Joseph Hammond
American journalist and foreign correspondent who has reported from four continents — from the Arab Spring in Cairo and the M23 front line in eastern Congo to ringside at Fury–Usyk in Riyadh, the first undisputed heavyweight championship in 24 years.
Cited in testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives
Former USAID China Policy Lead Francisco Bencosme cited Hammond’s 2021 Indo-Pacific Defense Forum report, “Chinese Fishing Fleet Poses Threat to Pacific Island Economies”, in his written testimony to the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs.
The Story
Joseph Hammond is an American journalist and foreign correspondent, a native of Long Beach, California. In 2011 he reported the Arab Spring from Cairo as a correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. In 2013 he travelled through M23-held North Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the rebellion’s final months, reporting from Bunagana, Rutshuru and Kiwanja before M23’s November 2013 surrender.
His reporting has taken him to the Congo, Burkina Faso, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Iraq, Egypt, Somalia, Ghana, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, and beyond. His interviews range from Nobel Peace Prize laureates and heads of state to cultural and sporting figures including Naomi Campbell and Tony Hawk.
He was a 2014–2015 Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellow with the government of Malawi and a Penn Kemble Democracy Forum Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. The Pulitzer Center supported his reporting on religion and public life in the United States, published by Religion News Service, where he covered Islam and international religious affairs.
Read the GQ South Africa profile →
Hammond began his career as a boxing writer, and never stopped: he has covered world championship fights on three continents and interviewed Julio César Chávez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Oscar De La Hoya, and Bernard Hopkins. He later served as Sports Illustrated’s first cricket and rugby editor. He holds a master’s degree in Middle East and African history from California State University, Long Beach, and is an alumnus and research associate of Royal Holloway, University of London. He speaks enough Spanish and Arabic to discuss boxing — his favorite sport.
On Camera
Joseph Hammond on the backlash to European immigration
A Washington Times video Q&A examining the political backlash over immigration in Europe.
Signature Reporting
Ringside at history
Reported ringside for KO On SI at Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk — the first undisputed heavyweight championship fight in 24 years.
Inside M23-held territory
Reported from Bunagana, Rutshuru and Kiwanja during the rebellion’s final months, before M23’s November 2013 surrender. Read the original report in The Caravan →
The Arab Spring, live
Cairo correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty as revolution remade the Middle East; later reported the man who fought a lion in Mansoura.
Religion and public life after Jan. 6
Pulitzer Center–funded reporting on how religious communities responded to the Capitol attack.
Inside the anti-jihadist militias
Reported from north-central Burkina Faso with the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland, documenting how Christian, Muslim, and animist fighters confronted a widening jihadist insurgency. Read the field report.
The U.S. withdrawal
Covered the 2010 withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq.
Creative Economy Initiative
Joseph Hammond is Founder & Co-President (Strategic Partnerships) of the Creative Economy Initiative, the organization behind the Creative Economy Forum. The Initiative convenes leaders across fashion, artisanship, cinema, sport, media and the arts to catalyze innovation and inclusive growth. The Forum’s official staff page names Hammond and Taiwo Meghoma as its founders and co-presidents.
The mission
Bring together visionaries, policymakers and organizations to strengthen creative industries and build a more resilient, equitable future for creative workers.
The forums
Bari, Italy (2025, inaugural — Teatro Petruzzelli, powered by the Apulian Runway Experience) · Johannesburg, South Africa (2026).
The leadership
Hammond hosted and moderated the Bari opening and later moderated the CNA fireside discussion. View the official program.
Fellowships & Affiliations
As Seen In
- The Washington Times
- Sports Illustrated — KO On SI
- The Economist
- The Washington Post
- Newsweek
- Associated Press
- Forbes
- Asia Times
- Religion News Service
- The National Interest
- The Diplomat
- U.S. News & World Report
- Christian Science Monitor
- Al-Monitor
- Arab News
- The Dispatch
- RealClearDefense
- Euronews
- Monocle
- Esquire (intl.)
- Rolling Stone (intl.)
- International Business Times
- Al-Arabiya
- Washington Examiner
- The Globe Post
- The Defense Post
- Comment Central
- The Christian Century
- Religion Unplugged
- The Barbed Wire
- Zenger News
- Yahoo Sports
- Japan Times
- Philstar
- RTÉ Brainstorm
- City A.M.
- GQ South Africa — profile
Selected Interview Subjects
Heads of state & laureates
Christine Carla Kangaloo — President of Trinidad and Tobago
John Dramani Mahama — President of Ghana; interviewed in 2018 between presidential terms
Tawakkol Karman — Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Rachid Ghannouchi — Tunisian statesman
Sid Ahmed Ghozali — former Prime Minister of Algeria
World champions
Julio César Chávez
Manny Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Shane Mosley
Gennady Golovkin
Oscar De La Hoya
Bernard Hopkins
Sport & culture
Naomi Campbell
Tony Hawk
Paulie Malignaggi
Amir Khan
Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Mauricio Sulaimán — WBC president
Connect
For assignments, commissions, speaking, Creative Economy Forum partnerships, or media requests:
Follow on X — @TheJosephH Portfolio on Muck Rack Boxing reporting KO On SI bylines Hire via Journalist.net