The Manly Art by Elliot Gorn because it educated me about a subject I knew practically nothing about.
The new Marciano book was actually quite good. Showed a much different side of him you really got to know him. You got to see the good and bad of him. It also demonstrates why he retired and also why he is as great as he is. Very well written and researched Marciano claimed he was done after cockell. He hated that Weill chose him as his opponent, he thought cockell was a joke who couldn’t sell. he couldn’t get up to train hard for him. Got floored in sparring, didn’t feel right physically felt himself aging. Hated Weill after discovering 10 grand was stolen from him by Weill and Norris Marciano was hanging them up..until Moore called him out. Over and over again. Then Moore beat Valdes and knocked out Olsen. Marciano was on vacation and one of his friends told him “if you retire now there will be a huge hole in your legacy if you don’t fight Moore” because Moore is hands down the most accomplished contender of this era. When Marciano heard that he immediately signed to fight Moore. He trained for Moore with a chip on his shoulder, was highly motivated and put everything into it one last time
I just take it as it is. I hadn't heard all the myths and what not before, so it was all new to me. I just sat pretty and let myself be dragged into the times. He was colourfully written honestly. I enjoyed it, fiction spots or not. It is just what it is for the sake of amusement. If I want encyclopaedia writing, A learning book with diligent study and pure facts. I'll read Pollack.
No Way but to Fight: George Foreman and the Business of Boxing The vast sociocultural background detailed in between the story of Big George was captivating.
Impossible to nominate just one book. I read many borrowed from libraries in my earlier to mid teens. One I remember liking a lot was IN THIS CORNER by Peter Heller. Here’s a link to Amazon for a brief description:- PS - I just realised it has been newly updated and expanded. Good price IMO. https://www.amazon.com.au/This-Corner-Forty-two-Champions-Stories/dp/0306806037
Volume One of the Hurley trilogy is currently on sale at Amazon for $20.85, a 48% discount. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ochs+hurley&i=stripbooks&crid=1N9OVOT3QKHEB&sprefix=ochs+hurley,stripbooks,137&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
I've read and liked too many to list here. Many became my favorite for a time after reading. My Granddaughter just bought this one for me: "No Way But to Fight (George Foreman and the Business of Boxing)." Andrew Smith, 2020. That may become my favorite for a while, if it's a good one.
Facing Tyson was extremely engaging, and managed to make all of his lesser known opponents the real story.
An interesting and offbeat choice I can recommend: The Years of the Locust (Murder and Mayhem in the Last Age of Boxing) by Jon Hotten. It’s the story of journeyman heavyweight Tim “Doc” Anderson and his murder of promoter Rick “Elvis” Parker, full of characters and dark arts — Anderson believes he was poisoned by Parker in his rematch with Mark Gastineau after knocking out Gastineau (Parker’s hoped-for cash cow, a prominent former football player who he was angling for a showdown with ‘old’ George Foreman). Parker promoted, at various times, Bert Cooper and Foreman early in his comeback days. He was also behind some fixed fights, including those which Sports Illustrated investigated concerning Tex Cobb bouts in his later comeback days. Hotten has an interesting writing style, a bit flashy, but the facts no background of the characters makes for quite a read. There’s a bit left unsaid — there’s a lot of drugs involved with Parker and Anderson clearly ran with him and played bodyguard for him, but it’s left unsaid that Tim probably partook in some of that and had a bit of a shady side himself. Regardless, it’s a fascinating tale.
Facing Ali... a Series of such books, would be great, sadly damn near all the opponents of Noted & Great past fighters are all gone, mores the pity.
