Journeymen tells a story that is often purposely ignored - that of the modern-day boxers who lose for a living. Far from huge purses and pay-per-view hype, the book lays bare the reality of the boxing business and the way it works in small-hall venues countrywide. October 2013 saw the 100th and final fight in the career of East London's Johnny Greaves, remarkable in that he won only four contests. He took fights at short notice, facing young prospects with the implicit understanding that he was not there to win. Journeymen features in-depth interviews with Greaves and other men who have similarly served the fight game, including Kristian Laight (180 defeats), Jason Nesbitt (178) and Daniel Thorpe (113). Though sometimes dark, their tales reveal humour, wisdom and sporting pride: the journeymen eschew glamour, make the best of what they have and face the world with a smile and a wink.

Readers searching for an authentic American success story will appreciate this biography about Leo F. Houck, a premier middleweight boxer of the early 1900s, Penn State boxing coach, and devoted family from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Leo F. Houck became a professional boxer during his adolescence at age fourteen while many of his contemporaries started their life-long employment in the mills, farms, and factories of Lancaster County. He gave the purses he earned to his widowed mother in order to support his six siblings after his father Edward, passed away at age fifty. There was nothing overtly glamorous about Leo's boxing career until 1911, when he earned the largest payday of his career with a twenty round victory over Harry Lewis in Paris. Leo reached the pinnacle of his career in 1913, when he was poised to capture the middleweight championship title. His two hundred fights are all described in this biography making it uniquely different from most boxing biographies, which typically focus on a finite number of key fights during a boxers' career. Leo coached boxing at Penn State after his retirement from prize fighting. Over the next twenty-seven years, Leo transformed Penn State into an intercollegiate boxing powerhouse and clearly established himself as Penn State's first legendary coach.

A Social History of Sheffield Boxing combines urban ethnography and anthropology, sociological theory and place and life histories to explore the global phenomenon of boxing. Raising many issues pertinent to the social sciences, such as contestations around state regulation of violence, commerce and broadcasting, pedagogy and elite sport and how sport is delivered and narrated to the masses, the book studies the history of boxing in Sheffield and the sport's impact on the cultural, political and economic development of the city since the 18th century. Interweaving urban anthropology with sports studies and historical research the text expertly examines a variety of published sources, ranging from academic papers to biographies and from newspaper reports to case studies and contemporary interviews. In Volume I, Bell and Armstrong construct a vivid history of boxing and probe its cultural acceptance in the late 1800s, examining how its rise was inextricably intertwined with the industrial and social development of Sheffield. Although Sheffield was not a national player in prize-fighting's early days, throughout the mid-1800s, many parochial scores and wagers were settled by the use of fists. By the end of the century, boxing with gloves had become the norm, and Sheffield had a valid claim to be the chief provincial focus of this new passion-largely due to the exploits of George Corfield, Sheffield's first boxer of national repute. Corfield's deeds were later surpassed by three British champions: Gus Platts, Johnny Cuthbert and Henry Hall. Concluding with the dual themes of the decline of boxing in Sheffield and the city's changing social profile from the 1950s onwards, the volume ends with a meditation on the arrival of new migrants to the city and the processes that aided or frustrated their integration into UK life and sport.

Boxing is a traditional sport in many ways, characterized by continuities in the form of practices and regulations and heavy with legends and heroes reflecting its traditional/historical values. Associations with class, hegemonic masculinity and racialized inclusions/exclusions, however, sit alongside developments such as women's boxing and involvement in Mixed Martial Arts. This book will be the first to use boxing as a vehicle for exploring social, cultural and political change in a global context. It will consider to what degree and in what ways boxing reflects social transformations, and whether and how it contributes to those transformations. In exploring the relationship it will provide new ways of thinking critically about the everyday.

Glen Sharp's boxing career was a rise-and-fall story without so much rise in it. A sparring partner for heavyweight Hall of Famer Yaqui Lopez, he "retired" with a record of one victory and two defeats. A decade later, having come to understand how and why he failed as a younger fighter, he attempted a comeback. Told with heart and wit, his memoir is a treatise on boxing as both profession and purpose. Sharp uses economic theory to describe the sweet science as a case study in resource management while recounting his own struggle to win fistic glory and his father's admiration.

