Kriegel, Coppinger And Borges Top The List Of BWAA Writing Award Winners
Two familiar names and one relative newcomer to the uppermost tier of winners highlight the 19th annual Boxing Writers Association of America writing contest, covering the 2019 calendar year. Nine highly qualified judges took part in assessing the merits of another record number of entries, all of which were submitted minus bylines and other identifying marks as to authorship or media affiliation.
Under normal conditions, placing entries in the writing and photo contests would be recognized at the BWAA’s annual awards dinner, but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what would be the organization’s 94th annual event has yet to be scheduled and might even have to be pushed back into 2021 should the need arise.
Top individual honors again go to Mark Kriegel of ESPN.com, marking the third consecutive year in which he led the field and solidified his credentials as perhaps the finest boxing writer in America. Kriegel becomes just the second “hat trick” winner in the BWAA writing contest, taking three first places – in Event Coverage, Feature (Under 1,500 Words) and Feature (Over 1,500 Words).
A record was set in the long feature category as Kriegel was part of a four-way tie in the weighted scoring system, sharing that distinction with Carlos Acevedo of Hannibal Boxing, Ron Borges of The Ring and Lance Pugmire of theathletic.com. Borges is the only other writer to snag three firsts in a given year’s competition, which he actually did twice, in 2001 and 2004. Kriegel added to his impressive haul with a second place in the Column category and Honorable Mention in Investigative Reporting.
In addition to his shared first in the long feature category, veteran writer Borges, who has claimed more BWAA awards than anyone, added to his career haul with a first in Column for a story for Boxing Monthly, which he shares with Greg Bishop of SI.com.
The newcomer to the winner’s circle is Mike Coppinger of theathletic.com, who took firsts in News Story and Investigative Reporting, both for theathletic.com. Coppinger also scored an Honorable Mention in Event Coverage.
Other recipients of multiple awards include Don Stradley with a pair of seconds, for Event Coverage and Column, as well as an HM in short feature, long feature and Investigative Reporting, and Jose Corpas, with a second in short feature, a third in Event Coverage and an HM in Column.
The complete list of placing entries:
2019 BERNIE WINNERS
BOXING EVENT COVERAGE
First Place
MARK KRIEGEL, “What Maxim Dadashev Was Fighting For,” ESPN.com, July 20, 2019
Second Place
DON STRADLEY, “Ass-Kicking in Arlington,” Ringside Seat, March 17, 2019
Third Place (tie)
GREG BISHOP, “’This Would Be a Great Way to Go Out’: Behind the Scenes of Pacquiao’s Win Over Thurman,” SI.com, June 21, 2019,
MATT CHRISTIE, “World Comes Down,” Boxing News, June 4, 2019
JOSE CORPAS, “Andy Ruiz Jr. - A Win for the Good Hombres,” Premierboxingchampions.com, June 2, 2019
Honorable Mention: Mike Coppinger, The Athletic; Bernard Fernandez, thesweetscience.com; Thomas Gerbasi, BoxingScene.com; Tony Paige, NYDailyNews.com; Springs Toledo, thesweetscience.com;
BOXING COLUMN
First Place (Tie)
GREG BISHOP, “Boxing’s Tragedies Put the Sport in a Difficult Corner,” SI.com, August 7, 2019
RON BORGES, “Only One Place to Settle This,” Boxing Monthly, March 2019
Second Place
DON STRADLEY, “Rocky Lockridge 1959-2019,” donstradley.blogspot.com, February 15, 2019
Third Place (tie)
MARK KRIEGEL, “A Prayer for the Living: You Don’t Have to be Irish to Root for Michael Conlan,” ESPN.com, July 30, 2019
