Born December 2, 1939 in the Bronx, NY. After graduating high school, Katz enrolled at City College (CCNY) and began writing for the school newspaper, The Campus, eventually becoming sports editor.
He served as a stringer for the New York Times, covering CCNY sports. Katz was a copy boy at the Times in 1961 and soon worked his way up the ladder to news assistant and ultimately to the sports desk. In 1966 he moved to Europe and was sports editor of the Times International Edition. While there he covered his first heavyweight title bout, Floyd Patterson vs. Jimmy Ellis in 1968. In 1970 he freelanced in Paris, France, serving as European sports correspondent and contributed copy to the Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. Upon returning to the States in 1972, he resumed his duties at the Times sports desk. In 1979 Katz began covering boxing full time for the “gray lady.” In 1985 he moved to the New York Daily News and worked as a general sports columnist before focusing full-time on boxing. In 2000 he joined houseofboxing.com and subsequently wrote for maxboxing.com, showtime.com and msgnetwork.com.
Katz was awarded the Nat Fleischer Award for “Excellence In Boxing Journalism” by the BWAA in 1981.
Born: Dec. 2, 1939
Induction: 2012
Michael Katz
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