This work brings a fresh perspective to the history of modern prizefighting, a sport which has evolved over several centuries to become one of mankind's most lasting and valued sporting attractions. With his primary focus outside the ropes, the author shows how organizers, publicity agents, and political allies overcame both legal and moral roadblocks to make fisticuffing a lively commercial enterprise. The book begins with the clandestine bare-knuckle fights in eighteenth-century London, and ends with the vibrant, large-scale productions of modern Las Vegas "fight nights." Along the way, he explains many of the myths about antiquarian prizefighters, describes the origins of slave fight folklore, and examines the forces that transformed Las Vegas into the world's leading venue for important fights.

Whether opening saloons, raising cattle, or promoting sporting events, George Lewis ""Tex"" Rickard (1870-1929) possessed a drive to be the best. After an early career as a cowboy and Texas sheriff, Rickard pioneered the largest ranch in South America, built a series of profitable saloons in the Klondike and Nevada gold rushes, and turned boxing into a million-dollar sport. As ""the Father of Madison Square Garden,"" he promoted over 200 fights, including some of the most notable of the 20th century: the ""Longest Fight,"" the ""Great White Hope,"" fight, and the famous ""Long Count"" fight. Along the way, he rubbed shoulders with some of history's most renowned figures, including Teddy Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, John Ringling, Jack Dempsey, and Gene Tunney. This detailed biography chronicles Rickard's colorful life and his critical role in the evolution of boxing from a minor sport into a modern spectacle.

"The masterful art of chess, Kung-fu sword play, and the sweet science of boxing are all hip-hop expressions that connect us universally. Beatboxing tells the story. It's razor sharp."—Masta Killa, Wu-Tang Clan “I love how Todd Snyder's brain works. Like him, I love hip hop, and I love boxing. But I've never seen someone tie them together so well, detailing their shared history, the way each impacted the other and the personalities involved. Beatboxing is written with such tethering, with that kind of impact and insight. It might be my favorite sports book—since the last one Snyder wrote.� —Greg Bishop, Sports Illustrated Step into a world of rap moguls turned fight promoters, boxers turned rappers, and rappers turned boxers. From Mike Tyson to Tupac, from Roy Jones Jr. to J Prince, explore how a cultural collision forever altered the relationship between music, race, sports, and politics. Daryl McDonald of Run-DMC once said that the rhyme Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! The hands can’t hit what the eyes can’t see! was hip-hop’s most famous lyric. Muhammad Ali’s poetic brilliance and swagger—ignited by hype man Bundini Brown—gave hip-hop artists the template from which they forged their identities and performed their art. Hip-hop’s impact on boxing, on the other hand, has not been explored. Until now. In Beatboxing, Todd Snyder uncovers the unique connection between hip-hop and the sweet science, tracing a grassroots cultural movement from its origins in the South Bronx to its explosion across the globe and ultimately into the charged environment of the prize ring. Featuring interviews with champion fighters and music legends, this is the definitive book about an enduring phenomenon and is a must-read for boxing and hip-hop fans alike.

The Legend is the remarkable autobiography of Steve Ward, the world's oldest ever professional boxer. It details the astonishing obstacles Steve has overcome to become a three-times Guinness World Record holder after taking up the sport he loves again at the age of 54. Steve's unstinting ambition is driven by a promise made by his late father Bernard, who introduced him to boxing and told allcomers his son would be a world champion. His story is an inspiration to anyone who has hit hard times and proof of the old adage that all things are possible. A very serious foot injury sustained in a freak accident at work eventually led to Steve planning to kill himself before he bounced back to confound the medical profession and achieve his dream of winning a world title in his very last fight, at 64 years of age.

In 1999, after a series of adventurous jobs--working construction at the South Pole, ranching in Montana, fighting wildfires in New Mexico, and sailing private yachts around the world--Sam Sheridan found himself in Australia, loaded with cash and intent on not working until he'd spent it all. He quit smoking and began working out at a local gym, where it slowly occurred to him that now, without distractions, he could finally indulge a long-dormant obsession: fighting. Within a year Sheridan landed in Bangkok to train at the legendary Fairtex gym with the greatest fighter in muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) history. Driven by a desire to know what only a fighter can--about fear and violence, about the dark side of masculinity, and most of all about himself--he stepped through the ropes for a professional bout. That single fight wasn't enough. Sheridan set out to test himself on an epic journey into how and why we fight. From small-town Iowa to the beaches of Rio, from the streets of Oakland to the arenas of Tokyo, he trained, traveled, and fought with Olympic boxers, Brazilian jiu-jitsu stars, and Ultimate Fighting champions. A Fighter's Heart is the dazzling chronicle of Sheridan's quest. In part, it's an insightful look at violence as a career and as a spectator sport, a behind-the-pageantry glimpse of athletes at the top of their terrifying game. At the same time, it's a dizzying firsthand account of what it's like to reach the peak of finely disciplined personal aggression, to hit--and be hit.

