray Flores mentioned that Dolton had sparred Wlad, twice, during Dolton's match with Jamontay Clark. While I have no source for the fighters mentioning the sparring themselves, directly, Domonique mentions being a fan of Wlad in an interview where he mentions that he's a cool guy who told him a joke he laughed at all day, the first time he met him in the gym. He noted that Wlad was serious about training but cool outside the ring.

2. Aaron Pryor Junior
Source: Mentioned during the broadcast of his fight with Jamontay Clark, by commentator Ray Flores.

3. Andy Lee
Source: Mentioned during the broadcast of his fight with Jamontay Clark, by commentator Ray Flores.

Donaire, Nonito:

1. Bruno Escalante:
Source: The Philippine Star

Dunne, Bernard:

1. James Toney:
Source: The Sweet Science

Dunne says: "Toney is the most naturally gifted boxer I have ever seen. He is also half mad." and also touches on Toney', racially-oriented trash talk. I believe this was at the Wild Card Gym. He mentions busting Toney's nose, and seeming to have his respect.
Source: My Story, Dunne's book.

2. Manny Pacquiao:
Source: The Sweet Science

Dunne has said of Pacquiao: "Manny is astonishingly gifted - so quick with both hands. Trading blows with him is a mistake simply because he can take your best shots and land more. He has an abundance of energy, relentlessly coming at you for twelve rounds."

Dunne says they sparred hundreds of rounds together and that Fredie Roach said he was the only one to "handle" him in the gym. Dunne says he enjoyed sparring with Pacquiao.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book.

3. Johnny Tapia:
Source: The Sweet Science

Dunne says he was brought to a Big Bear camp by Freddie Roach for Tapia's match with Marco Antonio Barrera. Dunne makes clear that he feels he schooled Tapia, who'd tried to go all out on him and, though Freddie Roach had warned Dunne of Tapia's crazy temperament, Dunne obliged Tapia's aggression a little too much and was sacked for it.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book.

4. Carlos Hernandez:
Source: The Sweet Science

5. Shane Mosley:
Source: The Sweet Science

6. Wayne McCullough: The Sweet Science article mentions "After watching a 15-year-old Dunne spar with the-then world bantamweight champion Wayne McCullough in 1995, many observers believed the teenager would follow in the footsteps of his compatriot,"
Source: The Sweet Science

7. Nate Campbell: This was apparently more than once and they disliked each other tremendously, according to Dunne, leading to very rough, very dirty spars.
Source: My Story, Dunne's book

8. Scott Caan, actor, son of James Caan, told Freddie Roach he'd like to step in with Dunne. Roach was apparently impatient about this and OK'd the sparring, but told Dunne after some light sparring to basically go lay it on him and not waste his sparring minutes. Dunne obliged, mentioning Scott and he got along well, and he was a tough enough guy, but after he went professional on him, Caan said he'd had enough.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book

9. Willie Jorrin: Dunne doesn't seem to respect Jorrin and seems to think he's a bit of a pampered sparring partner who doesn't approve of being hit.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book

11. "Speedy" Gonzalez: Dunne mentions sparring a fighter by this name. There is more than one. This one is referred to as a Mexican Featherweight. I'm not sure which fighter to link to.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book

Duran, Roberto:

1. Mickey Rourke: Rourke says: "Scary. I sparred with him at the later stages of his boxing life when I had some height and strength on him. But he was so crafty."
Source: BBC Interview

2. Sergio Mora: (2016) 35-year-old Mora says he'd already done five rounds with Shane Mosley, who Duran was training, and Duran wanted to demonstrate on him for Mosley. "The man still has the machismo and sees all the angles but there’s no way his body allows him to pull the trigger anymore.”

Duran was 64-years-old and training for exhibition bout with Julio Ceasar Chavez Senior.
Source: RING

E:

Easter, Robert:

1. Jamontay Clark
Source: Easter mentions this during Clark's match with Domonique Dolton, as he commentated for PBC on that night. He mentions Clark has a lot of power behind his long punches and that he is very skilled and sparred him in the Cincinatti area.

2. Austin Trout

3. Adrien Broner

4. Anthony Peterson

5. Lamont Peterson 6.

F:

Fonfara, Andrzej:

1. Blake Caparello, for his match with Adonis Stevenson.
2. Gabriel Campillo, for his match with Adonis Stevenson.

Source: Andrzej Fonfara Fan Site

Foreman, George:

1. Sonny Liston:

Source: Mentioned many times in interviews, mentioned in print, in his autobiography By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman

Forbes, Steve:

1. Floyd Mayweather Junior:
2. Marcos Rene Maidana:
3. Manny Pacquiao:
Source: EsNEWS
.
4. Ricky Hatton: For Hatton's match with Jose Luis Castillo.

Steve says: ''Hatton punches to the body good, but I know how to defend there, so I can’t say that he bothered me. But he did send one guy to the doctor’s office, so that says a lot about his body attack."

Source: Seconds Out

Frazier, Joe:

1. Ken Norton:
Ken saying "After three rounds with Frazier, boxing Godzilla for 10 rounds was nothing!"
Source: Going the Distance : The Ken Norton Story

2. Larry Holmes:
Source: Larry mentioned it on Sky Sports' Ringside, among other places

3. Jerry Quarry: Listed as between their first and second matches.
Source: East Side Boxing

Froch, Carl:

1. David Walker:
Source: http://www.saddoboxing.com/1660-kid-dynamite-walks-comeback-trail.html

Fury, Hughie:

1. Eddie Chambers: Chambers says in a November of 2014 interview: "We train like mad all the time, me and Tyson. Tyson helps step my game up to another level. Having Tyson and Hughie Fury to spar with has been great. When I spar with someone else now it's like sparring your little sister. I don't look forward to the sparring."

Source: ESPN

Fury, Tyson:

Tyson Fury Sparring Reference List

G:

Garcia, Mikey:

1. Evgeny Gradovich: Evgeny says about a potential fight with Garcia: "Everything can happen. Right now we spar with Mikey and I think it’s good for us."
Source: Ring

2. Manny Pacquiao: For Erik Morales rematch, three weeks at Wild Card Gym. Mikey says he's was probably nineteen or twenty and they had him spar Manny for sometimes up to eight rounds straight and were pleased enough to hire him as the main sparring partner. He says he felt his biggest thing was his speed, more so than his power. As of his interview with Hustle Boss, in September of 2012, he considers Edwin Valero to have been the hardest puncher he'd sparred, though implies it may have been because he was about fifteen years old that made it seem more than it was.

Source: Hustle Boss

3. Edwin Valero:
Source: Hustle Boss

Garcia, Roberto:

1. Gennady Golovkin:
2. James Kirkland:
3. Alfredo Angulo:
4. Amir Khan:
Source for 1-4: Mentioned during the Friday Night Fights broadcast featuring Garcia VS Norberto Gonzalez, in the preceding match of Kamil Laszczyk VS Daniel Diaz, by commentator Bernardo Osuna

Gavern, Jason:

1. Anthony Joshua: Gavern became an opponent of Joshua's after their sparring. The sparring was said by the commentators of Sky Sports during the fight to have been very one-sided and leaving Gavern rating Joshua among the top three guys he'd sparred, with Wladimir Klitschko.
Source: Sky Sports Broadcast of his match with Joshua

Geale, Daniel:

1. Jake Carr:
Source: The Australian

2. Garth Wood:
Source: The Daily Telegraph

Glazkov, Vyacheslav:

1. Wladimir Klitschko: For Alexander Povetkin
Source: Stated on NBC Sports Broadcast leading into Glazkov's fight with Tomasz Adamek

2. Tomasz Adamek: The talk was that Glazkov had success with Adamek.
Source: Stated on NBC Sports Broadcast leading into Glazkov's fight with Tomasz Adamek

Golota, Andrew:

1. Nate Tubbs: For his 1998 bout with Tim Witherspoon
Source: Sun Sentinel

Golovkin, Gennady:

We have a long list for Gennady on file and for limited space in this lost, we've got a separate page for Golovkin here:

