every round. every fight. live now the ring step into the man who beat the man
The Ring Magazine - The Bible of Boxing, July 2026 • Volume 103, No. 7
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32 TOKYO DRIFT NAOYA INOUE VS. JUNTO
NAKATANI WAS EVERY BIT THE SUPERFIGHT THAT IT PROMISED TO BE By Tom Gray 40 THE ART OF RAISING CHAMPIONS SHINGO INOUE HAS SHOWN EXCEPTIONAL SKILLS IN BOTH TRAINING AND PARENTING IN SHAPING JAPAN’S MOST CELEBRATED BOXING FAMILY A RED-TAPE NIGHTMARE KEPT RAFAEL ESPINOZA OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM FOR YEARS, BUT A SPECTACULAR UPSET LAUNCHED HIM STRAIGHT TO THE TOP By Ernesto Amador 58 A GROWING LEGACY DAVID BENAVIDEZ SUCCESSFULLY KICKED IN THE DOOR AT CRUISERWEIGHT, AND THE ULTRA-CONFIDENT THREE- DIVISION TITLEHOLDER SAYS HE COULD GO EVEN HIGHER By Daisuke Sugiura 52 BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
DEPARTMENTS 4 OPENING SHOTS 11 RINGSIDE By Doug Fischer 14 BERNSTEIN ON BOXING By Al Bernstein 17 STEVE’S SOAPBOX By Steve Kim 20 BY THE NUMBERS By Don Stradley 23 RING RATINGS
By Joseph Santoliquito 62 FAMILY FEUD
CLARESSA SHIELDS AND MIKAELA MAYER DESCRIBE EACH OTHER AS SISTERS, BUT A BREWING SUPERFIGHT IS TURNING THEM INTO FIERCE RIVALS By Corey Erdman 68 THE OLYMPIC GOLD STANDARD THE EPIC MEDAL HAUL OF THE U.S. BOXING TEAM AT THE 1976 MONTREAL GAMES STILL MARKS THE PEAK OF AMERICA’S AMATEUR PROGRAM By Michael Rosenthal 74 THE 21-YEAR PUNCH THE STUNNING LEFT HOOK THAT WON JERSEY JOE WALCOTT THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP IS A TIMELESS REMINDER TO NEVER GIVE UP By Don Stradley
48 PROSPECT WATCH By Dom Farrell 80 FUNDAMENTALS By Adam Abramowitz 82 MY FIRST TIME: FELIX TRINIDAD By Doug Fischer 86 FIGHT OF FANTASY By Anson Wainwright 88 SLICE OF BOXING By Thomas Hauser 90 COMMISSIONER’S CORNER By Randy Gordon 92 THE FIGHT DOCTOR By Dr. Margaret Goodman 94 FINISHING SHOTS 96 FIGHTLINE
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THE RING (ISSN: 0035‐5410) Issue 7 July 2026, is published monthly by The Ring Magazine FZ, LLC, 475 Heffernan Drive, West Haven, CT 06516. Application to mail at Periodicals postage is pending at Milford, CT 06460. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Ring Magazine Subscriber Service Dept., PO Box 103, Cambey West Congers NY 10920‐0103 Phone 845‐719‐3120 subscriptions@ringmagazine.com RINGMAGAZINE.COM 1
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