Tejano funk from Austin at Mayne Stage. A pop-up art show in River North. Or just stay home and watch local boxers pound each other. more ›

As Benjy mentioned earlier, a lot of folks around town are referring to Bears-Packers III Sunday as the biggest game in Bears history. Never mind Super Bowl XX or Super Bowl XLI. With the NFC championship and a trip to Super Bowl XLV on the line, it's certainly the biggest game in the rivalry in 70 years. It's also the biggest sporting event to be held in Soldier Field (old or new models) since the legendary heavyweight championship boxing match between former champion Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, the man who beat him for the title a year previous in Philadelphia. Their September 1927 rematch is also forever known as "the Long Count fight." more ›

Today, there's a bittersweet addendum to the tragic story of Chicago boxer Francisco "Paco" Rodriguez who died late Sunday night after suffering fatal brain injuries during a boxing match last week. According to a statement on the boxer's website [via the Tribune], some of Rodriguez's organs have been donated, including a kidney that was given to his uncle; organs were reportedly donated to seven other recipients as well. more ›

A tragic story from Philadelphia where a Chicago-based boxer, Francisco Rodriguez, has died just two days after a fight. According to ESPN, Rodriguez's fight on Friday night with Teon Kennedy - for the vacant USBA super bantamweight championship - was stopped by technical knock-out in the 10th round after which Rodriguez collapsed; he was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital where he underwent emergency brain surgery. Dominic Pesoli, his promoter, released a statement, saying, "Francisco was family to us and we all loved him very much. He was very popular with fight fans in Chicago and will be deeply missed." Rodriguez was 25. The Philadelphia Daily News has more on the fight and the fallout. more ›

It was billed as the rematch of the year - local boy Jamie Sandoval (now 13-4-1 record; 12 KOs) versus Juan Carlos "El Pez" Martinez (now 8-15) in the boxing ring Friday night at UIC, fighting for the World Boxing Federation's Americas Lightweight Championship. Instead, it was ten rounds of tepid boxing, culminating in a clear win for Martinez. Sandoval, 28, who has been chided by his peers for skipping the proving ground of amateur boxing to head straight into the pros ring, spent the first two rounds avoiding his opponent and the last two forgetting his combinations, often attempting to land single punches on a deft and flighty Martinez. The latter fighter wasn't exactly jumping into the holes left by his opponent, but he could afford to be selective, especially over the course of the first five rounds. Sandoval is former world champion Jesus Chavez's little brother, and has the benefit of great training; whether Friday's fight was a fluke remains to be seen. more ›

Chicago's own Lamar Fenner fought Michigan's Jordan Shimmell last night at the national Golden Gloves finals, and though he tried his damnedest, lost a 3-2 decision to the heavyweight. Shimmell, a four-time Michigan state champ and national Golden Gloves veteran, told Michigan Live that he thought the third round - when Fenner seemed to tire - was what probably won the split decision for him. more ›

The national Golden Gloves finals are tonight at Utah's Salt Palace Convention Center - and Chicago still has a man in the running. Lamar Fenner, 26, told Chicagoist he's "the littlest guy in height," but that those stats (5'10", 195 pounds) haven't mattered yet - the Leo High School alum has punched his way through to the top of the competition. "It's my first time in Utah," he said. "And I think the most important thing was to set a pattern. The first fight was the hardest because I was nervous and I didn't really know what was going on." But, he said, being in the ring fighting boxers he's never seen before wasn't really a worry. more ›

Every 24 hours for the past few days, Tracy Rollins and Lamar Fenner have been beating the crap out of "the other guy" at the National Golden Gloves finals in Salt Lake City. And they're apparently doing it quite well. The two are the remainder of Chicago's Golden Gloves champions, and they'll be in the ring again tonight, fighting in the semifinal bout of the tournament. Rollins says he's taking on Wisconsiner Luis Arias tonight. more ›

According to our sources in Salt Lake City, Chicago had a good night in the national Golden Gloves ring: five of our six remaining Golden Gloves champions made it through round two, decisively beating boxers from all over the country. more ›

Six fighters from the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament have made it past round one of the U.S. National Golden Gloves competition, held in Salt Lake City this year. Winners so far include Junior Wright, the underdog-turned-media-darling in the 178-pound division and 16-year-old Tracy Rollins, of Homewood. Rollins (pictured right) said the decision on his bout was split between judges, 3-2. "I was down but I fought my way back up," he said via text. more ›

It's been long. Arduous even. But Saturday was Night 12 - aka the end of the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament at St. Andrew's Gym in Lakeview. And it was a doozy. more ›

The thing about Chicago Golden Gloves amateur boxing is that over here at Chicagoist, we've been covering the heck out of it. We've met many of the fighters, their parents, their coaches and their promoters. And it's been fantabulous. more ›

There are finals all over the city tonight - or in least two contests we're aware of: stripping and boxing. Both have male-dominated audiences, but the latter is probably a little more socially acceptable -- and something your significant other is inclined to let you go out and see. more ›

Chicago. Boxing. Golden Gloves. Semi-finals. Over here at Chicagoist we've been spending a lot of time thinking about the ancient sport, sparring and well, creative ways to mask the smell of the city's dark, sweaty gyms. more ›