Gennady Golovkin's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

Grano, Tony

1. Vitali Klitschko, three weeks for Vitali's fight with Albert Sosnowski
2. Joe Mesi:
Source: Boxing Scene

H:

Harris, Maurice:

1. Vitali Klitschko: Harris says that he worked with both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in the same year, 2005(read further). He worked with Wladimir for Wlad's match with DaVarryl Williamson and Vitali for his match with Danny Williams. To make a slight correction, Harris likely worked with both in 2004, when both of those matches took place. Harris says this is the last time he worked with them, up until the time of a 2012 interview with Boxing Talk.
Source: 2012 interview for Boxing Talk

2. Wladimir Klitschko: Harris says that he worked with both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in the same year, 2005(read further). He worked with Wladimir for Wlad's match with DaVarryl Williamson and Vitali for his match with Danny Williams. To make a slight correction, Harris likely worked with both in 2004, when both of those matches took place. Harris says this is the last time he worked with them, up until the time of a 2012 interview with Boxing Talk.
Source: 2012 interview for Boxing Talk

3. Edmund Gerber: Harris says he sparred Gerber in Germany before facing him professionally.
Source: 2012 interview for Boxing Talk

Haye, David:

1. Mariusz Wach, for canceled fight with Tyson Fury: Haye says: "Wach is one of the toughest men I've ever shared a ring with. You couldn't even budge him with a baseball bat. Some nights I've wanted to try."

2. Alexander Dimitrenko, for canceled fight with Tyson Fury

3. Deontay Wilder, for canceled fight with Tyson Fury: Haye says: ""Wilder punches about as hard as anybody in the division right now"

4. Richard Towers, for canceled fight with Tyson Fury
Source: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/david-haye-sparring-partners-beat-tyson-fury-507125

5. Michael Sprott:
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/sprott-hired-wladimir-klitschkos-sparring-partner--20228

6. Dillian/Dellian Whyte:
Source: https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/boxing-tyson-fury-sparring-dillian-whyte-michael-sprott-155758663.html

7. George Groves: For George's match with Martins Kukulis.
Source: George Groves' on personal blog, September 2009

8. David Price:
Source: Frank Warren's site

Hearns, Thomas

1. Caveman Lee
Source: East Side Boxing

2. Dujuan Johnson:
Source: East Side Boxing

3. Milton McCrory:
Source: East Side Boxing

4. Marlon Starling: Emanuel Steward says: "In fact, he broke Marlon Starling’s jaw when Marlon came in to spar with him. Marlon was giving him some good boxing, too. They were really going at it hot and heavy and the next day he came into my room after training and told me that his jaw was hurt."
Source: East Side Boxing

5. Ray Leonard: Tommy reportedly got the better of Ray in their initial session, according to Emanuel Steward. This was for Ray's fight with Floyd Mayweather Senior.
Source: East Side Boxing

Source 2: Ray says of the Hearns sparring: "He was good. I enjoyed working with him then."
Source: People Magazine

6. Curtis Parker:
Source: East Side Boxing

7. Mike McCallum:
Source: Ringside Report

8. Mickey Rourke: Rourke says: "I once did a little sparring with Tommy Hearns. He hit me at two in the afternoon and I went down to a knee. At four in the morning, I was still throwing up."
Source: Rourke interview to the BBC

Hide, Herbie:

1. James Oyebola:
Source: Boxing Monthly

Holloway, Rashad:

1. Manny Pacquiao: A regular sparmate, used for at least Pacquiao's match with Oscar De La Hoya, Antonio Margarito and Miguel Cotto.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

2. Garth Wood: For Wood's first match with Anthony Mundine
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Holmes, Larry

1. Muhammad Ali: Holmes was hired for Ali's match against Ken Norton, 1973 rematch.
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography, his own words.

2. Ernie Butler, Butler invited him to spar and to teach him. Larry accepted.
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography, his own words.

3. Earnie Shavers, hired for Shavers to train for Jerry Quarry, hired by Don King. Larry notes it's the first time he's paid for sparring.

Also for Earnie's match with Jimmy Ellis.
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography, his own words.

4. Bernard Benton:
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography, his own words.

5. Jody Ballard, implied after January of 1977
Source: Larry Holmes: Against the Odds, Autobiography, his own words.

6. Joe Frazier:
Soure: Larry mentioned on Sky Sports' Ringside

Holyfield, Evander:

1. Michael Bentt: Bentt is noted as chief sparring partner for Evander during his heavyweight title reign.
Source: Go Carribean Expo

2. Mike Tyson: Pat Nappi, the head coach of the U.S. Olympic Boxing team, had Holyfield volunteer to spar Mike, from a lower weight class. It was reportedly heated enough that Nappi stopped it after one round and took place a full dozen years before their first pro match and left Holyfield so confident that he would tell a friend "I whooped his a**. He ain't ever forgot that and I ain't ever forgot that."

But Tyson is thought not to recall much from the sparring session, supposedly, saying only "I think he hurt his arm. He wasn't feeling well."

Source: The Post Game

3. Tommy Martin: Unverified as happening, but the article in the Sun Sentinel says he was specifically invited by Holyfield after seeng footage of him sparring Andrew Golota. Holyfield wanted Martin to help him prepare for his first match with Lennox Lewis, which took play in March of 1999.
Source: Sun Sentinel

4. David Tua: When asked about Holyfield in Juneo of 2010, while not directly about sparring, he said “Fantastic and superb athlete. One of the greatest champions that I admire and I have the utmost respect for. Not only because of his finesse but because of his heart. It’s mad admiration, not only as a boxing fan but as a person."

Source: Boxing Insider

A current upload link of footage, marked 21st of October, 1996: YouTube

5. Kirk Johnson:
Source: Boxing Scene

Hopkins, Bernard:

1. Gabriel Rosado:
Source: 15 Rounds

In an 2014 interview after Rosado had faced Gennady Golovkin and Peter Quillin, Rosado said the biggest puncer he'd been in the ring with was Bernard Hopkins in sparring. This was also before Rosado faced David Lemieux.
Source: EsNews

2. John David Jackson: Jackson says: "He was my chief sparring partner while I was champion."

*Jackson held the WBO Light Middleweight title in calendar years 1988-1993 and WBA Middleweight Champion in calendar years 1993-1994

Source: John David Jackson in interview with BillyCBoxing

3. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy: Jim Lampley mentioned on HBO during Sullivan Barrera VS Felix Valera, since Shabranskyy would be fighting Sergey Kovalev that night, that Hopkins had referred to him as "Iron Fist" after sparring with him.

Hunter, Michael:

1. Wladimir Klitschko (2011, spent weeks with Wladimir for David Haye match)
2. Ismayl Sillah:
Source: EsNews
Mentions that Wladimir is the toughest person he's sparred, Sillah is second.Source: Sky Sports News Interview
3. Hasim Rahman Junior:
Source: Hustle Boss

I:

Imam, Amir:

1. Erickson Lubin: Doug Fischer said: "Imam (14-0, 12 KOs), a talented boxer with good technique and power, is among the few fighters who can give Lubin quality sparring rounds."

Source: Fight Word
Secondary source: Click here to go to ReySanchezNews video of them sparring

2. Dennis Galarza:
Source: Click here for sparring footage from ReySanchezNews

J:

Jacobs, Danny:

1. Curtis Stevens: For Stevens' 2013 bout with Elvin Ayala, eight rounds, also while Jacobs was training to fight against Billy Lyell, which did not happen. Jacobs said Stevens was in tremendous shape, despite initially coming to camp overweight.
Source: Ring

2. Chris Algieri:
Source: Danny Jacobs says directly that he and Algieri spar and hit each other in the face, while talking about how close they are, and Algieri's many roles in Jacobs' camp, including officially as nutritionist, all on HBO's broadcast of Jacobs VS Maciej Sulecki, in April of 2018.

