Best Boxing Book you know of ?

Shout out to A.J. Liebling's "The Sweet Science," a collection of Liebling essays that is some of the finest writing I have ever read about any subject. Man was an absolute poet who knew how to get points across without forcing them.

 

Although it is more about Pierce Egan's style, the following book is crammed full of prizefight commentaries using the authentic jargon of the period:
Writing the Prizefight: Pierce Egan's 'Boxiana' World (by David Snowdon).

 

Can't recommend the Joe Choynski biography highly enough .... also contains plenty of stuff on his contempories like Fitz, Jackson, Jeffries, Corbett etc .... and very well written.

 

Speaking of boxing books, I recently acquired a large collection from overseas. If anyone would like to see a list of what is available PM me with your email address and I'll forward to you.

 

Excellent book! I liked Boxing Babylon by Nigel Collins. It was about the murkier, sadder side of boxing but included some less talked about boxers. Unforgivable Blackness was good, too.

 

Hands of Stone .The Life And Legend Of Roberto Duran by Christian Giudice...great book in my opinion

 

How to Box, put out by the head coach of the University of Minnesota boxing team in the 1930's. Bruce Lee attributed the teachings in it on feinting, slipping, and various combinations to completing his own self defense system.

 

There's a great book about Louis v Schmeling called "Beyond Glory". It's quite eye opening how similarly offensive the American and Nazi press were about Louis.

Also there's a plethora of Origami books so you can learn how to make your own boxes.

 

thomas hauser, muhammad alis life & times.
ferdie pacheco, blood in my coffee/ fight doctor/ my view from the corner
jim brady, boxing confidential.

 

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I just wanted to read about his Brooklyn days but, I got caught up in the Cus D'Amato training and the all-around candid, lucid, and raw honestly of Tyson mi-vida loca.

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. Jake is much worst in the book than in the movie. I cannot watch the full movie anymore. I cannot watch him KO his wife, then walk in his brothers house and KO him in front of his children. In the book that little episode is nothing compared to what he did to a woman and another guy.

These men are not choir boys. They are/were horrible people who did raw things to people. Then they learned to box and was paid to hurt people. Because I am a boxing fan these two books get at the heart of what it takes to be great in this sport. Meaness, ugliness, hurt physical and emotional, sacrifice, accomplishment (always fleeting) and laying ones self bare before the masses to be judged. These are hard, real men and reading about them is an untimate page turner.

 

Nicely put, JLP 6.

 

for me,

Boxing Babylon
Facing Ali
Men of Steel

these three books give you a view of the sport that is altogether accurate, honest and a taste of just what it means to be at the Top or 'outside' of it because of the Sport's corrupt measuring sticks that either arrange and/or place you there or not! Great reads.

JPL, I know what you mean about Jake.
in my book about Gilroy we talk about his position, employment and volatility outside the ring. We don't get into any graphic details or accounts of such exploits mainly out of respect for family and victims, but Bert's son Joe stated that "Jake LaMotta was like an alter boy compared to old Bert!" Joe (Rea), said "he was the last of the dinosaurs, _ucken cold blooded, heartless, a _ucken Reptile!"

I too can vouch for this, he was my mother's father!

 

"The Professional" by W.C. Heinz. Very powerful, well written novel. The themes are so true to life that even though the book was written almost 60 years ago, any true boxing fan will feel like it could have been written last week.

 

It was a bit of a shock when I first read it. Having seen the film you think you know how bad he is, you're right he was even worse than portayed in the film.

I assume that last comment is refering to the carpet and the book(maker) respectively?

 

Exactly.

The bookmaker who he thought he killed and the woman he...(I do not want to type the words). Jake beat up on mobsters. He was the mob all unto himself.