He's 16, he owns four technology businesses and he graduated high school two years early. But that's not what makes Tracy Rollins unique - it's his boxing. Rollins, of Homewood, is a five-time national junior champion making his debut in the senior division this month. His all-time record currently stands at 69-5. And he's doing well. Rollins has moved through to the semi-final bouts this weekend at Chicago's biggest amateur boxing tournament - the Golden Gloves in Lakeview. more ›

Um, we thought the first rule of Fight Club was you do not talk about Fight Club. Someone should clue in the folks associated with Jabb, the boxing gym that’s sponsoring the 3rd Annual Fight Club Chicago event this Saturday. more ›

The United States Olympic Committee awarded an Olympic Opportunity Grant earlier this month to World Sport Chicago. The Gloves not Guns program, run in cooperation with USA Boxing, the Police Athletic League, and the Chicago Park District, promotes the sport of boxing to Chicago's urban youth as a way to stay in shape--and out of trouble. more ›

Just in time for the AIBA World Boxing Championship matches, only-connect offers up this photo featuring some boxers who are clearly lovers, not fighters. It's not every day we get photos with a more fashion/editorial bent in the Flickr pool, and this shot -- with it's strong framing, timely subject matter and excellent visual tension -- is a prime example of why we love to see them. more ›

Two Ugandan boxers and one Armenian boxer have disappeared from the AIBA World Boxing Championships. Phillip Adyaku, 25, and Sharif Bogere, 19, of Uganda were reported missing yesterday morning, and Vachagan Avagyan, 25, has been missing since Wednesday night. Also missing? Their luggage. Police don't consider them missing persons because there's no evidence of foul play. Ready to drop the d-bomb? It's possible the athletes have defected, and it wouldn't be the first time... more ›

It's hard to believe it's taken the universe this long to combine parades, insane traffic and the ability to punch the living shit out of stuff. But that combo has arrived. Downtown. Today. Yes, at 4pm this afternoon, around 700 boxers, here to punchasize your face for the the AIBA World Boxing Championship, will walk from the Palmer House Hilton to the Chicago Theater in a 4-block parade. more ›

Chicago hosted some of the world's top marathoners last weekend and is awaiting the arrival of boxers from 120 countries to compete in the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championship later this month. What you might have missed is that the world's top squash players are in town for MetroSquash with Sue at the Field Museum. Today and tomorrow, squashers (as we like to call them) from Egypt, Scotland and the UK will be competing in... more ›

This fall, Chicago will be the host city of the 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships. The event, which will feature nearly 700 competitors from more than 120 countries, will be the biggest international sporting event in Chicago since the 1959 Pan American Games. more ›

Chicago continues to bring in events that they hope will help showcase that Chicago is a perfect host city for the 2016 Olympics. Last month we shared with you the U.S. World League Volleyball matches that are coming to Chicago in mid-June. Chicago will also be hosting the 2007 World Boxing Championships a multi-week event that will begin in Chicago on October 17. The event also serves as a qualifying tournament for the Beijing Olympics... more ›

The Trib has launched a new local portal for suburban news that will rely on "citizen journalism." Huh? Oh, you mean blogging? Abbot Labs is being sued over its arthritis drug, Humira. NYU and Johnson & Johnson have a competing drug and is accusing them of patent infringement. The 2007 World Boxing Championships will probably happen in Chicago. A woman walking her dog found the body of a dead 15-year-old boy in Chicago Heights.... more ›

Whew! We made it through all the familial obligations of the holiday season. It’s a dead week at work and that means we need some stuff to do at night. This week offers a lot of possibilities for getting together for a pint or two before we even hit New Year’s Eve. If the Christmas hangover is gone, head over to the Hideout tonight for a Boxing Day Show with Kelly Hogan and Scott Ligon.... more ›

EOYW is a day late this week, and your forgiveness is begged. Luckily, most of the shows below are not yet sold out, so our laziness will not be to your detriment. For whatever reason, some of the most talented musicians don’t become well-known until after they contract some life-threatening disease that warrants a tribute album. Alejandro Escovedo managed to recover from his bout with Hepatitis C to release The Boxing Mirror earlier this year.... more ›

If you are into no-holds-barred fighting, then you will likely be heading to the UIC Pavilion this Saturday night to check out IMMAC's ATTACK Mixed Martial Arts event. more ›

Chicagoist knows you have wasted a Saturday watching all the Rocky movies or watching a marathon of ESPN's "The Contender." Now it's time to get off your couch and get in the ring for the workout of a liftetime. Get started by heading down to the Chicago Athletic Association next Monday to hear John E. "The Pecos Kid" Oden talk about the sport of White Collar Boxing. Oden will also be signing copies of his book White Collar Boxing: One Man's Journey From the Office to the Ring. more ›

Since the Polish soccer team has played itself out of the World Cup, Chicagoist was looking for a new group of Poles to get behind. Tomorrow at 8pm, boxing fans can see some of Poland's best boxers at the Polish Boxing Explosion event at Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park. The headline fight is between Heavyweight Mariusz "The Gladiator" Wach (10-0, 3 KO's) and Canadian Aurthur Cook (12-1-1, 3 KOs) for the Polish Heavyweight title.... more ›

If only they’d had iPods in Spinal Tap’s heyday. more ›