Sean Mannion was once ranked the #1 US light middleweight boxer and in 1984 he fought Mike McCallum for the world title, only to fall just short of his dreams. Featuring exclusive interviews with Mannion, this book provides an inside perspective on his boxing career, 1980s Boston, and his present search for purpose outside the ring. In 1977, looking to fulfill a dream as a pro boxer, 17-year-old Sean Mannion flew into Boston from Ireland, straight into a world of gun smugglers, drug dealers, and the world's best boxers. By 1983, Mannion was ranked the number one US light middleweight boxer. In The Man Who Was Never Knocked Down: The Life of Boxer Sean Mannion, Ronan Mac Con Iomaire recounts Mannion's struggles and triumphs in and out of the ring. Despite dubious management and the attention of the Boston Irish Mafia, Mannion quickly climbed his way up from the lower rungs of one of the most competitive weight divisions in boxing history. Mac Con Iomaire tells the tales behind Mannion's many fights-including his challenge for the world title in 1984 against Mike McCallum-and his life after boxing, working construction and fighting the alcoholism that haunted him in the past. More than 40 years after he first arrived in the US, Mannion now looks for a new purpose outside the ring. The Man Who Was Never Knocked Down is not just about a struggling boxer; it's a personal story that also intersects with famous boxers, well-known figures of organized crime, and several pivotal moments in history. Featuring exclusive interviews with Mannion, as well as individuals such as Micky Ward, Pat Nee, Martin Walsh, and Kevin Cullen, this book provides an inside perspective on the boxer, the fighting culture of his era, and on 1980s South Boston.

’n Epiese reis in ’n klein seiljag van Frankryk tot aan die Namakwalandse kus gedurende die Tweede Wêreldoorlog, sabotasiepogings en planne om Eerste Minister Jan Smuts in ’n sluipmoord om die lewe te bring . . . In die vroeë 1940’s is die Suid-Afrikaanse publiek aangegryp deur die uitdagende optrede van die Olimpiese bokser en swaargewigkampioen Robey Leibbrandt. Hy was dodelik gekant teen Suid-Afrika se deelname aan die oorlog.

Sy ekstremisme, opvlieënd-heid en onverdraagsaamheid was tipies van ’n politieke fanatikus. Leibbrandt het ’n aanhanger van Nasionaal-Sosialisme geword toe hy in 1936 vir Suid-Afrika in Berlyn aan die Olimpiese Spele gaan deelneem het. Hy was besig met opleiding in Europa toe die oorlog uitbreek. Die Duitse militêre intelligensiediens het hom kort daarna gewerf om sabotasieopleiding te ontvang. Die Duitsers het Leibbrandt teruggestuur na Suid-Afrika as deel van Operasie Weissdorn. Sy missie? Om die militante deel van die Afrikaner-opposisie te werf en met hulle hulp skeeps- en haweinstallasies, asook nywerhede, te vernietig, en om oproer in die Uniemagte te stook.

Dit was nie lank nie of die polisie was op Leibbrandt se spoor en hy is ná een van die grootste polisiesoektogte in hegtenis geneem. Sy hoogverraadsaak in 1943 en 1944 het hoofopskrifte gehaal. Dié biografie werp nuwe lig op hierdie enigmatiese historiese figuur en wat sy fanatisme aangevuur het.

Covering the years 1890 to 1910, this volume profiles the boxers who were acting during boxing's ""Golden Age,"" focusing primarily on George ""Kid"" Lavigne, Bob Fitzsimmons, Barbados Joe Walcott, Joe Gans, Terry McGovern, Sam Langford, and Stanley Ketchel. The accomplishments of these competitors in and out of the ring, as well as their standing in boxing history, are examined in detail. Each boxer is presented in his historical context, and detailed information about many of their opponents, also key figures in this critical era of the sport, is also provided, as are comparisons to recent fighters.

