Books & articles

I'm fond of their section containing braille books. I'm a very tactile person. When I get to a page I like, I caress it over and over to make sure I don't miss a thing. It heightens the "reading" experience.

 

The Braille section is actually private for those who can not hear, but either way its always a great read!

 

Hmm. Something seems a** up there. Anway, hear no evil, see no evil but let the hands wander where they must.

 

Just read that. Great article. Thanks man.

 

In This Corner by Peter Heller. Interviews with a range of champs from the 1900s-1970s. Interesting as it doesn't just feature ATGs but forgotten champs like Don Jordan and Lew Jenkins. Told in their own words as well so you really get a feel for their characters.

The Black Lights by Thomas Hauser. Uses the build up to a title fight by former LW champ Billy Costello to expose the seediness of 80s boxing. Lots of dirt on the WBC and Don King. Like the book above, interesting as it focuses on a mid level champ rather than a superstar.

Boxing Babylon by Nigel Collins. Lots of good stories about fighters as varied as Sonny Liston and Tyrone Everett and their sad demises.

On Boxing by Joyce Carol Oats. Haven't read this in years but remember it being a poetic but still interesting look at boxing from an unlikely source.

Sugar Ray Leonard by Sam Toperoff. Interesting book about the marketing of SSL with some particularly good background on the prep for the Hagler fight.

 

I'm reading A Man's World by McRae now. I've got to where Griffiths lost his WW title to LMR & is about to regain it from him, to become the first 3 time WW world champion.

I've said elsewhere on this site, his story (gay man, having to live secretly, at a time homosexuality was illegal, publicly outed by Paret, only to kill him in his title winning effort, the guilt he then had to deal with, etc.) would make a great film, it's quite remarkable.

 

For those (perhaps few) on here who haven’t had the joy of discovering the late AJ Liebling, I present to you ‘Ahab and Nemesis,’ his account of Archie Moore’s quest to harpoon the white whale that was Rocky Marciano:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1955/10/08/ahab-and-nemesis

 

The Long Round The Triumphs and Tragedies of the Men Who Fought Mike Tyson by Dominic Calder-Smith
Fantastic book that tells the stories of a selection of Tyson victims, including Tubbs, Thomas, Williams, Tucker etc. Ranges from the inspirational (Pinklon) to the bleak (Tubbs and Biggs). Has a chapter on each covering their rise, fight with Mike and generally depressing fall afterwards.

Rocky Lives! Heavyweight Boxing Upsets of the 1990s by David E. Finger
Really entertaining book outlining what it says. Gives an account of each upset, a little bit of info on both fighters and what happened and why plus the aftermath. Includes fighters like Joe Hipp, Mike "Bounty" Hunter and of course "Buster" Douglas! Gives a real sense of the depth of the 90s heavyweight division. For such a niche subject it is a lot of fun and very much for a hardcore fan, ie anyone on this forum I imagine!

 

I finished reading "The Fighting Times of Abe Attell" by Mark Allen Baker. Extraordinary!

A few weeks ago, finished reading "Fat City" by Leonard Gardner. An excellent novel. I would say not only a "Classic" but clearly a "must-read" by everyone.

 

I quite enjoyed Boxing Babylon...

Facing Ali was perhaps the best Boxing book I ever read - Ali "through the Eyes and Experience" of his Opponents!

 

I read:
Iron Mike
The Holyfield way
Mi Vida Loca johnny Tapia
Teddy atlas: from the streets a story from a kid to a man or whatever they call it
I read Jesus Chavez book aka Gabriel Sandoval (this book was underrated) couldn't believe half the shif Jesus went through. Standing 8 count
Oscar de la Hoya: The Golden boy, a kind of goofy book with some insight.
MMA: Uriah Faber rules or laws of the ring: awesome principles to learn from Faber.
Im still looking forward to the James toney book. I also read chuck Liddell the iceman- kind of a cool guy, interesting dude.i used to read ring magazine like crazy and I bought a awesome boxing "picture" book, more pictorial than wordy.

I remember watching kid kalafu the story of Manny Pacquiao before he was the PAC man. Brilliant movie. And then if course there are the mandatories: rocky, creed, the fighter mark Wahlberg, southpaw, undisputed (john Leguizamo), Haji mino Oppo (a boxing anime) and raging bull, etc.