Jacobs, Gary:

1. Ian John-Lewis: Ian says: "In 1989 I was hired to spar with the very good fighter Gary Jacobs from Scotland, we had a week of intensive sparring and to be honest we kicked the hell out of each other on a daily basis."
Source: Ring News 24

Johnson, Jack:

1. Joe Choynski, technically. Joe is quoted as saying: "A man who can move like you should never have to take a punch." This took place after their bout.
Source: PBS

Johnson, Kevin:
1. Wladimir Klitschko:
2. Artur Szpilka: Kevin says "He's a great fighter. . .Szpilka has a great future ahead."
3. Bryant Jennings:

Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/johnson-discusses-artur-szpilka-vs-bryant-jennings--73361

4. Nikolay Valuev: Valuev says: "To tell you the truth, the American is nothing special as a boxer. We worked with him only because of his speed - he has fast left hand."
and says that Valuev was his sparring partner for his 2006 title defense Monte Barrett and they have sparred more than once. This is from a 2009 interview, leading up to Vitali Klitschko's match with Johnson.
Source: Boxing Scene

Jones Junior, Roy:

1. John Scully

Jones, Mike:

1. Manny Pacquiao:
2. Antonio DeMarco:
Source: Dontae's Boxing Nation

Joshua, Anthony:

1. Richard Towers:
Source: Sky Sports

2. Joe Joyce: May 2014
Source: Daily Mail

3. Tyson Fury:
Source: Tyson Fury, in interview with Steve Bunce

4. Wladimir Klitschko: August of 2014, for Klitschko's winning bout with Kubrat Pulev
Source: Fight News

5. Jason Gavern: Gavern became an opponent of Joshua's after their sparring. The sparring was said by the commentators of Sky Sports during the fight to have been very one-sided and leaving Gavern rating Joshua among the top three guys he'd sparred, with Wladimir Klitschko.
Source: Sky Sports Broadcast of his match with Joshua

Judah, Zab:

1. Floyd Mayweather Junior: Their session was a mutual preparation, as both had scheduled matches, Judah against Rafael Pineda and Mayweather against DeMarcus Corley. This took place in April of 2004. True or false, the story goes that Mayweather gave Judah a terrible hiding for a scheduled four-round spar. Roger Mayweather was quoted as saying he stopped it to prevent Judah getting anymore damage, as I've rephrased it. There is more to the story, if you follow the ESPN link from the pre-fight coverage of Zab and Floyd's professional match together.

Source: ESPN

1b. Judah apparently sparred Mayweather again for Mayweather's 2015 match with Manny Pacquiao. There was a minor controversy as claims came out that Mayweather was knocked down or even out in sparring. Zab Judah and Leonard Ellerbe denied that this took place. The rumour was given some depth in that it was also claimed Floyd badly beat Judah after he was put down.

Source discussing Leonard Ellerbe on the matter: Sky Sports
Source discussing Zab Judah on the matter: Fight Saga

There was also another minor controversy that involved these men sparring at this time and it involved Jeff Mayweather discussing Floyd dominating Judah in sparring (much like it is rumoured with their initial sessions).

Jeff Mayweather then personally apologised on the Mayweather Boxing Channel and said he wasn't the type of person to "throw someone under a bus" and he apologised to Floyd for leaking something from his camp. He said he wasn't in an interview but a casual conversation with a member of the press. He said that he implied everyone in camp with Floyd was getting "the business" with Floyd and the only person noteworthy to the journalist was Zab Judah, who he'd not initially specified and it was used as a headline for the story. He also says he considers Zab Judah a friend. "It was casual conversation and casual conversatin became an interview without me knowing it." Mayweather does stand by what he said, but apologises for it getting out the way it did, with Judah being specified in the way he was.

Source: Mayweather Boxing Channel

2. Paulie Malignaggi: Malignaggi denies this ever happened and says he would've remembered. Judah says it did happen, when Malignaggi was still an amateur.
Source: Ring

3. Ed Paredes:

4. Chris Algieri: For Algieri's match with Manny Pacquiao
Source: Bad Left Hook
Secondary source: Dontae's Boxing Nation

5. Victor Rosado: Paulie Malignaggi mentioned this in the lead-up to his match with Judah:
“I worked out at 8 o’clock in the morning and he worked out at night. One day I stayed all day and waited for him. . . He sparred this guy Victor Rosado, who had fought on the Golden Gloves. He was beating the brakes off this guy. Zab was so fast and so tough. This guy was a top prospect. I left thinking this guy (Judah) is so special and this is why people are talking about him."

Source: Ring

K:

Karl, Ryan:

1. Jermall Charlo
Source: Mentioned by commentators during his match with Kareem Martin.

2. Erislandy Lara, at Plex Gym.

Karl says: "We sparred Lara for the final week of his camp for his last fight with Terrell Gausha, because we’re the same height and reach and everything. That was a surreal experience since Lara’s the trickiest guy I’ve ever been in the ring with. He’s awkward, he’s slick and his range is unreal."

Source: PBC

3. Semajay Thomas

Source: PBC

4. Justin Pauldo

Source: PBC

Khan, Amir:

1. Jose Benavidez:
Source: Discussed in interview with EsNEWS.

2. Manny Pacquiao:
Source: Boxing Scene

3. Alfredo Angulo, for Angulo's match against Saul Alvarez. Alfredo says: "I believe that the velocity that Amir fights with is really helping me out with my reflexes through this camp. . .I've been sparring with Amir Khan virtually every day through this whole camp on all of the sparring days, and we're boxing about three or four rounds each day."
Source: Ring

4. Francisco Santana: For his rematch with Lamont Peterson. He calls Khan a good friend now.
Source: Hustle Boss (August 2012 interview)

5. Stan Martyniouk: For his match with Chris Algieri. Stan was brought in by Virgil Hunter for this fight, having been known as Manny Pacquiao's sparring partner for Chris Algieri as well.
Source: Unrivaled: Amir Khan, airing on Spike Network

Klitschko, Wladimir:

Wladimir's list is too long to fit in this post. Please, click here for a full listing:

Wladimir Klitschko's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

Klitschko, Vitali:

1. Wladimir Klitschko: Wladimir says: "The last time we sparred, and that was years ago," he said, "I broke my leg. After that, we said no more."
Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/22/sports/la-sp-dwyre-20110723

2. Dillian/Dellian Whyte:
Source: Source: https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/boxing-tyson-fury-sparring-dillian-whyte-michael-sprott-155758663.html

3. R ichard Towers:
Source: Sky Sports

4. Phil Jackson: Phil mentions Wladimir is a harder puncher than Vitali Klitschko. He mentions sparring with Klitschko at the time of Klitschko's fight with Ray Mercer. He said of the Klitschko brothers "They're just real polite, real good people, man."
Source: East Side Boxing

5. Tony Grano, three weeks for Vitali's fight with Albert Sosnowski
Source: Boxing Scene

6. Nicolai Firtha, for Vitali's match against Manuel Charr
Source: http://www.recordpub.net/sports/2013/07/13/randolph-native-nicolai-the-stoneman-firtha-returns-to-the-ring-tonight

7. Travis Walker:
Source: East Side Boxing

8. Raphael Butler:
Source: East Side Boxing

9. Alexander Ustinov:
Source: The New Zealand Herald

10. James Toney: Pepper Roach says: "James Toney, he sparred both Klitschkos at Freddie's gym. He looked good with both of them. He didn't dominate them. But he looked good with both of them. . .You know James plays with people. . .He spun both of them around, patted them in the a**. They were mad but that's how James is."
Source: EsNews interview with Pepper Roach

11. Maurice Harris: Harris says that he worked with both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in the same year, 2005(read further). He worked with Wladimir for Wlad's match with DaVarryl Williamson and Vitali for his match with Danny Williams. To make a slight correction, Harris likely worked with both in 2004, when both of those matches took place. Harris says this is the last time he worked with them, up until the time of a 2012 interview with Boxing Talk.
Source: 2012 interview for Boxing Talk

Kovalev, Sergey:

1. Gennady Golovkin:
“Kovalev was afraid of Golovkin when he was in the ring with him. . .I couldn’t spar them too much because Kovalev showed Gennady too much respect in the ring."
"When he did spar Gennady, Sergey would fall apart and wouldn’t pose much of a challenge for Golovkin. It was either too much respect or too much fear.”

