Boxing

He saved a young Cassius Clay when he was in trouble in England, convinced Sugar Ray Leonard that he could somehow overcome the fearsome Tommy Hearns. Angelo Dundee worked thousands of corners, and had just as many stories about fighters and the games they played in the ring.

The best work of his life, though, may have been selling a sport that was often tough to sell.

OGDEN -- An enthusiastic crowd gathered at Foley's Gym Friday and Saturday, and were treated to two nights of impressive fights during the Utah State Senior Boxing Championships.

The fights, staged between fighters from across the state, was a qualifier for future regional competitions.

OGDEN -- More than 15 years ago, Weber State football player Billy Zumbrun was looking for a way to stay in shape while he pursued the dream of a professional football career. At that time, Zumbrun didn't realize that trip to the gym would lead to what's turned into a successful boxing career.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Long before his dazzling footwork and punching prowess made him a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion known as Muhammad Ali, a young Cassius Clay honed his skills by sparring with neighborhood friends and running alongside the bus on the way to school.

The man who became the world's most recognizable athlete was a baby sitter, a jokester and a dreamer in the predominantly black West End neighborhood of Louisville where he grew up and forged lasting friendships while beginning his ascent toward greatness.

Now, as the iconic boxer slowed by Parkinson's disease prepares to turn 70 next week, he's coming home for a birthday bash at the downtown cultural center and museum that bears his name. The private party Saturday night will double as a fundraiser for the 6-year-old Muhammad Ali Center, which promotes ideals of tolerance, respect and individual achievement. The birthday party will highlight a weeklong extended tribute to the city's favorite son whose name and face emblazon buildings and street signs.

Ali turns 70 on Jan. 17, three days after the party.

Carl Froch imagines himself to be a much harder puncher than Andre Ward, and maybe he is. But the outcome of another boxing match a week earlier could have an effect on how the two reigning super middleweight champions go at it Saturday night in the Showtime-televised unification bout that brings the curtain down on the "Super Six Classic" in Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

Last Saturday night, in Lamont Peterson's hometown of Washington, D.C., Peterson upset WBA/IBF junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, of England, on a controversial split decision. The scores were 115-110 for Khan and 113-112, twice, for Peterson.