BOXING BOOKS !

[Poncey]

All good:
Mi Vida Loca - Jonny Tapia
Heart Soul Fire - Paul Briggs'
Four Kings - George Kimball
Dark Trade - Donal McRae
Atlas; From The Streets To The Ring - Teddy Atlas
No Ordinary Joe - Joe C
Benny; THe Life & Times... - Benny Lynch

Okay:
Muhammed Ali; His Life & Times - Thom Hauser

[m1kee50]

Have to say, I wasnt keen on Tosches book (Night Train)

'The Big If', about Johnny Owen, is an amazing book. Rick Farris, who was there that night, posts on here, if you search BOTP he has said more about that night.

[DavidPayne]

In the Red Corner: A Journey through Cuban Boxing - something like that, really well crafted, one chapter is about the author's feeble attempts to get Stevenson to fight Tyson on Warren's payroll and the next is a bout a Cuban great now on hard times.

This Bloody Mary is the last thing I own - Jonathan Rendell

The Fight - Norman Mailer

Come out Writing - A Boxing Anthology

[Dirk Kelly]

Does anyone want to do swaps?

I have:

Heart Soul Fire - Paul Briggs'
Muhammed Ali; His Life & Times - Thom Hauser

But have read:

Mi Vida Loca - Jonny Tapia
Four Kings - George Kimball
Atlas; From The Streets To The Ring - Teddy Atlas
No Ordinary Joe - Joe C
Benny - John Burrowes
Unforgiveable Blackness, the Jack Johnson Story.
Also have a couple that Terry D recommended about John Louis and Jessie Owens.

Willing to swap for other boxing books that I haven't read.

[chesh]

'Come Out Writing' is an excellent choice for a long journey. You can select chapters at random. A very good read indeed.

[MightyWarrior]

The Liston book by Nick Toches is absolute rubbish.

[DavidPayne]

Its been on my shelf two years and is still wrapped.

Just finished Paddy and the Prince.

Now debating whether to go for

Archie Moore, Tapia or Jack Johnson.

All two years on the shelf without being read.

[Poncey]

Tapia.

[bennie]

Funniest book is Chris Finnegan's Portrait of a fighting man, written by the late, great Wally Bartleman.
When Prince Phillip advised the entire British Olympic squad in 1968 that the altitude in Mexico City was not as bad as made out, because he had played polo there, Finnegan barked: "Did you try asking the horses that!"

[TerribleTerry]

Funniest book is Chris Finnegan's Portrait of a fighting man, written by the late, great Wally Bartleman.
When Prince Phillip advised the entire British Olympic squad in 1968 that the altitude in Mexico City was not as bad as made out, because he had played polo there, Finnegan barked: "Did you try asking the horses that!"

Agreed - the Finnegan book is well worth hunting down.

Much like his brother he loved a pint but he could really fight when it came down to it. If he hadn't met an all time great like Foster in his title at the world title he could well have gone all the way..

[Carbo]

The Liston book by Nick Toches is absolute rubbish.

I loved it, but a mate of mine hated it. It's a bit like marmite on boxing toast.

[levi billups]

In Black and White - the untold story of Joe Louis and Jesse Owens by Donald McRae. This was a great read, and really captured the era when boxing was massive front page news

[Kilburn]

I enjoyed Boxing Confidential. If I ever need cheering up I'll remember to read the chapter about hapless promoter Harold Smith.

[Carbo]

I enjoyed Boxing Confidential. If I ever need cheering up I'll remember to read the chapter about hapless promoter Harold Smith.

Boxing Confidential is a great book, passionately written on a topic that needed to be covered. However, it's also replete with mistakes and inaccuracies. (Or certainly my edition was.)

[mark thompson]

In the Red Corner: A Journey through Cuban Boxing - something like that, really well crafted, one chapter is about the author's feeble attempts to get Stevenson to fight Tyson on Warren's payroll and the next is a bout a Cuban great now on hard times.