Source: Fight Saga

Kovalev says:
"He hits like a sledgehammer."
Source: English translation of a Kovalev interview from this site: Kovalboxer.com

2. Guillermo Jones: Having watched the footage, Kovalev looked badly outsized but clearly scored more.
Source: Video shown on article at Boxing.com

3. Peter Quillin: Peter says: "I been in there with Kovalev as a sparring partner where Gennady Golovkin trains with Abel [Sanchez]. He helped me get ready for a fight and he definitely can crack. And not to say that I was dropped or anything, but he's definitely fighting from his own end of the struggle,"
Source: Fight Hype

Other sparring notes:

Trainer, John David Jackson said in an interview with Ring: "Sergei spars heavyweights; he hits that hard." and "I’m going to have to start bringing in cruiserweights. We’re getting sparring partners leaving without being paid because they don’t want any part of Kovalev.”
Source: Ring

l:

Lara, Erislandy:

1. Ed Paredes:

Source: ESPN2 Broadcast of Friday Night Fights, during his match with Alfonso Gomez, commentators quoting him.

2. Manny Pacquiao: This is a rumour which was flatly denied by Lara to Boxing Scene. He says he never sparred Pacquiao and that his team was never even contacted to spar him.
Source: April 5th Interview with Boxing Scene

Leapai, Alex:

1. Solomon Haumono, for his challenge against Wladimir Klitschko
2. Sonny Bill Williams:
Source: Herald Sun

3. Kali Meehan, for his challenge against Wladimir Klitschko
4. Willis Meehan, for his challenge against Wladimir Klitschko
5. Michael Kirby, for his challenge against Wladimir Klitschko
Source: Courier Mail
6. Bowie Tupou, for his challenge against Wladimir Klitschko
Source: Sports Times

Lee, Mike:

1. Andre Dirrell: For his match with Peter Lewison, 2014. Mike says: "Andre Dirrell taught me so much. That kid can switch, righty, lefty, taugt me different tricks."

2. Denis Grachev: For his match with Peter Lewison, 2014.

3. Anatoliy Dudchenko: For his match with Peter Lewison, 2014.

Source: Boxing Scene

Lemieux, David:

1. Jean Pascal: They are regular sparmates.
Source: Ring

Leonard, Ray:

1. Aaron Pryor:
Source: Acknowledged by both men during a press conference. Ray mentioned both knocking each other down.

2. Tommy Hearns: Tommy reportedly got the better of Ray in their initial session, according to Emanuel Steward. This was for Ray's fight with Floyd Mayweather Senior.
Source: East Side Boxing

Ray says of the Hearns sparring: "He was good. I enjoyed working with him then."
Source: People Magazine

3. Darin Allen (also listed as Darrin Allen): For Ray's rematch with Thomas Hearns.
Allen claims, essentially, that Ray beat him up early in sparring as he was still getting his bearings in the new environment with the legendary star in his camp, and he slowly turned it around until he was dominating Leonard, even carrying him, perhaps not to lose his gig as the sparring partner. He says he was called at three in the morning by JD Blythe and offered $500 a week to be there, while in serious need of the money.
Source: Darin Allen (also listed as Darrin Allen)

4. Lindsey Morgan: Mentioned as one of Ray's sparring partners for the Hearns rematch by Darin Allen.
Source: Darin Allen (also listed as Darrin Allen)

5. Quincy Taylor:
Source: Los Angeles Times

Lewis, Lennox:

1. Malik Scott:
Malik says: "Lennox Lewis is the hardest puncher I ever been in the ring with." ---This quote is from after he had sparred Wladimir Klitschko, it should be noted.
Sources: EsNews

2. John Ruiz: Emanuel Steward says: "And Ruiz, I asked him once about fighting him and he said, “I sparred with him once”. He said, “The way he fights I don’t even want to spar with him” because I was going to bring him in to spar with him at one point.

He said, 'Oh! He would throw a punch, and grab, and clinch, and it would be an ugly fight!' "

Source: East Side Boxing

3. Lamon Brewster: Lamon says: "Lennox Lewis was great, and a good friend."

Source: East Side Boxing

4. Crawford Ashley: For his 1998 match with Zeljko Mavrovic, in a Big Bear, California training camp.
Source: Sun Sentinel

5. Rick Phillips: For his 1998 match with Zeljko Mavrovic in a Big Bear, California training camp.
Source: Sun Sentinel

6. Luan Krasniqi: For his 1998 match with Zeljko Mavrovic in a Big Bear, California training camp.
Source: Sun Sentinel

7. Owen Beck: Beck mentions they used to play basketball together.

Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.

Liston, Sonny:

1. Jim Robinson: At one time, he was Liston's chief sparring partner.
Source: Stars and Stripes

2. Jay Nady: The famous referee said he couldn't remember who Liston fought that he helped him prepare for but that he remembers he won and it was a Reno fight, about 1970 or 1971. The only person this likely could have been with those numbers was for Liston's match with Chuck Wepner.

Nady also says, regarding Liston/Ali II:
"Sonny Liston was a really good man and I'm sure he wouldn't have gotten knocked down without being punched."

Source: Box Today interview, 2013

3. George Foreman: This is well known and Geore has mentioned this in many places, giving Liston much respect and saying Sonny was the only man to ever push him back in the ring.

Source: Among other sources, Georg'es book By George: The Autobiography of George Foreman

Lomachenko, Vasyl:

1. Shakur Stevenson:

Source: Ring
Source: Stevenson interview for ThaBoxingVoice

Lotierzo, Frank:

1. Michael Spinks:
2. Dwight Muhammad Qawi:
Source: East Side Boxing

Lubin, Erickson:

1. Amir Imam: Doug Fischer said: "Imam (14-0, 12 KOs), a talented boxer with good technique and power, is among the few fighters who can give Lubin quality sparring rounds."
Source: Fight Word
Secondary source: Click here to go to ReySanchezNews video of them sparring

M:

Macklin, Matthew:

1. Peter Quillin: This was at Wild Card Gym.
2. Michael Medina: This was at Wild Card Gym.
3. Stanyslav Kashtanov: This was at Wild Card Gym.
4. Rashad Holloway: This was at Wild Card Gym.
Source: 15 Rounds

Malignaggi, Paulie:

1. Zab Judah: Malignaggi denies this ever happened and says he would've remembered. Judah says it did happen, when Malignaggi was still an amateur.
Source: Ring

2. Sadam Ali: Malignaggi says to RING Magazine he has known Ali since Ali was a kid and that it makes him feel old. The HBO staff commented while noting Malignaggi's presence in Ali's corner against Francisco Santana, had sparred with Ali in the lead up to the match and coached him as they went through sparring. Malignaggi also comments to RING that he needed the work with southpaws, as he prepares to fight Danny O'Connor.

Source: Mentioned during the HBO broadcast of Sadam Ali VS Francisco Santana. Malignaggi worked Ali's corner for this match.

Mares, Abner:

1. Jhonny Gonzalez:

Source: ESPN

2. Daniel Ponce De Leon:
Source: ESPN

Margarito, Antonio:

1. Paul Williams: Reportedly about three years prior to their fight. Each camp seemed to say their man got the better of it.
Source: Fight Writer

2. Oscar De La Hoya: Margarito said he bloodied Oscar twice, and that Oscar's camp wanted him to go very easy on him, while Oscar was allowed to do his worst. Margarito was generally angered by the sparring, he indicated.
Source: Boxing Insider

3. Rodney Jones: For Margarito's 2007 match with Paul Williams. Jones was reportedly the prinicipal sparring partner and had handed Margarito his third professiona loss in 1996, which would be his last loss until 2004.
Source: Fight Writer

4. Cleotis Pendarvis:
Source: Ring

5. Ricardo Williams:
Source: Ring

6. K.C. Martinez:
Source: Ring

7. Austin Trout:
Source: Ring

Martin, Tommy:

1. Andrew Golota:
Source: Sun Sentinel
2. Lennox Lewis:
Source: Sun Sentinel
3. David Tua:
Source: Sun Sentinel
4. Evander Holyfield: Unverified as happening, but the article in the Sun Sentinel says he was specifically invited by Holyfield after seeng footage of him sparring Andrew Golota. Holyfield wanted Martin to help him prepare for his first match with Lennox Lewis, which took play in March of 1999.
Source: Sun Sentinel

Martinez, Aaron:

1. Allan Martinez (brother). He said he used experience against his brother, a southpaw, to help him against Robert Guerrero, though it wasn't clear that he sparred him specifically in the lead up to Guerrero. It is currently unclear if this is Allan/Allen/Aalan Martinez but he is referenced as a professional fighter.

