Emmseegee wrote:. Also read one called Bounce, written by a table tennis player and his belief of natural talent being a myth and all performance being a result of practice and circumstances at an early age. Good read if anyone fancies a wee change from boxing books but still related in some ways. (Sport)
I have heard of this book, not read it, but the premise sounds like bollocks to me
I played football when I was a kid, did pretty well, treated it really seriously, trained hard on my own as well as all the formal training I did.
No amount of training would have made me the players just above my level who made it professionally.
And no amount of training would have made them Ronaldo.or Messi.
Interested in others' opinions on this
i really enjoyed the book and do agree with a lot of it to a certain degree. However, of course physical advantages such as height etc can obviously make a huge difference to performance in different sports no matter how talented/well prepared Individuals may be.
id suggest to those who discredit it to give the book a read. The author doesnt suggest that its a simple case of anyone being a superstar if they try but does make some good points.
Did anyone ever read fighting chance? it was a book about Brian Hughes gym and featured guys like Farnell Gomez and Robin Reid? It was a fantastic read. Another good one was looking for a fight by Dave Matthews about a journalist training to have one pro fight under Howard Rainey.
I will always have a soft spot for Tapias autobiography as well
Steveh583 wrote: ↑19 Dec 2018, 13:20
Did anyone ever read fighting chance? it was a book about Brian Hughes gym and featured guys like Farnell Gomez and Robin Reid? It was a fantastic read. Another good one was looking for a fight by Dave Matthews about a journalist training to have one pro fight under Howard Rainey.
I will always have a soft spot for Tapias autobiography as well
Is that Dave mathews book any good? Always wondered if it you know really got into the boxing game or was one man’s journey as they say
It's one mans journey, but with cameos from names like Clinton woods and terry dunstan. Well worth a read. Interesting to see what is involved in developing a fighter from nothing, and the mans struggle with the sheer graft and disapline involved.
cmdenny wrote: ↑09 Sep 2016, 06:52
I enjoyed Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing - won sports book of yeah award. Written in the '90's so features fighters of that era, including quite a bit on Tyson.
Norman Mailer's The Fight on Ali's Zaire contest is proper literature.
Used to love Dark Trade, highly literary, philosophical approach. Thinking man’s boxing book. And to its credit it did get me into James Toney.
Yet McRae really prejudiced me against Eubank, and once I’d actually watched the fights many years later, I completely rejected his assertions that Eubank got lucky against Rocchigiani, Thornton and Close.
I read Dave Matthews book, readable but nothing special, La Mottas autobiography was great and ruined the film for me!
Teddy atlas's book was great too
cmdenny wrote: ↑09 Sep 2016, 06:52
I enjoyed Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing - won sports book of yeah award. Written in the '90's so features fighters of that era, including quite a bit on Tyson.
Norman Mailer's The Fight on Ali's Zaire contest is proper literature.
Used to love Dark Trade, highly literary, philosophical approach. Thinking man’s boxing book. And to its credit it did get me into James Toney.
Yet McRae really prejudiced me against Eubank, and once I’d actually watched the fights many years later, I completely rejected his assertions that Eubank got lucky against Rocchigiani, Thornton and Close.
Certainly not vs rocchigiani that was a great performance
Shhhh wrote: ↑19 Dec 2018, 10:35
I once read nigel benn book it was bloody terrible I was gutted.... like it was written by Dany Dire or whoever that fella is who does the hardest man bollox
Agreed. It’s annoying when a fighter I admire a great deal produces such drivel. This book was aimed at morons, IMO.
Shhhh wrote: ↑19 Dec 2018, 10:35
I once read nigel benn book it was bloody terrible I was gutted.... like it was written by Dany Dire or whoever that fella is who does the hardest man bollox
Yeah it's a dreadful book, one of the worst I've read and I agree about it reading like a hardman book but then again he was in that scene wasn't he, two of his mates got their heads blown off.
jamesmcdonnell wrote: ↑08 Sep 2016, 05:15
Charlie Magri - Champagne Charlie - the absolute mutt's nuts.
Loved reading this as I lived through the Charlie Magri era. One or two minor errors (Phil Dart and not Phil Darr and Saensak Muangsurin went blind, not Sot Chitalada) but Magri's sheer dedication and passion for the sport shine through. If anything, the man trained too hard, tightening the strings until there was no 'give' and those strings snapped. He would suddenly 'go' in fights he was completely dominating, as with his first loss to Mexico's Juan Diaz in 1981, a loss which cost him his No. 1 world ranking and a guaranteed shot at the WBC flyweight title. When he went again at the hands of Jose Torres a year later it looked all over for the Stepney man but he outscored Torres in a rematch and then busted up Eleoncio Mercedes to win that elusive WBC title. Sadly, he lost in his first defence to a man he should have beaten. Charlie has his excuses but he simply went again after pouring it on in the early rounds. Mickey Duff, in his biography, said that Duke McKenzie was better than Magri but McKenzie stopped a washed-up, weight-drained Magri in 1986 in front of a tiny crowd at Wembley. The Magri who beat Santos Laciar and Alfonso Lopez in 1980 would have chewed up McKenzie.
jamesmcdonnell wrote: ↑08 Sep 2016, 05:15
Charlie Magri - Champagne Charlie - the absolute mutt's nuts.
Loved reading this as I lived through the Charlie Magri era. One or two minor errors (Phil Dart and not Phil Darr and Saensak Muangsurin went blind, not Sot Chitalada) but Magri's sheer dedication and passion for the sport shine through. If anything, the man trained too hard, tightening the strings until there was no 'give' and those strings snapped. He would suddenly 'go' in fights he was completely dominating, as with his first loss to Mexico's Juan Diaz in 1981, a loss which cost him his No. 1 world ranking and a guaranteed shot at the WBC flyweight title. When he went again at the hands of Jose Torres a year later it looked all over for the Stepney man but he outscored Torres in a rematch and then busted up Eleoncio Mercedes to win that elusive WBC title. Sadly, he lost in his first defence to a man he should have beaten. Charlie has his excuses but he simply went again after pouring it on in the early rounds. Mickey Duff, in his biography, said that Duke McKenzie was better than Magri but McKenzie stopped a washed-up, weight-drained Magri in 1986 in front of a tiny crowd at Wembley. The Magri who beat Santos Laciar and Alfonso Lopez in 1980 would have chewed up McKenzie.
Cheers Bennie. To be honest if that's all the errors you noted I'm a happy man, I had to do all the editing myself and was my first book so absolutely killed myself to finish, was done from inception to completion in 9 months.
banjo wrote: ↑20 Dec 2018, 06:08
I enjoyed Mama's Boy about Lennox Lewis, it explains the lengths King went to to try and keep Lewis out of the heavyweight picture.
I'll have to give that a look. LL is my favorite HW of all time.
banjo wrote: ↑20 Dec 2018, 06:08
I enjoyed Mama's Boy about Lennox Lewis, it explains the lengths King went to to try and keep Lewis out of the heavyweight picture.
I'll have to give that a look. LL is my favorite HW of all time.
It's a good read, it covers his entire career from his amateur days to the the Klitschko aftermath.
Of recent boxing books: The Lost Soul of Eamonn Magee is a great read that is hilarious and terrifying in equal measures.
For great old time stories: My View from the Corner: A Life in Boxing by Angelo Dundee is brilliant. (obviously you should read The Sweet Science and A Neutral Corner by Aj Liebling first though)