Seven young women, all murdered in the most disgusting manner imaginable. Unimaginable, in fact: a first of its kind, and never before explicitly revealed. All the victims were prostitutes. All were dumped naked after having been stored by their killer as sex toys. Some of them were mothers. Each was someone's daughter. And for more than fifty years the author has lived with the haunting secret that he was once suspected by Scotland Yard of being a serial killer more depraved and dangerous than Jack the Ripper. In the killing-spree that lasted more than a year, the author had a mole deep inside Scotland Yard's Murder Squad, similar to "Deep Throat" of Watergate scandal, who was drip-feeding him the step-by-step ploys to snare the monster who brought terror to the streets of West London. Hundreds of police women, posing as prostitutes, flooded the red-light districts, hoping to be selected by the killer - more hopeful, though, that the back-up would swoop to the rescue in time. At one point, Scotland Yard feared that a prostitute, missing for more than a fortnight, had become the eighth victim and appealed to the public for help. It took the author just eleven hours to track her down and hand her alive and well to the Murder Squad. When the killings stopped, the most senior member of the Murder Squad claimed that the serial killer had committed suicide and an innocent man was named in a deceitful cover-up. The author fingers the real serial killer, a celebrity and national treasure who died in circumstances arguably even more bizarre than the manner in which he murdered his victims.

"A gritty, engrossing, and concise account of a boxer's meteoric career and tortured personal life."-Kirkus Reviews "If I wake up, I know I'm a success. The day I don't wake up, I know I'll be home. I have one foot on this earth and one foot has crossed over. I didn't just die, I lived."-Johnny Tapia ...the ghost of Johnny Tapia lives on "Mi Vida Loca" (My Crazy Life) was Johnny Tapia's nickname and his reason for being. Haunted by the brutal murder of his beloved mother when he was a child, fighting and drugs gave him the escape he craved-and he did both with gusto. In The Ghost Of Johnny Tapia, Paul Zanon, with the help of Tapia's widow Teresa, tells the harrowing and unforgettable story of a boxing genius who couldn't, in the end, defeat his demons. From the Foreword: "Johnny had incredible heart, was such a sweet man, but was also tormented. He had two sides to him. The sweetest, nicest guy, but then the other side which could probably kill you. He was tortured with his addictions, but Johnny was always pure emotion in that ring."-Sammy 'The Red Rocker' Hagar, Musician The Ghost of Johnny Tapia is the second in the Hamilcar Noir series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels. Perfect Gift For Boxing and True Crime Fans! The Ghost of Johnny Tapia, combined with other books in the Hamilcar Noir series, makes a great gift for fans of stories about the darker side of boxing. Books in the Hamilcar Noir series also make for a great gift idea for true crime fans-whether they are a die-hard boxing fan or not, they will devour these quick reads and ask for more!

Toft adeptly shows this to be the legacy Ron Lyle left behind, one that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with a boxing legacy that is nothing short of remarkable.--Rafael Garcia, The Fight City [Ron Lyle's] life was a remarkable one and the story of it worth re-telling, which makes the book's new edition thoroughly welcome. Off The Ropes is absolutely recommended reading.--Gary Lucken, Boxing Monthly Nobody ever hit me that hard. No question. I'll remember that punch on my deathbed. A great puncher, a great guy.--Earnie Shavers In a life as tough as his battles in the ring, Ron Lyle had already served hard time for second-degree murder before he started his amateur boxing career at the age of twenty-nine. After he turned pro, fans knew him as the man who had Muhammad Ali beat on the scorecards for ten rounds in a fight for the heavyweight title; as the man who fought George Foreman in a legendary brawl with four knockdowns that nearly saw Foreman knocked cold; and as the man who was arrested for murder a second time. Off the Ropes: The Ron Lyle Story is not your typical boxing biography, exploring not only the greatest era of heavyweights in boxing history, but also telling an equally compelling personal tale. Ron Lyle grew up in the Denver projects, one of nineteen children in a tight-knit, religious family. At twenty, he was convicted for a disputed gang killing and served seven and a half years at the Colorado State Penitentiary at Cañon City, where at one point he was nearly shanked to death, and where he learned to box before he was paroled in 1969. After a meteoric amateur career, he turned pro in 1971, and over the next six years established an outstanding professional record, which, in addition to the near misses against Ali and Foreman, included a brutal knockout win over one of the era's most feared fighters, big-punching Earnie Shavers. Then, in 1978, Lyle was indicted for murder a second time and, even though he was acquitted, his career was effectively over. The years that followed were filled with struggle, a captivating love story, and eventual redemption. Today, a youth center in Denver that he ran still bears his name. Off the Ropes: The Ron Lyle Story is the poignant, uplifting biography of a singular man.