2. Alfredo Angulo: Martinez calls Angulo very heavy-handed and a friend of his during Angulo's match against Delray Rains on NBC Sports. It is unclear when this took place or how often, any other details.

Martirosyan, Vanes:

1. Andre Ward: He says they sparred as amateurs in the Olympics together, in a January 2015 interview with Elie Seckbach. He says it was good sparring. He'd like to fight Ward in the pros, feeling certain he'd beat him and that he didn't feel size was an issue, that Ward was a small Super Middleweight.
Source: EsNews

2. Julio Cesar Chavez Junior: This was a 2011 spar for Martirosyan's match with Saul Roman and Chavez Junior's match with Sebastian Zbik.
Source: Boxing Scene

3. Sergey Kovalev: Vanes says this was four rounds and Sergey is "lethal" with both hands, has skills, is awkward. This was in a Seckbach interview in 2014.
Source: EsNews

Martyniouk, Stan:

1. Manny Pacquiao: For Pacquiao's fight with Chris Algieri.
Source: Boxing Scene

2. Denis Shafikov:
Source: Boxing Scene

Mayfield, Karim:

1. Manny Pacquiao:
Source: 2013 Interview in EGOSWORLD1

2. Sergio Mora:
Source: 2013 Interview in EGOSWORLD1

3. Danny Garcia:
Source: 2013 Interview in EGOSWORLD1

4. Zab Judah:
Source: 2013 Interview in EGOSWORLD1

5. Andre Ward: Ward says: "Mayfield's a tough fighter. He's from my area. I sparred with him a ton of times, very awkward, heavy-hands, a tough fighter to fight."
Source: Andre Ward, during the final minute of the fourth round of Thomas Dulorme VS Hank Lundy, working as the HBO commentator.

Mayweather, Floyd (Junior): Floyd's reference on file is too long for this post. Please click the following for a full listing on his separate page:

Floyd Mayweather Junior's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

Mayweather, Roger:

1. Vince Phillips:
Source: Hustle Boss

2. Camacho (assumed Hector, senior):
Source: Hustle Boss

3. Jimmy Paul:
Source: Hustle Boss

4. Freddie Roach: Roach told Dontae's Boxing Nation that they had one sparring session, he thinks four rounds. He also says he was bested but later made a crack when Roger wanted to spar again that he already did his roadwork that morning and that ever since Roger and Roach have been "enemies". He says they never sparred again but that Roger was fun to watch in the gym. He also says Roger hadn't developed the power he would later. Roach also says: "I don't think I hit him once. I think he hit me a couple times." He mentions Roger telling him he knocked Roach out and that he replied he knew Roger was better than him but "It's been forty years and who gives an (expletive)."

Source: Dontae's Boxing Nation

4. Greg Haugen: Freddie Roach remarked that Roger beat up Haugen in sparring and that Haugen had been very mouthy in the gym and used racial expletives in the gym beforehand.

Source: Dontae's Boxing Nation

McCall, Oliver:

1. Mike Tyson:
Source: Chicago Tribune
Secondary source/video footage: Steve Lott's youtube channel

2. Danell Nicholson: "So I got the best sparring for him, and Danell was like a Muhammad Ali at that time, very much on his toes. In fact, in the training camp we had here in Kronk, Danell always had the upper hand over Oliver because he was just so fast."
Source: East Side Boxing

Oliver also said himself that he trained with Nicholson as his trainer ahead of Nicholson's planned rematch with Andrew Golota, which was unofficial, and mentioned that he thought he was in top form.

Source: BoxingNewsPL

3. Michael Spinks:
Source: Chicago Tribune

McCallum, Mike:

1. Tommy Hearns: Mike says he sparred roughly 100 rounds with Hearns in a 2007 interview and "I used to beat on Thomas Hearns. We had great workouts. Sometimes Tommy would get the better of me, and sometimes I’d get the better of Tommy. I think more times I’d get the better of him then he’d get the better of me."

Source: Ringside Report

2. Bunny Grant: McCallum says he sparred Grant when he was only 17-years-old and that Grant was a boxing hero of his.
Source: Ringside Report

3. Milton McCrory: Mike says:
"He was a great sparring partner and he had my number for a minute! He was one of the toughest to spar with and I sparred with him a lot."
Source: Ringside Report

4. Duane Thomas:
Source: Ringside Report

5. David Braxton:
Source: Ringside Report

McCrory, Glenn:

1. Mike Tyson: McCrory said "Against Mike I wasn’t scared and more than held my own. He never had me on the floor or had me in serious trouble and Mike himself would tell you that."
2. James "Bonecrusher" Smith: For Smith's fight with Frank Bruno
3. Bert Cooper: Glenn says he got the better of Cooper in sparring.

Source: Live Fight

Ladarius Miller:

1. Otuo "Junior" Saba: The source is actual video published in early 2014.

Source: Hustle Boss

Monroe Junior, Willie:

1. Miguel Cotto:
Source: Generation News

Monzon, Carlos:

1. Rudy Chaves
Source: HBO Broadcast of Rudy's son's match with Brandon Rios, Diego Chaves, mentioned by Jim Lampley.

Mora, Sergio:

1. Roberto Duran: (2016) 35-year-old Mora says he'd already done five rounds with Shane Mosley, who Duran was training, and Duran wanted to demonstrate on him for Mosley. "The man still has the machismo and sees all the angles but there’s no way his body allows him to pull the trigger anymore.”
Source: RING

N:

Negrete, Oscar:

1. Michael Conlan: His main sparring partner for Oscar's bout with Rey Vargas, which he did lose.

Source: http://ucnlive.com/oscar-negrete-smaller-fighter-huge-opportunity/

2. Oscar Valdez:

Source: http://ucnlive.com/oscar-negrete-smaller-fighter-huge-opportunity/

3. Jessie Magdaleno:

Source: http://ucnlive.com/oscar-negrete-smaller-fighter-huge-opportunity/

Nietes, Donnie:

1. Brian Viloria
Source: Source: https://www.ringtv.com/529030-brian-viloria-donnie-nietes-put-egos-aside-help-sparring/

Norton, Ken

1. Joe Frazier: Ken saying "After three rounds with Frazier, boxing Godzilla for 10 rounds was nothing!"
Source: Going the Distance : The Ken Norton Story

O:

Orozco, Antonio:

1. Timothy Bradley: Tim says: "Tough, tough guy." who kept coming forward and banging to the body. This was meant to be preparation for Bradley's match with Diego Chaves.

Source: Timothy Bradley on the truTV broadcast of Orozco VS Emmanuel Taylor

2. Victor Ortiz: Meant to have taken place in Kansas.

Source: Espinoza Boxing, on Twitter

3. Brandon Rios: Meant to have taken place in Kansas.

Source: Espinoza Boxing, on Twitter

4. Emmanuel Taylor: For Orozco's match with Humberto Soto. After Orozco beat Taylor, he invited Taylor to help him prepare as a sparring partner for a match with Humberto Soto. Taylor is said to have given Orozco's trainer many suggestions on his improvements after their sparring.

Source: HBO Broadcast, Jim Lampley mentions it during the second round of Antonio's fight with Humberto Soto.

