Boxing historian starter kit - 5 books you recommend?

A book I'd thoroughly recommend as a toe-dipping exercise into boxing history is The Ring's Chronicle of Boxing written by Steve Farhood.

 

A jewel.

 

Undefeated: The Fighter Who Refused to Lose

Essential unbiased account of a guy seldom talked about in this sub

 

There is no such book or series of books. The ones that cover last one and a half centuries, since the introduction of the MoQ rules, are poorly researched, especially when they cover all weights as well.

 

Sugar Ray (Dave Anderson)
Ghosts of Manila (Kram)
Corner Men (Ronald K. Fried)
Ali (his life and times) Thomas Hauser
The Black Lights (Hauser)

Or like Seamus says buy Flame of Pure Fire (Roger Khanl) 5 times. That's all you'll need going forward

 

Ring: Boxing in the 20th Century
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/ring-...y-weston/517450/#isbn=0792458508&idiq=3572106
This book goes year by year and lists all the title fights that took place in every division. Some of the more important fights are given brief write-ups with photos. It's a wonderful book to have as a reference and covers every division, not just a couple of fighters. I go back and look at it all the time. They may have an updated version by now. My copy goes back 25 years and only goes to the end of 1992, like the one in the link.

If you see any fights in this book you find interesting or want to learn more about, there are likely books available that provide more detail around those fights.

But this book is an easy-to-read, interesting snapshot of the sport in the 20th Century (up to Bowe-Holyfield I).

 

Here are a few titles:

The Boxing Register

Saga of Sock - Grombach

Ten - and Out! - Johnston

Beyond the Ring - Sammons

Four Kings - Kimball

In this Corner - Heller

Encyclopedia of Boxing Champions - McCallum

 

Love that book! Got it when it came out - it was the book that got me interested in boxing history.

I don't think they ever brought out an updated version.

 

Hausers ALI book is great

 

If one wants to learn about the professional boxing scene in the United States from the 1910s to 1970, I would highly recommend The One Is Jack Hurley, John Ochs' massive three-volume biography of Hurley and his times. Hurley was one of the greatest all-around boxing men ever and an absolutely fascinating character.

- Chuck Johnston

 

I second this

 

Senya stated general history books are a bit sketchy in terms of accuracy at times. My opinion would be to go for compendiums of writing then do more research if interested

The Sweet Science - A J Liebling or other boxing books by same author
Dark Trade - Donald McRae
Ringside Seats and More Ringside Seats - Peter Wilson
McIlvanney on Boxing - Hugh McIlvanney
A Ringside Affair - James Lawton
Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing - Steve Bunce
The God's of War, In the Cheap Seats, Murderers Row - Springs Toledo
Tales from the Vault - Lee Groves

Books on Harry Greb, Sam Langford, Jack Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Gans and the list can go on.

If you want to delve into old contemporary news and reports then newspapers sites are a good source to go for and include:

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/
http://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html
https://bklyn.newspapers.com/
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc
http://montananewspapers.org/
https://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers
https://trove.nla.gov.au/

Archive.org have some old books for free:

Archive.org

 

I second this! Really well written.

 

Floud & Wachter, Height, Health, and History: Nutritional Status in the United Kingdom, 1750-1980

Randy Roberts, Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes

Floyd Patterson, The International Boxing Hall of Fame's Basic Boxing Skills

Barry Jordan, Medical Aspects of Boxing

James Corbett, Scientific Boxing