RINGSIDE By Doug Fischer THE SUMMER OF 1990
October 2026 Volume 103, No. 10
Founder Nathaniel Fleischer (1888-1972) Owner His Excellency Turki Alalshikh
Editor-in-Chief Douglass Fischer Managing Editor Tom Gray Senior Editor Brian Harty Creative Director Lamar Clark Controller Deborah L. Harrison
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W elcome to what is sure to be a nostalgic issue of The Ring – at least for some of our readers (mainly Generation X) – due to our celebration of the 50th anniversary of the original Rocky film and its enduring franchise. This column is unapologetically nostalgic thanks to a couple of social media posts that reminded me of the many world title bouts I watched on network television during the summer of 1990. The posts – anniversaries of the Jeff Harding-Dennis Andries rematch on July 28 and Muangchai Kittikasem- Michael Carbajal on July 29 – hit my X timeline near the start of this magazine’s production cycle. I noted on my account that I watched both on “free TV,” which got me reminiscing about the plethora of televised boxing that cemented my hardcore fandom that summer. The anniversary of the Nigel Benn-
Benn-Barkley was part of a summer boxing bonanza 36 years ago.
Iran Barkley shootout took place on August 18, the week we wrapped this issue. The WBO belt they fought for wasn’t widely recognized in America at the time, but it was another title bout that I watched live without coughing up money for a cable subscription. I had the basic and premium cable channels that showcased boxing – ESPN, USA Network, Prime Ticket, Showtime and HBO – and I watched several high-profile bouts on those platforms that summer. However, if all I had access to were the terrestrial networks – ABC, CBS and NBC – my hunger for world- class boxing would have been well fed, satiated even. By my count, there were seven world title bouts plus six
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