whats your favorite boxing book?

Charley Burley: Life and Times of an uncrowned champion

by Allen Rosenfeld.

 

'In The Ring With Bob Fitzsimmons' was one of the best books I've ever read, regardless pf subject matter...although it irked me that it stops after Corbett, I assume the Ruhlin/Jeffries fights are in the Jeffries book...I really wanted some background on Fitzs fight with Johnson, which it didn't provide.

Major niggles, bit what was in there was superb. I felt Moyles book on Langford approached some stuff with too little detail, in fairness though he had a lot more fights to encompass, and I felt his run-downs of Langfords rivalries with Wills, Jeanette and McVey were top-notch.

'Four Kings' is the most accesible though, great read that, linear and cinematic, whilst remaining detailed it is very well paced :good

 

Reading Harry Otty's 'Charley Burley and the Black Murderers Row', that's good too.

 

yeh Ottey's is amazing too, really love both books.

 

The Big If! best book iv'e ever read about boxing or anything else!

 

Reminds me, I ordered it, wonder if it got lost in the post :huh

 

Michael Watson's Story: The Biggest Fight

 

Eubank and Benn's were great reads, Jesus Chavez book is also a very good read and jon davidsons, read loads including Holyfield, de la hoya, Briggs, till, hearns, dark trade, anyone recommend a good book prefer 80's onwards

 

Not boxing related but 'it's not about the bike' is brilliant Lance Armstrong

 

Teddy Atlas' book is a great read. I would highly recommend it. Teddy understands the mental side of the game so well.

For example, there's something me and a few of the fellas on here where discussing a while back, and that's fighters having sex before a fight and what effects it has, well here's Teddy's view on it:

..."Some trainers demand total abstinence. I told Michael Moore he could have girls up until 3 weeks before the fight, but on the condition he didn't bring them around during training sessions. Cus had always said it wasn't the act of having sex that was hurtful to a fighter, it was the chasing around and late night socialising that was damaging. I agree with that. I never believed all that crap about sex sapping your energy, mentally however it could become an excuse in a tough fight. Along those lines, Cus had two fighters back in the 1950's and 1960's, Mike Bulich and Jimmy Arness, who were both deaf mutes. Bulich and Arness were tough *******s who broke all the rules about going out. They'd have sex right through training even up to the night of the fight, but they never got tired during a fight, and Cus said it was because they never heard the bull**** from people about how it was suppose to hurt them..."

 

That's quality Slip :good

 

It's a really interesting read, but can't help but feel some of it should be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

You Believe that on the basis of what Mr Atlas says??? hmmm ok

 

It's an interesting view from someone who understands the mental side of boxing more then most.

 

Beyond the classics, which are probably in loads of other threads, for books written in the last year, I'd recommend:

Randy Roberts' biography of Joe Louis, Hard Times Man;

Kevin Mitchell's account of the mob's role in fifties prizefighting, Jacbob's Beach, and;

Jason Kelly's story of the events surrounding the Dempsey/Gibbons championship fight brought to a small mining town, Shelby's Folly.