ELLIOT WORSELL, “Down the Tube: KSI and Logan Paul Go Pro,” boxingnewsonline.com, October 7, 2019
Honorable Mention: Jose Corpas, Premierboxingchampions.com; Thomas Hauser, BoxingScene.com; Steve Kim, ESPN.com; Lance Pugmire, theathletic.com; Springs Toledo, thesweetscience.com
BOXING NEWS STORY
First Place
MIKE COPPINGER, “Inside the Making of Wilder-Fury 2, the Fight that Brings Al Haymon and Bob Arum Together at Last,” The Athletic, November 22, 2019
Second Place
LANCE PUGMIRE, “As the Boxing World Mourns the Death of Maxim Dadashev, Questions are Raised Surrounding Fighter Safety,’” theathletic.com, July 24, 2019
Third Place
MATT CHRISTIE, “When the Smoke Clears,” Boxing News, May 16, 2019
Honorable Mention: Mick Akers, Las Vegas Review Journal; Ron Borges, The Ring; Jose Corpas, Premierboxingchampions.com; Bernard Fernandez, thesweetscience.com; Thomas Hauser, Sporting News; Joseph Santoliquito, RingTV.com; Elliot Worsell, boxingnewsonline.com
BOXING FEATURE (Under 1,500 words)
First Place
MARK KRIEGEL, “Why Marine Jamal Herring Keeps Fighting,” ESPN.com, November 7, 2019
Second Place
JOSE CORPAS, “Andy Ruiz – Marked for Victory,” Premierboxingchampions, April 16, 2019
Third Place
JOHN DENNEN, “Boxing and Saudi Arabia,” Boxing News, December 12, 2019
Honorable Mention: Carlos Acevedo, Hannibal Boxing; Bernard Fernandez, thesweetscience.com; Lee Groves, The Ring; Lance Pugmire, theathletic.com; Joseph Santoliquito, Premierboxingchampions.com; Don Stradley, The Ring; Springs Toledo, Boxing News
BOXING FEATURE (Over 1,500 words)
First Place (tie)
CARLOS ACEVEDO, “The Duke of the West Side: Owney ‘The Killer’ Madden,” Hannibal Boxing, August 7, 2019
RON BORGES, “The Truth Hurts,” The Ring, July 2019
MARK KRIEGEL, “Why Joet Gonzalez Wants to Beat Up Shakur Stevenson, His Sister’s Boyfriend,” ESPN.com, October 24, 2019
LANCE PUGMIRE, “For Almost 40 Years, Promoter Kathy Duva Has Done Things Her Way, and She’s Not Stopping Anytime Soon,” theathletic.com, October 31, 2019
Second Place (tie)
SEAN NAM, “’Everyone Walks Away’: Matt Farrago Battles the Help Other Fighters, and Himself,” Hannibal Boxing, June 12, 2019
RANDY ROBERTS, “Richard Wright Discovers Joe Louis’ Dynamite,” The Undefeated, June 21, 2019
Third Place
NORM FRAUENHEIM, “The Heart of Boxing,” The Ring, January 2019
Honorable Mention: Manouk Akopyan, menshealth.com; Bernard Fernandez, thesweetscience.com; Andrew Harrison, Boxing Monthly; Joseph Santoliquito, RingTV.com; Don Stradley, Ringside Seat #8; Elliot Worsell, Boxing News
BOXING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING
First Place
MIKE COPPINGER, “’There’s No Loyalty. We See it Now’: Inside Canelo Alvarez’s Feud with Promoter Oscar De La Hoya,” The Athletic, October 30, 2019
Second Place
KENNETH BOUHAIRIE, “The Art of Promotion,” Boxing News (UK), January 2019
Third Place
MATT CHRISTIE, “The Silent Killer,” Boxing News, April 25, 2019
Honorable Mention: Manouk Akopyan, LATimes.com; Thomas Hauser, The Ring; Mark Kriegel, ESPN.com; Don Stradley, Ringside Seat #6; Springs Toledo, Boxing News
2019 BERNIES JUDGES:
TOM ARCHDEACON, Dayton Daily News
CHUCK BAUSMAN, Rider University, School of Journalism
IRA BERKOW, New York Times (retired); 2001 Pulitzer Prize winner
TOMMY DEAS, USA Today Sports Network
SEAN PATRICK GRIFFIN, Ph.D., The Citadel, Criminal Justice Department; Author
JIM JENKINS, Sacramento Bee (retired)
RICH ROSE, All Sports Productions
TODD D. SNYDER, Ph.D., Siena College, English Department
JOHN WHISLER, San Antonio Express-News (retired)