This Bloody Mary is the last thing I own - Jonathan Rendell

The Fight - Norman Mailer

Come out Writing - A Boxing Anthology

Old bones Ian is sending me In the red corner b4 i fly on friday he says its a good read

[chinny]

I had a compilation of Harry Mullan's writing from BN. It was excellent of course but I can't remember the title.

I'd really like to read jack Newfield's Only In America Don King bio but I can't find it for sale in paperback.

[DavidPayne]

In the Red Corner: A Journey through Cuban Boxing - something like that, really well crafted, one chapter is about the author's feeble attempts to get Stevenson to fight Tyson on Warren's payroll and the next is a bout a Cuban great now on hard times.

This Bloody Mary is the last thing I own - Jonathan Rendell

The Fight - Norman Mailer

Come out Writing - A Boxing Anthology

Old bones Ian is sending me In the red corner b4 i fly on friday he says its a good read :TU:

Its a belter.

[bennie]

I had a compilation of Harry Mullan's writing from BN. It was excellent of course but I can't remember the title.

Fighting Words. I have a signed copy, although I cannot remember Harry signing it. Maybe I picked it up in a bookshop already signed. I also have a Hugman yearbook signed by Sylvia Lawless (Terry's wife), and wishing Mike Barrett a Happy Christmas. The funny thing is, Lawless and Barrett hated each other.

[Dirk Kelly]

There was one about NJ boxer Billy Costello detailing his rise to the title, for behind-the-scenes stuff it is pretty much top-notch. Try to dig it out.

Is that Thomas Hauser's "The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing."?

[Matt W]

Lots of good recommendations here, if I had to go for 2 I'd say Teddy Atlas & Four Kings.

[MightyWarrior]

There was one about NJ boxer Billy Costello detailing his rise to the title, for behind-the-scenes stuff it is pretty much top-notch. Try to dig it out.

Is that Thomas Hauser's "The Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing."?

Yes that's the one, it's a good one.

Terry I think I've got Sonny Boy somewhere, written by a friend of his was it? Though I remember it not being much better than Night Train - though definitely not as bad.

The trouble with Night Train is that most of what Toches writes is pure guess work - he's desperate to prove that Sonny was the victim of a mob hit, and with no proof at all, constructs a book around it. Plus his writing style is trying so hard to be hardboiled it's painful. A wannabe Hemingway tough guy who just comes over as a dork.

King of the world, by Dave Remnick, is the best book I've read on Liston - also about Ali and Patterson. Great book.

[harrygreb]

give him to the angels is a fave of mine too but i think its hard to track down.
sparring with hemingway - budd schulberg, very good book.
the sweet science (of course) - liebling. for me, the best book of them all about our sport. if you love great prose stylists this is the one for you.
rocky marciano - everett. i must have read it 5 times since i bought it 20 years ago.
WC Heinz is the best boxing writer in my humble opinion. but he is brilliant about anything he writes.
gilbert odd's boxing books will serve you well on a long flight.
as a young boy i found a boxing book in the local library and read it until the place closed two hours later. it was glorious - great descriptions of fights involving nel tarleton, jim driscoll etc - that book is lost in the mists of time. i have no title or author. i still miss it 40 years later.

[dbf]

Whilst my favourite so far has been Dark Trade, I would recommend 'The Shadows Of Boxing' about Prince Naseem, a good insightful read.

I had the fortune of meeting the co-author of 'Peerless, Sugar Ray Robinson' at the weekend, and read some positive reveiws. So if anyone could elaborate that would be great.

[chinny]

the sweet science (of course) - liebling. for me, the best book of them all about our sport. if you love great prose stylists this is the one for you.

I read an interview with Bert Sugar years ago where he was asked who the best boxing writer was, he answered Liebling so I bought this the next day. Fantastic read. I think it covers the 50's doesn't it? I love the way he can make a even taxi ride to the Garden sound important and interesting.

[Flashing Blade]

A Neutral Corner by Liebling is very good too.

I'd also recommend:

Ringside- the collection of boxing writing by Bud Schulberg

The Gloves- writer Robert Anasi retells the story of having a last crack at the NY Golden Gloves

Cut Time- Carlo Rotella