- BOXER
- Secret China society
- Joe Louis was one
- One who weaves in a ring
- Jabber?
- Speed bag user
- Member of a 19th-century Chinese secret society
- Tyson or Holyfield
- Rocky Balboa, for one
- Oscar de la Hoya, for example
- Either of two illustrious Sugar Rays
- Ring competitor
- Hit man?
- Ali, e.g.
- Crater
- Félix Trinidad, for one
- Pug-faced dog, fittingly
- Golden Gloves contestant
- Balboa or Creed
- Pugilist
- Simon and Garfunkel classic, with "The:
- Square-jawed dog
- Golden Gloves competitor
- One may be counted out
- Western senator since 1993
- Ring swinger
- With "The," hit song that begins "I am just a poor boy and my story's seldom told"
- Stocky dog
- Glove wearer
- *Jake LaMotta, e.g.
- Rocky, for one
- Descendant of the English Bulldog
- One wearing gloves to work
- __ shorts
- Bright, loyal breed
- Ring master?
- Feinstein's colleague
- One in the ring
- Title seeker
- 2016 Senate retiree-to-be
- Prizefighter
- Professional fighter
- Round figure?
- See 19-Across
- Stocky dog breed
- A palooka is a bad one
- Dog.
- Athlete.
- Glove man
- Short-haired dog
- Ali, for one
- Chinese rebel of 1900
- Chinese rebellion: 1900
- Holmes or Hagler
- Louis or Ali
- Onetime Chinese rebel
- Kind of shorts
- Marciano or Graziano
- Arena antagonist
- Filmdom's Rocky, e.g.
- Pug, e.g.
- One working on a canvas?
- Ring figure
- Round person?
- Lord of the ring?
- One serving punch? ... or, parsed differently, a hint to 12 squares in this puzzle
- Vitali Klitschko, e.g.
- Well-rounded athlete?
- One sparring
- Doggo with a powerful bite
- Working dog
- Foreman, e.g.
- One who works on canvas
- Muscular canine
- Athlete in a ring
- Member of a working breed
- One who practices his art on canvas
- Rocky Balboa was one
- Mike Tyson or Tyson Fury
- Rocky or Apollo, in "Rocky"
- Square-muzzled dog
- Golden Gloves entrant
- Dog breed from Germany
- Athlete who wears gloves
- Square ring denizen
- One in a ring
- Jockey alternative
- Lord of the rings?
- Prizefight participant