Boxing Manuals *Actually* Written By Boxing Champions?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by cross_trainer, Sep 19, 2018.


  1. cross_trainer

    cross_trainer Liston was good, but no "Tire Iron" Jones Full Member

    17,597
    13,029
    Jun 30, 2005
    I'm hoping someone knowledgeable like @apollack, @Cmoyle, @chrisboxer, @klompton2, or some other poster of equal eminence will see this thread, but I'm making it an open question because it keeps coming up:

    Out of all the manuals supposedly written by famous fighters, do we know whether any of them were actually written (or co-written) by the fighters themselves?

    Among the ones I've seen are:

    Tommy Burns's Scientific Boxing
    Peerless Jim Driscoll's books
    Jimmy Wilde's boxing book
    Bob Fitzsimmons's "Physical Culture and Self-Defense"
    Jim Corbett's book
    Joe Louis's "How to Box" book
    Floyd Patterson's book with Bert Sugar and the IBHOF
    Joe Frazier's book
    Philly Jack O'Brien's book from the 1920s
    Jack Dempsey's "Championship Fighting"
     
    cross_trainer, Sep 19, 2018
    cross_trainer, Sep 19, 2018
    #1
    BitPlayerVesti likes this.
  2. Longhhorn71

    Longhhorn71 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    12,714
    3,450
    Jan 6, 2007
    Harry Greb wrote one...but only one page is known to exist...and it was in the Preface.
     
    Longhhorn71, Sep 19, 2018
    Longhhorn71, Sep 19, 2018
    #2
    cross_trainer likes this.
  3. SHADAPBLAD

    SHADAPBLAD Viscous Knockouts Full Member

    1,143
    1,279
    Feb 15, 2017
    Is that the page with Greb prophesizing a 6'6" 265lb of muscle carved out of marble, demonic speed and power, savant boxing IQ heavyweight champion strength specialist in the form of a Primo Carnera? That page must have been round due to the all aroundness of Carnera's fighting abilities
     
    SHADAPBLAD, Sep 19, 2018
    SHADAPBLAD, Sep 19, 2018
    #3
  4. Rope-a-Dope

    Rope-a-Dope Boxing Junkie Full Member

    10,138
    7,966
    Jan 20, 2015
    Is the Greb book entitled "The Art of Shadowboxing?"
     
    Rope-a-Dope, Sep 19, 2018
    Rope-a-Dope, Sep 19, 2018
    #4
    Longhhorn71 and Nighttrain like this.
  5. Senya13

    Senya13 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    12,875
    2,354
    Jul 11, 2005
    Harry Greb did prove he understood boxing very well in separate write-ups on many occasions in Pittsburgh newspapers.
     
    Senya13, Sep 19, 2018
    Senya13, Sep 19, 2018
    #5
    BitPlayerVesti and Longhhorn71 like this.
  6. Senya13

    Senya13 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    12,875
    2,354
    Jul 11, 2005
    How to box to win - by Terry McGovern, 1899
     
    Senya13, Sep 19, 2018
    Senya13, Sep 19, 2018
    #6
  7. robert ungurean

    robert ungurean Богдан Philadelphia Full Member

    15,851
    14,616
    Jun 9, 2007
    Dempseys book is head an shoulders above the best. The man truly understood boxing inside and out. Superb book. Excellent insite on generating power that's not really taught anymore.
     
    robert ungurean, Sep 19, 2018
    robert ungurean, Sep 19, 2018
    #7
    BitPlayerVesti likes this.
  8. KasimirKid

    KasimirKid Well-Known Member Full Member

    2,179
    3,267
    Jun 1, 2018
    "The Art of Infighting" by Frank Klaus
    "Hitting and Stopping by Jimmy Wilde
    "The Art of Boxing" by Jimmy Wilde (so there are at least two books by Wilde)
    "My Methods or Boxing as a Fine Art" Georges Carpentier

    Isn't there one out there under Rocky Marciano's name?
     
    KasimirKid, Sep 19, 2018
    KasimirKid, Sep 19, 2018
    #8
  9. Longhhorn71

    Longhhorn71 Boxing Junkie Full Member

    12,714
    3,450
    Jan 6, 2007
    lol.
     
    Longhhorn71, Sep 19, 2018
    Longhhorn71, Sep 19, 2018
    #9
  10. BitPlayerVesti

    BitPlayerVesti Boxing Drunkie Full Member

    8,584
    11,087
    Oct 28, 2017
    Scientific Boxing attributed to Corbett can be found on Archive.org, it was a while ago I was looking at it, fo insights on his style, but it taught something totally different from how Corbett fought (a much more conventional style), and it includes lots of demonstrations, but none of the pictures are actually Corbett. It's Richard K Fox publishing, and there's a big picture of him at the beginning along with Corbett.
    There's still some good stuff in it, including a picture of Bob Fitzsimmons throwing a body punch at James J Jeffries.

    Bob Fitzsimmons's book can also be found on archive.org, includes tons of demonstrations by him in photos, so at the very least he must have been involved in it's creation, and it does read like it was written by Fitz IMO.
     
    BitPlayerVesti, Sep 20, 2018
    BitPlayerVesti, Sep 20, 2018
    #10