He’s a super slick boxer who indeed does see his sport as “pugilism” and you can see it in the way he fights. Tommy Rainone has a keen mind as a fighter and as an analyst of the sweet science, as well.
The Long Island resident (seen above in pic off his Instagram) always impresses me when he shares his knowledge and it was no different when he posted this on his Facebook feed. He was speaking after listening to retiring middleweight Matt Macklin laud Gennady Golovkin, the middleweight ace from Kazahkstan, who some see as a pound for pound master while others bemoan the “fact” he has not proven his worth because his defeated foes don’t add up to a murderers row.
“Very interesting perspective from a world class fighter that knows exactly what he talking about first-hand,” Rainone said of the Macklin assessment of 3G. “I’ve said it since the moment I saw Golovkin, he is an exceptional fighter. For anyone to even have a chance to defeat him they not only need to be an exceptional fighter but also must put forth an exceptional performance. The things GGG does are effortless and rarely seen. Most people really don’t know what they are watching and cannot appreciate the subtle things this man does in and with a ring because few fighters try, much less pull off what he can. Because of that, most fans cannot recognize it when it happens or is happening. This guy is as good a 160 as I’ve ever seen and that includes the likes of Hopkins and Hagler…to me he is approaching Carlos Monzon-like status at middleweight. He is just strong and can’t box? He is an absolute scientist and one of the best pure boxers there is, but he just does it behind absurd and accurate power.”
Game, set and match, Rainone.
I asked the 25-7-1 welterweight, who is self managed, about his near term plans. “Working on something stay busy for July, then fighting again in Atlantic City ….Sept 17 is the tentative date and hopefully for a minor title.”
His nickname in the ring is “Razor,” and it fits his analytical style, doesn’t it?
Founder/editor Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson.
The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999.
Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.