Without Ray Arcel (1899-1994), the world of boxing during the 20th century would have been markedly different. Indeed, the credibility professional boxing as a sport would have been greatly lessened. Arcel's prominence is all the more interesting because he made his mark not as a fighter, promoter, or manager, but as a trainer. From Benny Leonard to Roberto Duran and Larry Holmes, Arcel stood in the corner for champions of every weight division that existed in his lifetime, a record that remains unprecedented. This biography chronicles Arcel's life inside the ring, and out--where he remained a highly secretive man and maintained ambiguous relationships with some of the chief mob figures of his day. Through a wealth of information from Arcel's unpublished memoir, this work offers an extraordinary portrait of one of boxing's most influential and enigmatic figures.

As well as looking at the training environment Kandhola focuses on three established figures in boxing: Julius Francis, a four-times British Heavyweight and Commonwealth champion, who Kandhola first photographed in 2000 just before his fight with Mike Tyson; Robert McCracken, who won the British Light Middleweight title in 1994 and the Commonwealth title in 1995 - currently McCracken is Performance Director for the British Olympic team, and personal coach to Carl Froch; and Howard 'Clakka' Clarke who fought at Madison Square Garden for the IBF Light Middleweight Title - he lost, after which his career took a significant nose-dive with him winning only one fight out of his next seventy. He retired in 2007.

'He had the dream again last night... He taps the gloves of his unbeaten Polish opponent. There are rumours that the loser will be sent to the gas chamber.' In 1943, the Dutch champion boxer, Leen Sanders, was sent to Auschwitz. His wife and children were put to death while he was sent 'to the left' with the others who were fit enough for labour. Recognised by an SS officer, he was earmarked for a 'privileged' post in the kitchens in exchange for weekly boxing matches for the entertainment of the Nazi guards. From there, he enacted his resistance to their limitless cruelty. With great risk and danger to his own life, Leen stole, concealed and smuggled food and clothing from SS nursing units for years to alleviate the unbearable suffering of the prisoners in need. He also regularly supplied extra food to the Dutch women in Dr. Mengele's experiment, Block 10. To his fellow Jews in the camp, he acted as a rescuer, leader and role model, defending them even on their bitter death march to Dachau towards the end of the war. A story of astonishing resilience and compassion, The Fighter of Auschwitz is a testament to the endurance of humanity in the face of extraordinary evil.

Many books have discussed boxing in the ancient world, but this is the first to describe how boxing was reborn in the modern world. Modern boxing began in the Middle Ages in England as a criminal activity. It then became a sport supported by the kings and aristocracy. Later it was again outlawed and only in the 20th century has it become a sport popular around the world. This book describes how modern boxing began in England as an outgrowth of the native English sense of fair play. It demonstrates that boxing was the common man's alternative to the sword duel of honour, and argues that boxing and fair play helped Englishmen avoid the revolutions common to France, Italy and Germany during the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. English enthusiasm for boxing largely drove out the pistol and sword duels from English society. And although boxing remains a brutal sport, it has made England one of the safest countries in the world. It also examines how the rituals of boxing developed: the meaning of the parade to the ring; the meaning of the ring itself; why only two men fight at one time; why the fighters shake hands before each fight; why a boxing match is called a prizefight; and why a knock-down does not end the bout. Its sources include material from medieval manuscripts, and its notes and bibliography are extensive.

This is the first full-length biography of Jess Willard who won the heavyweight boxing title in 1915 by defeating Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion. As such this book brings new light on Willard who became the most famous man in America as a result of his victory Jess Willlard was considered unbeatable in his day. He lost his title in 1919 to Jack Dempsey in one of the most violent defeats in boxing history. Willard attempted a come-back but was defeated again by Luis Firpo in 1923 and retired from the ring at that time. He died in 1968, largely forgotten by the boxing public. This work was made possible by the support of the Willard family, particularly James Willard Mace, Jess Willard's grandson, who provided family documents and photos, some of which are included in this book.