Ortiz, Luis:

1. Mike Mollo: Mollo says this training helped him for his 2013 rematch with Artur Szpilka.
"It’s simple. This time I learned how to fight a southpaw. I never knew how to before. I’ve been down in South Beach at the 5th Street Gym sparring with Luis Ortiz. He’s way better than this kid. I now know how to face a southpaw."
Source: Q & A for andrzejfonfara.com

P:

Pacquiao, Manny:

For a full listing of all the information we have on file, please click the following link:

Manny Pacquiao's Sparring Profile: A Sparring Partner Reference List

Paredes, Ed:

1. Erislandy Lara
2. Luis Collazo
3. Zab Judah
Source: ESPN2 Broadcast of Friday Night Fights, during his match with Alfonso Gomez, commentators quoting him.

Parker, Curtis:

1. Michael Spinks:
2. Dwight Muhammad Qawi:
3. Thomas Hearns:
4. James Shuler
Source: East Side Boxing

Perez, Alex:

1. Miguel Cotto:
Source: Doghouse Boxing

2. Sergio Martinez:
Source: Doghouse Boxing

3. Felix Sturm:
Source: Doghouse Boxing

4. Joel Julio:
Source: Doghouse Boxing

Peterson, Anthony:

1. Robert Easter

Source: USA Today

2. Adrien Broner

Source: USA Today

3. Lamont Peterson

Source: USA Today

4. Austin Trout

Source: USA Today

Peterson, Lamont:

1. Robert Easter

Source: Robert Easter, while commentating on FS1 for PBC, during the Ryan Karl VS Kareem Martin match in November of 2017

Porter, Shawn:

1. Manny Pacquiao

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/01/boxer_shawn_porter_on_being_a.html

2. Haskell Lydell Rhodes, for Porter's match with Phil Lo Greco. Porter says: “I’ve been in the ring with Lydell,” said Porter. “He actually gave me a little bit of trouble the few times I’ve been in the ring with him. He’s really awkward. He’s kind of wild and unorthodox."

Source: Hustle Boss

3. Fred Wilson Junior: This is before Fred Wilson Junior turns pro, in the preparation for Porter's match with Kell Brook.
Source: Boxing Scene

Postol, Victor:

1. Ruslan Provodnikov:
Source: Max Kellerman, during the HBO broadcast for Postol VS Selcuk Aydin: "Postol was asked yesterday "How was it sparring with Provodnikov?" He said "It's alright. I survived."

Povetkin, Alexander:

1. Manuel Charr (future opponent): Charr said "He had a lot of problems against me. I have no respect for him and I would fight against him every time, with or without money."

Source: 2007 interview with Andrew Wake at East Side Boxing

2. Travis Walker: Walker says "They treat you real good in that camp as well." Travis also says it was a camp in Russia and "I don't think he's out there trying to kill nobody. He's trying to learn as well."
Source: Interview with Pro Boxing Insider

Price, David:

1. David Haye:
Source: Frank Warren's site

2. Kali Meehan: Sparring him at a David Haye training camp, Price says he handled Meehan and other sparring partners with ease.
Source: Frank Warren's site

3. Kubrat Pulev: Price says: "Recently, I’ve been across to spar the Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev, the current European champion. He really impressed me. He does the simple things very well. He spars just how he fights and we had war after war. One day he’d get the better of it, next day I’d be on top. Right now, I’d have to concede he’s a couple of steps above me because he’s faced better opposition but the spars were even."
Source: Frank Warren's site

4. Dereck Chisora: David says: "As I say, we’ve sparred and there’s big mutual respect."
Source: Frank Warren's site

Pryor, Aaron:

1. Howard Davis (mentioned on HBO's Legendary Nights by Pryor, Aaron claiming he was a paid sparring partner who "beat him up a couple times" and lost the job because of it) Davis was a former amateur opponent of Aaron's. He claims to have been sparring Davis for $500 a week.

2. Ray Leonard (mentioned by Pryor on HBO's Legendary Nights, by Pryor, insisting he knocked Ray down in sparring as a pro and amateur, in sparring) Leonard mentions during a press conference that they had knocked each other down.

Pryor Junior, Aaron:

1. Domonique Dolton
Source: PBC commentator mentions that while Dolton had Aaron Pryor Junior as a sparring partner, his opponent, Jamontay Clark, idolized Aaron Pryor Senior. This is mentioned during Dolton and Clark's match.

Pulev, Kubrat:

1. David Price: As amateurs and professionals.
Source: Sky Sports
David says: Price says: "Recently, I’ve been across to spar the Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev, the current European champion. He really impressed me. He does the simple things very well. He spars just how he fights and we had war after war. One day he’d get the better of it, next day I’d be on top. Right now, I’d have to concede he’s a couple of steps above me because he’s faced better opposition but the spars were even."
Source: Frank Warren's site

2. Robert Helenius: Helenius mentions this as for his bout with Gbenga Oluokun, in March of 2010.
Source: East Side Boxing

3. Tervel Pulev: Kubrat says: "When I am in Bulgaria, we sparred sometimes but the problem is that when we are in the same ring, we always start a war,"
Source: Doghouse Boxing

4. Nikolay Valuev: Kubrat says: "I spar with all the heavyweight fighters from Sauerland Events like [Nicolay] Valuev, [Robert] Helenius, etc. It’s competitive sparrings but it’s done during the trainings, very different in the official match. The heavyweight division needs some attraction."
Source: Doghouse Boxing

Q:

Qawi, Dwight Muhammad:

1. James Scott: They were sparring partners in prison, and professional opponents.

Source: http://articles.philly.com/1987-12-04/sports/26206078_1_dwight-braxton-international-boxing-federation-cruiserweight-junior-heavyweight-title

2. Michael Spinks: Listed as before they fought for the title.
Source: East Side Boxing
3. Frank Lotierzo:
Source: East Side Boxing

4. Curtis Parker:
Source: East Side Boxing

R:

Rubio, Marco Antonio:

1. Egidijus Kavaliauskas: For his match with Gennady Golovkin.
Source: EsNews

2. Oleksandr Gvozdyk : Undetermined but likely for his match with Gennady Golovkin.
Source: EsNews

3. Anthony Mundine: For Mundine's match against Sergey Rabchenko and Rubio's match against Golovkin.
Source: ProBoxing-Fans

Russ, Lamar

1. Edwin Rodriguez: For his bout with Andre Ward.
2. Gennady Golovkin: Russ says he was in three camps for him and he is pound for pound top five fighter).
"He's an all-around fighter."
"He's actually improved my game."
Source: Boxing Socialist

S:

Saludar, Froilan:

1. Noli Morales
2. Edward Penerio
3. Mark Macabales

Source: PhilBoxing

It is noted that Froilan's first 12 round sparring session took place here, for his title eliminator with McWilliams Arroyo, against these three fighters, four rounds a piece.

Santa Cruz, Leo:

1. Manuel Roman: It is mentioned that they were sparring partners before they fought in September of 2014.

Source: ESPN

Scott, Malik:

1. Wladimir Klitschko: Malik calls him a "supreme athlete".
Sources: EsNews

2. Lennox Lewis: Malik says: "Lennox Lewis is the hardest puncher I ever been in the ring with."
Sources: EsNews

3. James Toney:
Sources: EsNews

4. Tyson Fury: Scott mentioned in an interview with Elie Seckbach, that he was impressed with Tyson Fury when he sparred him, adding that Tyson busted both of his eardrums in their sparring and then took him out for dinner, apologising. Malik added that if Fury got a fight with Wladimir Klitschko, another of Malik's many sparring partners, he'd have to pick Fury.
Source: EsNews

5. Chris Arreola: For Arreola's match with Vitali Klitschko.
Source: My Boxing Fans

Scully, John:

1. Vinny Pazienza:
Source: Boxing News 24

2. Roy Jones Jr:

Source: Boxing News 24
3. James Toney:
Source: Boxing News 24

Shimmel, Jordan:

1. Adonis Stevenson (for his 2013 match with Chad Dawson) Shimmel says: "He hits like a heavyweight and he's a southpaw so that's a little bit more awkward for me,"
2. Wladimir Klitschko (for his 2013 match with Francesco Pianeta)
Source: MLive

Sillakh/Sillah, Ismayl:

