DAVID
AUGER-VILLANUEVA
Freelance Writer Portfolio
As a writer, I don’t just use words to describe what I see; I create stories and scenes that take the reader to somewhere new and unexpected. To get a better sense of my work, please feel free to explore my official Journalist Portfolio.
CUBA’S TEOFILO STEVENSON: UNCROWNED CHAMPION?
While the Cuban was plying his craft in the amateur ring, his movie-star good looks and statue-like physique caught the eye of many professional boxing promoters who felt that his real future lay in the paid ranks of the sport. In the 70’s Muhammad Ali had pretty much beaten everyone there was for him to fight and talk began to be bandied about, around a clash between Stevenson and Ali.
HAGLER VS MONZON: WHO WINS?
Saturday night, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. The place is abuzz. The undercard has been sizzling. In the semi-final event, folks have just watched Philly’s own Bennie Briscoe get the nod with a hotly disputed split decision over the Virgin Islands’ Emile Griffith. Briscoe won, but Griffith’s supporters aren’t having any of it. There are fights in the upper seats between members of the two factions and security is just on the edge of losing control. The main event can’t start soon enough.
PROJECTS
I’ve put together a carefully curated selection of my latest and most influential pieces. Read through the samples below and feel free to get in touch to learn more about me and to discuss any projects you may want to send my way.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR VS LOGAN PAUL
Logan Paul really can’t fight. I mean, he’s not terrible for only having had a couple of fights, but he has absolutely zero business being in the ring with arguably the G.O.A.T. It’s an embarrassment, right? How dare he drag this noble sport into the gutter? How could he do something so undignified?
ACROSS FROM ROBERTO DURAN
Boxers never retire when they should. Even the best have a tendency to hang on for that one “last” fight – some for several “last” fights, as they embark on a sort of farewell tour for their fans – and hopefully, for their pocketbook. It doesn’t matter who the fighter is, they almost all hang on too long.
If Tyson can actually look good and show that he still has that ferocity and power, then there’s a good chance that he will get a real fight against a mid-range contender. This is of itself would help bolster the knock against modern boxing – namely, that it is but a shadow of the sport that we once knew and its modern participants are deserving of the derision that they are often subject to. That a man closer to 60 than 40 could still be a factor, would speak volumes about the state of the game today.
FITZROY "THE WHIP" VANDERPOOL: A CHAMPION IN AND OUT OF THE RING
Whether it’s the food bank or the blood bank in the Kitchener Waterloo Region, say the name Fitzroy Vanderpool, and eyes light up in recognition. The six time professional title belt holder (including a World Championship) has carved out a niche for himself post-career that has seen him become a larger than life character, known as much for his philanthropy and community leadership as for his storied boxing career.
Let me be clear; I’m no fan of Floyd Mayweather Jr. I don’t like what I’ve heard about him or from him as a man and I didn’t particularly care for his “defense-first” style of fighting. That having been said, Mayweather is the owner of a somewhat gaudy 50-0 record – okay, 49-0 if we subtract the abhorrent 50th fight against a non-boxer in his first-ever professional boxing match.
With only 6 knockouts to her name, Katie Taylor isn’t expected to blow Gutierrez away, but a fairly one-sided decision seems to be in the offing, should she prevail. She’s clearly fought the better opposition and is far more experienced.
DEATH OF A SPORT: 3 PART SERIES
“My arms are too short to box with God.”
Johnny Cash
DAVID AUGER-VILLANUEVA
Thank you for reviewing my official Journalist Portfolio. Please get in touch to find out more about me and my work.