2006 WRITING AWARDS

The Barneys

BOXING EVENT COVERAGE

Second Place
DAVID WEINBERG, “Hopkins Wins, Insists Fighting Days Are Over,” The Press of Atlantic City, June 12, 2006

Third Place (tie)
RON BORGES, “The Man With A Plan: De la Hoya Able To Execute Strategy,” The Boston Globe, May 7, 2006

THOMAS GERBASI, “The Fight,” Maxboxing.com, December 4, 2006

JOE SANTOLIQUITO, “Hopkins’ Throwback Night in Jersey,” The Ring, October, 2006

Honorable Mention: Norm Frauenheim, The Arizona Republic; George Kimball, The Sweet Science; Zachary Levin, Boxing News; Sean Sullivan, Boxing Digest.

BOXING COLUMN

First Place
MICHAEL HIRSLEY, “Hard Knocks: The Quarrys,” The Chicago Tribune, July 12, 2006

Second Place
WILLIAM DETTLOFF, “Trevor Berbick And The Shared End,” The Ring, October 30, 2006

Third Place (tie)
CHARLES FARRELL, "So Long, Willie,” FightNetwork.com, November 24, 2006

T. K. STEWART, “Of Thugs And Men,” BoxingScene.com, August 8, 2006

Honorable Mention: Ron Borges, The Boston Globe; Tim Dahlberg, The Associated Press; Lee Groves, Maxboxing.com; Stan Hochman, The Philadelphia Daily News; Franz Lidz, Sports Illustrated; Aaron Tallent, The Sweet Science; John Whisler, The San Antonio Express-News.

BOXING NEWS STORY

First Place
MICHAEL HIRSLEY, “Boxing Oasis Takes Some Hard Hits,” The Chicago Tribune, May 22, 2006

Second Place
DAVID WEINBERG, “Promoter King Has Street But No Casino License,” The Press of Atlantic City, March 14, 2006

Third Place (tie)
BERNARD FERNANDEZ, “Reputation Rehab Is Ex-IBF Boss’ Toughest Fight,” The Philadelphia Daily News, April 13, 2006

DON STRADLEY, "Floyd Patterson: He Had The Compassion Of A Priest,” The Ring, September, 2006

Honorable Mention: Norm Frauenheim, The Arizona Republic; Tim Graham, The Buffalo News; Don Steinberg, The Philadelphia Inquirer; John Whisler, The San Antonio Express-News.

BOXING FEATURE (Under 2,500 words)

First Place
MARK KRAM, “Gypsy Joe, They Haven’t Forgotten,” The Philadelphia Daily News, March 23, 2006

Second Place (tie)
RON BORGES, "De La Hoya Driven By Gold Standard,” The Boston Globe, May 6, 2006

DAVID WEINBERG, “Remembering Leavander Johnson," The Press of Atlantic City, September 22, 2006

Third Place
THOMAS HAUSER, “The Opponent," SecondsOut.com, February, 2006

Honorable Mention: Steve Farhood, Boxing Monthly; Michael Hirsley, The Chicago Tribune; Franz Lidz, AARP Magazine; Steve Springer, The Los Angeles Times; Don Stradley, The Ring; John Whisler, The San Antonio Express-News.

BOXING FEATURE (Over 2,500 words)

First Place
TIM GRAHAM, “Jimmy Slattery: Toast Of The Town,” The Buffalo News, August 20, 2006

Second Place
JERRY IZENBERG, “The Greatest,” The Newark Star-Ledger, October 15, 2006

Third Place (tie)
ROBERT CASSIDY, JR., “Mustafa Hamsho: Fighting In The Middle East Not Helping Arabs In U.S.," The Ring, January 2007 (on newsstands October, 2006)

KIERAN MULVANEY, “Are There Real Answers To Questionable Decisions?,” ESPN.com, April 6, 2006

Honorable Mention: Norm Frauenheim, The Arizona Republic; Patrick Kehoe, The Sweet Science; Zachary Levin, The Sweet Science.

BOXING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

First Place
JOHN WHISLER, "El Pugilista: Boxing's Hold On Hispanic Culture," The San Antonio Express-News, August 6, 2006

Second Place
THOMAS HAUSER, “Pay-Per-View Piracy And The Internet,” SecondsOut.com, January, 2006

Third Place
RON BORGES, “Sauerland Puts On Show, But He Doesn’t Win Over Ruiz,” The Boston Globe, November 17, 2006

Honorable Mention: Norm Frauenheim, The Arizona Republic; Jack Hirsch, Boxing News; Scott Mallon, The Sweet Science;  Michael J. Woods, The Sweet Science.

JUDGES:

CHUCK FINDER, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
JOHN McGRATH, The Tacoma News-Tribune
NICK MOSCHELLA, Sports Editor, The Palm Beach Post
MARK PURDY, The San Jose Mercury News
DAVE ZANG, Towson University
BOB ZIZZO, Sports Editor, The Fresno Bee

FLEISCHER AWARD

Kevin Iole,Las Vegas Review-Journal

Kevin Iole, who wrote for the Las Vegas Review-Journal through early 2007 and now is national boxing reporter for Yahoo!, has been selected for the Boxing Writers Association of America's Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism. The Fleischer Award is the highest honor the BWAA can bestow on a writer and has been presented since 1972. The winner is determined by a fraternity consisting only of past Fleischer winners.

The honor will be presented at the 82nd annual BWAA Awards Dinner on June 8 at the Copacabana in New York.

Iole is the second Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter to receive the honor. Royce Feour was selected for the Fleischer Award in 1996. In May, 2007, Iole left the newspaper to join Yahoo! is its national boxing and mixed-martial arts reporter.

Iole, who had been at the Review-Journal almost 17 years, took over the paper's boxing beat from Feour, now retired. Iole has been named Nevada Sportswriter of the Year four times by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. The Nevada Press Association selected him for its Outstanding Journalist Award in 1999.

The graduate of Point Park College in Pittsburgh previously worked for the Valley News Dispatch in Tarenton, Pa., and the Burlington Free Press in Burlington, Vt.

A complete list of past Fleischer winners is available on the BWAA awards history page here.

For 2005 writing awards winners please click here.