1. Denis Lebedev: Ismayl basically says he didn't think much of Lebedev as a boxer before sparring him but admits he's a good boxer, however hanging with him in sparring gave him confidence that he would do well in the division. The interview is from October of 2014.
Source: Hustle Boss

2. Michael Hunter:
Source: EsNews

Spinks, Michael:

1. Dwight Muhammad Qawi: Listed as before they fought for the title.
Source: East Side Boxing

2. Curtis Parker:
Source: East Side Boxing

Sprott, Michael:

1. Wladimir Klitschko:
2. David Haye:
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/sprott-hired-wladimir-klitschkos-sparring-partner--20228

Stander, Ron:

1. Mighty Joe Young: For Stander's bout with Joe Frazier. Ron says: “Two weeks before the fight, in Boston I was sparring Mighty Joe Young, from Brooklyn, and he tapped my nose, and broke my nose. You can’t stop the fight or postpone it, you get one chance at a chance of a lifetime.”
Source: The Sweet Science

Stevenson, Adonis:

1. Shimmell, Jordan: (for his 2013 match with Chad Dawson) Shimmel says: "He hits like a heavyweight and he's a southpaw so that's a little bit more awkward for me,"
Source: MLive

Stevens, Curtis:

1. Danny Jacobs: For Stevens' 2013 bout with Elvin Ayala, eight rounds, also while Jacobs was training to fight against Billy Lyell, which did not happen. Jacobs said Stevens was in tremendous shape, despite initially coming to camp overweight.
Source: Ring

Stiverne, Bermane:

1. Joseph Parker: Bermane was training in the same camp as Floyd Mayweather for his rematch with Chris Arreola, while Parker was training for his eventually rescheduled match with Sherman Williams.
Source: Stuff

T:

Tarver, Antonio:

1. Curtis Harper. During his walk to the ring, Antonio Tarver, while not expressly saying "I sparred Curtis Harper" did say Harper was in his training camp for a few months and said "I know he sparred guys like Chris Arreola, because he was in my camp for about two months." and "I know a little bit about Harper, and he's a solid guy, he can fight and he has really deceptive power." We're assuming that he remarked on deceptive power means he felt it more likely than saw it or heard about it. But since it wasn't certain, we're making note. He doesn't say which training camp he was in.

Theophane, Ashley:
1. Floyd Mayweather Junior:
Source: Ring

2. Ishe Smith
Source: Ring

Thompson, Lionell:

1. Chad Dawson
2. Carl Froch
3. Lucian Bute
4. Troy Ross
5. Isaac Chilemba
6. David Lemieux

In the May 2013 interview about his career to the Boxing News 24 source, Thompson says of his considerable sparring experience: “I know it’s only sparring, but I’ve more than held my own against world champions and top contenders. I’m like Marvin Hagler. He kept winning but didn’t get recognition until he beat Tommy Hearns.'

Source: Boxing News 24

Secondary source, Ross Thompson mentioned in interview with Chris Mannix, for NBC Sports, leading into their broadcast of Thompson's fight with Sergey Kovalev, speaks of his confidence in the short notice fight because he's been sparring Dawson and Chilemba.

Thurman, Keith:

1. Jeff Lacy (a super middleweight titlist)

Source: https://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/03/keith-thurman-why-one-time-is-the-real-deal/

2. Winky Wright (a light middleweight titlist and middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger)

Source: https://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/03/keith-thurman-why-one-time-is-the-real-deal/

3. Antonio Tarver (light heavyweight Ring champion and major titlist)

Source: https://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/03/keith-thurman-why-one-time-is-the-real-deal/

4. Andre Berto (rumoured to have knocked Berto unconscious)

Source: https://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/03/keith-thurman-why-one-time-is-the-real-deal/

5. Lenroy Thomas (a heavyweight fighter)

Source: https://www.boxingnews24.com/2013/03/keith-thurman-why-one-time-is-the-real-deal/

6. Shawn Porter (future opponent)

Source: https://www.ohio.com/akron/sports/area-boxer-shawn-porter-aims-to-take-title-from-former-sparring-partner-keith-thurman

7. Edner Cherry:

Soure: http://www.fighthype.com/news/article25310.html

8. Clarence Booth:

Source: https://www.fite.tv/video/clarence-booth-sparring-partner-for-/a1f78c3ceb6eaff7a55116fb25fb4b/

9. Ruben Ozuna:

Source: https://www.fite.tv/video/ruben-ozuna-sparring-partner-for-kei/e737387a94d47d9d2081baf57ee15be3/

Other sparring notes:

For his match with Jan Zaveck, Thurman didn't want to name his sparring partners, saying in an interview with Max Boxing: "I don’t want to name any names. We just worked with some local guys. I had two main sparring partners. One had speed and good footwork and the other guy was strong and physical. We worked with the speedy guy to keep my reflexes sharp and maintain my hand/eye coordination. We had good sparring."

Source: http://www.maxboxing.com/news/max-boxing-news/keith-one-time-thurman-looks-to-make-it-an-early-night-on-saturday

Toney, James:

1. Wladimir Klitschko: Pepper Roach says: "James Toney, he sparred both Klitschkos at Freddie's gym. He looked good with both of them. He didn't dominate them. But he looked good with both of them. . .You know James plays with people. . .He spun both of them around, patted them in the a**. They were mad but that's how James is."

Source: EsNews interview with Pepper Roach

2. Vitali Klitschko. Pepper Roach says: "James Toney, he sparred both Klitschkos at Freddie's gym. He looked good with both of them. He didn't dominate them. But he looked good with both of them. . .You know James plays with people. . .He spun both of them around, patted them in the a**. They were mad but that's how James is."

Source: EsNews interview with Pepper Roach

3. Pepper Roach

Source: EsNews interview with Pepper Roach

4. Gerald McClellan:
Source: Ring

5. Lamon Brewster:
Lamon says:" James gave me so much experience and he always gave me advice and encouragement." He says that the best (for sparring only, I have to assume) he ever sparred with were Toney and Lionel Butler, despite sparring Lennox Lewis.
Source: East Side Boxing

6. Malik Scott:
Sources: EsNews

7. John Scully:
Source: Boxing News 24

8. Nick Diaz: It should be noted that Diaz also sparred with boxer Andre Ward.
Source: MMA Mania

9. Terry Porter: ca 2003, a 1999 opponent of Toney's.
Source: ESPN

10. Danny Green: Reportedly, this was a gym war classic.
Source: ESPN

11. Bernard Dunne:
Source: The Sweet Science

Dunne says: "Toney is the most naturally gifted boxer I have ever seen. He is also half mad." and also touches on Toney', racially-oriented trash talk. I believe this was at the Wild Card Gym. He mentions busting Toney's nose, and seeming to have his respect.

Source: My Story, Dunne's book.

12. Mickey Rourke:
Source: Rourke interview to the BBC

Extra notes on James Toney sparring:

Steve Kim, in interview with Bloody Elbow, said of Toney's training habits and condition:

"Again, we're talking about a guy who's boxed for most of his life, and it's not even the fights that really effect you guys, it's the sparring. Round after round. You spar at least two, three times a week and you get your head jarred a lot. That's one of the misnomers about headgear. Headgear does not protect the brain. The headgear is there to protect from cuts if fighters should clash against each other, but the notion that a blow can be softened by a headgear is absolutely not true. That's been neurologically proven. And the one thing that I never agreed with, even his own trainer Freddie Roach, that in place of hard training -- traditional training like running, doing exercises, not eating a lot -- James would really spar his way to a fight. I've never seen a guy spar so much, and he was so good at it that he would never really hit the heavy bag, didn't like doing the mitts all that often, didn't do many calisthenics. He liked to spar an inordinate amount of rounds and days."

