The Ringside Boxing Show: Ref Richard Steele, plus Linares-Campbell, Parker-Fury, Ward’s exit & much more

As an ordained minister, Richard Steele presided over the funerals of Eddie Futch and Diego Corrales. He was a U.S. Marine Corps teammate of Ken Norton (and, like Norton, trained under Futch).

As a Hall of Fame referee, he officiated many of the greatest fights in boxing history, including Hagler-Hearns, Hagler-Leonard, Arguello-Pryor, and, of course, Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Meldrick Taylor (which Steele infamously stopped 2 seconds before the bell with Chavez — 68-0 — losing on two scorecards.)

Our time with this International Boxing Hall of Famer was far too short, but Steele used every minute to regale us with a sensational peek into boxing’s inner sanctum. Don’t miss this remarkable conversation with a bona fide boxing legend.

Before our interview with Richard Steele, expert analysts Rizwaan Zahid and John J. Raspanti review the weekend title fights — Jorge Linares vs. Luke Campbell, and Joseph Parker vs. Hughie Fury — then talk about the recently announced showdown between Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz, and rumored match-ups between Mikey Garcia and Linares (135 or 140), Miguel Cotto (at 154), or Terence Crawford (at 147),and Eddie Hearn plan to bring the Brits to HBO We give a proper sendoff to Andre Ward, who retired undefeated last week at age 33, and hear from our British correspondent, Paul McLaughlin, who brings us up to speed on the latest news from the United Kingdom.

Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of “Intimate Warfare: The Tr