best boxing books and why

Anyone updating their recommendations on this?

 

I own Pollack's trilogy of Dempsey books and they are outstanding. Best researched books of the genre.

Some of my other favorites are "In this Corner", "The Cornermen", and "In the Corner: Great Boxing Trainers Talk About Their Art".

 

"The Greatest" autobiography of Muhammad Ali. I don't need to explain anything. It's the only book about boxing I've read.

 

I assume this is The Years of the Locust by Jon Hotten on the murder of promoter Rick ‘Elvis’ Parker at the hand of boxer Tim Anderson, who claimed Parker had drugged him (leading to long-term physical deterioration) to make sure he lost in a rematch with retired pro football star Mark Gastineau (he beat Mark the first time they fought, got beat up in the rematch).

It is gripping, but you have to be willing to wade through it long enough to get past the author’s … shall we say … unusual and eccentric style. A tiny yet annoying for-instance — he refers to fight results the exact same way every time, something like: ‘Anderson won by TKO in the second round.’ He never mixes it up to say ‘Anderson stopped xxx in the second round’ or ‘Anderson scored a second-round TKO.’

That’s just annoying stuff … he also rambles a lot instead of getting to the point.

I wish he had dug a little deeper. Personally, I don’t buy Anderson as an innocent Boy Scout as he’s portrayed, with lots of talk about Parker and others doing drugs yet Tim hangs out with them all the time … stretches credulity for a choirboy hanging out with so many lowlifes all the time.

Then there’s the details of the murder that don’t add up (to me) as Anderson blacking out and then waking up to realize he’d killed his nemesis. He took a loaded gun to confront Parker (under false pretenses, representing that Elvis will get good money for cooperating with a book Tim says he is writing). He also took Rick’s sister (whom it seems he was dating, which is pretty ****ed up seeing as how he blames Parker for everything that’s gone bad in his life) and tells her to go wait by the pool to get her out of the way for the confrontation. His first shot iirc was right to Rick’s, um, male reproductive anatomy, which obviously had to be a calculated decision given he had to aim there. And then he completely unloads the gun iirc.

Suddenly, magically, soon as it is over he snaps out of his blackout and calls the police to report the shooting and wait for them to arrive.

I also wish he could have addressed whether law enforcement were able to restore the audiotape of the fatal encounter. Tim taped the fatal encounter with a hidden microcassette recorder and then threw it against a wall or the refrigerator or something, breaking the recorder and perhaps the cassette casing — but the actual tape should have been good or maybe damaged in some sections — all LE would have to do would be to get it respooled on another microcassette to replay it.

 

I love Undisputed Truth. It's Tyson's autobiography and it's just a blast. It's written in his voice, profanity and all, and it's just pure entertainment, despite the messed up things contained in it.

Could very well have been titled "Mike Tyson and friends'(?) misadventures". From him basically creating rap culture, being such a hardcore sex addict to the point of impregnating a guard in the prison he was in and getting turned on just by the sound of stilettos, physically abusing Don King in the late 80s, going on a coke trip in Hawaii while being babysat by Mike McCallum, doing anti-drug commercials while deep into drugs himself, and just the sheer amount of "the universe/karma hates me'' moments in it. Some funny. Some not so funny.

Ghosts of Manilla is great too. Probably the best thing I've ever read when it comes to humanising Ali and deciding to look into his flaws from a more neutral stance. He's an icon, an inspiration and just very charismatic person. He was also a naive, easily influenced, racist, wife beating narcissist who impregnated a 16 year old at 32. He also cried when his last wife refused to acknowledge the daughter he had with said 16 year old when she grew up and wanted to meet him when he was ill. I think it matters that figures as big as Ali are humanised, instead of just being seen as either an awesome sports legend or a secret piece of ****. Humans are complex creatures.

 

I sold off most of mine, a lot of reference type books covering 'Boxing' and not so much individual fighters.

I've always said that the most enjoyable read for me was "Facing Ali", which was a look at Ali from the eyes & experience of about a dozen of his opponents. Much more interesting than the usual regurgitated material you usually get.

another was "the Middleweights" or something to that effect, a wide sweep of arguably the Greatest Division.

 

Facing Ali is a good book.

 

This is the best boxing book I've read.

 

Hi Buddy.
The book you are referring to is I believe called " The Muddle weights " because a large chunk of it centered on the years after Walker gave up the title to terrorise the LHWs and even HWs, sometimes I really think he should be among the top 10 of all time, so yes it chronicled the fighters that disputed the title after Mickey, from memory, the likes of, Dundee, Riskco, Jones, Apostoli, Soose, etc, it was and still is the most detailed book on fighters I have read to this day, if you like your MWs and that 8/10 time period confussese you, this is the read for you, the author might have been Pete Heller, but I stand corrected.
stay safe thistle, chat soon buddy.
Mike.

 

Loved The Ageless Warrior: The life of boxing legend Archie Moore by Fitzgerald
I truly believe an hbo series needs to be made of that.

not sure I’ve read to many bad biographies…if you’re interested in the fighter you will probably enjoy it. Loved all the Marciano, Max Baer, Ali books I’ve read (Ali being particularly great).

 

Cheers Mike,

that book didn't sound familiar to me, though its plain to gather what it's about, as the period between Walker & Zale was often cited as "the Middleweight Muddle".

anyway I went looking to see the book I was referring too and it is actually "Men of Steel" Boxing middleweight greats.

the Muddles sounds a good read and oddly Boxing News and/or British Newspapers reported similarly on the British Middleweight Muddle owing too 'uncontested' titles. Anyway, maybe one day I'll see if I can get my hands on a copy.

In the meantime, I am going to purchase a Digitizing Copier to put all my Boxing News on SEARCHABLE & Readable Files. Tying to sell my house, but if it doesn't go before winter, then that will be a great winter project... 1938 - 1951, with some loose earlier issues too, dating back to the 19teens.

I've got BN right up to the 1960s still, though I am really not interested in those years as they are typically easy to get on Ebay and the like, in fact as I've said before, I've got 10 years or more forsale.

Cheers Mike, but it was Men of Steel.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304122237348?_trkparms=itmf=1&aid=1110006&rkt=5&asc=20200818143230&pid=101224&mech=1&algv=SimOrganicCassiniWithToraRecalls&pmt=1&amclksrc=ITM&sd=302874049897&sid=AQALAAAAEOSScUF8G3HdgTyhHyrwEqc=&itm=304122237348&noa=1&plcampt=0:151956927011&algo=HOMESPLICE.SIM&ao=1&rk=1&mehot=none&lsid=3&meid=8db3048702454e76b11f5e4a6ce7723d&pg=2332490&_trksid=p2332490.c101224.m-1

 

No problem buddy, thanks for prompt reply, chat soon.
Mike.