Source: Bloody Elbow

Towers, Richard:

1. Wladimir Klitschko: Dom Ingle, Towers' trainer said: "With Klitschko there was only Richard and Deontay Wilder left standing."
2. David Haye:
3. Anthony Joshua
4. Mike Perez:
5. Sam Sexton
6. Vitali Klitschko:
Source: Sky Sports

Trout, Austin:

1. Sergio Martinez:

Source: Fight Hub

2. Antonio Margarito:
Source: Ring

3. Anthony Peterson: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

4. Robert Easter: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

Secondary source: Robert Easter, while commentating on FS1 for PBC, during the Ryan Karl VS Kareem Martin match in November of 2017

5. Lamont Peterson: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

6. Hank Lundy: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

7. Jamel Herring: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

8. Alantez Fox: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

9. Jarrett Hurd: at Barry Hunter's Headbanger's Gym, for his match against Luis Grajeda.
Source: Ring

Tyson, Mike:

1. Oliver McCall:
Source: Chicago Tribune
Secondary source/video footage: Steve Lott's youtube channel

2. Greg Page:

Source: East Side Boxing

3. Glenn McCrory: McCrory said "Against Mike I wasn’t scared and more than held my own. He never had me on the floor or had me in serious trouble and Mike himself would tell you that."
Source: Live Fight

4. Patrick Lumumba: In an interview, Glenn McCrory, former Tyson sparring partner, said Lumumba had beaten Tyson up in sparring.
Source: Live Fight

5. Jimmy Clark: This took place when Tyson was 17-years-old. One person has headgear. It's not Tyson.
Source: Video footage at Steve Lott's youtube channel

Tua, David:

1. Julius Long: For his match with Alexander Ustinov.
Source: Otago Daily Times

2. Evander Holyfield:
Source: Interview with Boxing News
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbYb8bglnBo

U:

V:

Viloria, Brian:

1. Zou Shiming: For Viloria's match with Juan Francisco Estrada: Brian says: He's been a great help in training camp," The time was listed as 30 rounds for the two.
Source: https://ph.news.yahoo.com/viloria-spars-chinese-legend-095057650--spt.html

2. Donnie Nietes

Source: https://www.ringtv.com/529030-brian-viloria-donnie-nietes-put-egos-aside-help-sparring/

W:

Walcott, Joe (Barbados):

1. "Sailor" Tom Sharkey: Their manager, Walcott and Sharkey, Tom O'Rourke is quoted by Nat Fleischer as saying: "I had to stop Walcott from sparring with the sailor because Joe dumped him on his ear one afternoon in the gym."
Source: Cox's Corner Profiles

Ward, Andre:

1. Nick Diaz:

Andre says: "I sparred Nate, probably once, and I sparred Nick several times. . .Tough guys. . ."
Source: EsNews Interview, published 31st of December, 2011

2. Nate Diaz:

Andre says: "I sparred Nate, probably once, and I sparred Nick several times. . .Tough guys. . ."
Source: EsNews Interview, published 31st of December, 2011

3. Karim Mayfield: Ward says: "Mayfield's a tough fighter. He's from my area. I sparred with him a ton of times, very awkward, heavy-hands, a tough fighter to fight."Source: Andre Ward, during the final minute of the fourth round of Thomas Dulorme VS Hank Lundy, working as the HBO commentator.

4. Glenn Donaire: When Ward was still an amateur. Ward says: "Well, with my amateur career, I was already battle hardened before my first pro fight. You know the reigning champion now Nonito Donaire? Well, I used to spar a lot with his brother Glenn Donaire. I was only 90 pounds or so, and Glenn wasn’t that big, but he was a man and he was strong, and he brought it every day. He pushed me, and I went from running around the ring like a rabbit, to swinging and then running, to finally holding my ground and being able to hang with the older, bigger fighters"

Source: Fight Fan

5. Vanes Martirosyan: He says they sparred as amateurs in the Olympics together, in a January 2015 interview with Elie Seckbach. He says it was good sparring. He'd like to fight Ward in the pros, feeling certain he'd beat him and that he didn't feel size was an issue, that Ward was a small Super Middleweight.
Source: EsNews

Whitaker, Pernell:

1. Arturo Gatti: Arturo Gatti says this was for "4-5 years"
Source: ESPN

2. Floyd Mayweather Junior:
Source: Floyd Mayweather Junior, in multiple interviews

3. Hector Camacho: If you're unfamiliar with this incident, you'll really want to read the source article. It's a doozy.
Source: Daily Press

Whyte, Dillian/Dellian:

1. Vitali Klitschko
2. Tyson Fury:
3. David Haye:
4. Dereck Chisora
Source: https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/boxing-tyson-fury-sparring-dillian-whyte-michael-sprott-155758663.html

5. Wladimir Klitschko: For Klitschko's bout with Alexander Povetkin
Source: http://www.boxingscene.com/wladimir-klitschko-taste-british-sparring--70273

Wilder, Deontay:

1. Owen Beck: Beck claims that Wilder's sparring, like his fight with him was "Pretty much no good either. He was complaining about his elbows, about tendinitis. . .We didn't spar but I think two rounds, maybe." He picks Bermane Stiverne against Wilder by fifth-round knockout. He thinks Stiverne hits harder than Wilder having both fought and sparred Wilder and sparred Bermane. He feels Wilder and his team were okay to his face but disrespected him behind his back. He feels Wilder is a very disrespectful person. He also says he feels he observed that Wilder specifically doesn't like to get hit with body punches.

Source: January 2015 interview with BAYLORIC and Ingram Jones.

2. Avery Gibson
Source: Alabama Media Group Video

3. Wladimir Klitschko: For Wladimir's match with Mariusz Wach: Wilder says: "They loved it so much that I became the head sparring partner. I did 45-plus rounds with that man. Sometimes, everybody would be ready to spar, but it was just me."
Source: http://ringtv.craveonline.com/news/176045-wilder-2

James Ali Bashir, Wladimir's co-trainer, says he was working the corner with Deontay Wilder and Richard Towers in sparring Wladimir and both were knocked down trying to be aggressive and that he was impressed with their aggressiveness against Klitschko.

Source: From a great interview with Ingram Jones on the BaylorIC Youtube Channel, published March 09, 2013

4. Isaac Chamberlain: This took place for one month in Alabama, U.S.A., leading up to Chamberlain's professional debut against Moses Matovu, and Wilder's match with Bermane Stiverne. The sourced interview is detailed, but gives a very postive outlook on the sparring and Wilder himself.
Source: Sky Sports

5. David Haye: For David's canceled fight with Tyson Fury: Haye says: ""Wilder punches about as hard as anybody in the division right now"
Source: Currently unavailable, must have accidentally deleted this link.

6. Kevin Johnson: Johnson went on a rant about Wilder's lack of skill, quoted on Boxing Scene in 2014, but in an interview with Behind The Gloves in 2015, he didn't talk down about Wilder, but rather than take the opportunity to, he said:

"Can't say nothing bad about Deontay, can't say nothing good. Because, uh...Well, I can't even say nothing bad like that, because, that guy, back when he live in Alabama, and I lived in Georgia, back when both of us couldn't get no work, that guy come right up to Georgia, on Saturday and Sunday, me and him sparred thirteen rounds a day."

Source: Boxing Scene (2014), Behind The Gloves (2015)

Williams, Paul:

1. Carlos Quintana: For his first match with Sergio Martinez. This was after Williams' two fights with Quintana.
Source: ESPN

2. Antonio Margarito: Reportedly about three years prior to their fight. Each camp seemed to say their man got the better of it.
Source: Fight Writer

Witherspoon, Tim:

1. Lightning Bob Smith: Smith apparently fractured Tim's jaw in sparring and kept him out of the ring for nearly a year.
Source: Sports Illustrated

2. Muhammad Ali: Witherspoon says he did so well with Ali that Ali gave him his nickname "Terrible".
Source: Sports Illustrated

3. Gerry Cooney: Tim stated his decidedly low opinion of Cooney's technical skill and that he basically dominated him and was so hard on him he'd been kicked out of Cooney's camp and that was with sixteen ounce gloves to Cooney's 12.

Source: Sports Illustrated

4. Greg Page:

Source: Sports Illustrated

5. Trevor Berbick:
Source: Sports Illustrated

6. Michael Spinks:
Source: Sports Illustrated

7. Eddie Mustafa Muhammad:

Source: Sports Illustrated

8. James Scott:
Source: Sports Illustrated

X:

Y:

Z:

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