The men behind the men in the ring

Boxing is not everyone’s cup of tea. All that sweat and blood and raw violence can turn the stomach of the squeamish. To sit ringside is to risk getting sprayed by bodily fluids. That’s where you will find me Saturday night, when local boxer Lamont Peterson tries to knock off champ Amir Khan. Back in the day, prizefighters from the District were feared throughout the land. We think of Sugar Ray Leonard as a local, though he hailed from Camp Springs, Md. He was one of many.

“D.C. boxers always had the respect of New York, Philadelphia and Jersey,” boxing great Bernard Hopkins told a press conference Wednesday at the Wilson Building. “For years it’s been missing. D.C. is a hot spot.”