Alan Scott Haft provides the first-hand testimony of his father, Harry Haft, a holocaust victim with a singular story of endurance, desperation, and unrequited love. Harry Haft was a sixteen-year-old Polish Jew when he entered a concentration camp in 1944. Forced to fight other Jews in bare-knuckle bouts for the perverse entertainment of SS officers, Harry quickly learned that his own survival depended on his ability to fight and win. Haft details the inhumanity of the "sport" in which he must perform in brutal contests for the officers. Ultimately escaping the camp, Haft's experience left him an embittered and pugnacious young man. Determined to find freedom, Haft traveled to America and began a career as a professional boxer, quickly finding success using his sharp instincts and fierce confidence. In a historic battle, Haft fights in a match with Rocky Marciano, the future undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. Haft's boxing career takes him into the world of such boxing legends as Rocky Graziano, Roland La Starza, and Artie Levine, and he reveals new details about the rampant corruption at all levels of the sport. In sharp contrast to Elie Wiesel's scholarly, pious protagonist in Night, Harry Haft is an embattled survivor, challenging the reader's capacity to understand suffering and find compassion for an antihero whose will to survive threatens his own humanity. Haft's account, at once dispassionate and deeply absorbing, is an extraordinary story and an invaluable contribution to Holocaust literature.

On September 6, 1892, a diminutive Black prizefighter brutally dispatched an overmatched white hope in the New Orleans Carnival of Champions boxing tournament. That victory sparked celebrations across Black communities nationwide but fostered unease among sporting fans and officials, delaying public acceptance of mixed-race fighting for half a century. This turn echoed the nation's disintegrating relations between whites and Blacks and foreshadowed America's embrace of racial segregation.In this work of sporting and social history we have a biography of Canadian-born, Boston-raised boxer George Dixon (1870-1908), the first Black world champion of any sport and the first Black world boxing champion in any division. George Dixon: The Short Life of Boxing's First Black World Champion, 1870-1908 chronicles the life of the most consequential Black athlete of the nineteenth century and details for the first time his Carnival appearance, perhaps the most significant bout involving a Black fighter until Jack Johnson began his reign in 1908. Yet despite his triumphs, Dixon has been lost to history, overshadowed by Black athletes whose activism against white supremacy far exceeded his own. George Dixon reveals the story of a man trapped between the white world he served and the Black world that worshipped him. By ceding control to a manipulative white promoter, Dixon was steered through the white power structure of Gilded Age prizefighting, becoming world famous and one of North America's richest Black men. Unable to hold on to his wealth, however, and battered by his vices, a depleted Dixon was abandoned by his white supporters just as the rising tide of Jim Crow limited both his prospects and the freedom of Blacks nationwide.

Hats, Handwraps and Headaches is the inspiring, surprising and sometimes shocking story of Irish boxing coach Paddy Fitzpatrick, a failed pro boxer who was almost a Foreign Legionary before finding fame as a trainer of world-class fighters. After struggling as a young adult and attempting suicide, Paddy's life was transformed by a chance meeting with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach. Paddy moved to LA to learn his trade at Roach's Wild Card gym, working with the likes of world champions James Toney and Laila Ali, and spending time with Laila's legendary father Muhammad Ali. Back in England, Paddy used the things he had learnt to take George Groves to three world title fights, including the return super-fight with Carl Froch, which drew 80,000 fans to Wembley Stadium. Filled with astonishing anecdotes - like the time Paddy took shots from a Heavyweight contender and a near-miss with a grizzly bear - Hats, Handwraps and Headaches is funny and poignant in equal measure, with riveting tales from both sides of the Atlantic.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Winner of the 2018 PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing Winner of The Times Sports Biography of the Year The definitive biography of an American icon, from a best-selling author with unique access to Ali's inner circle. "As Muhammad Ali's life was an epic of a life so Ali: A Life is an epic of a biography . . . for pages in succession its narrative reads like a novel--a suspenseful novel with a cast of vivid characters." -- Joyce Carol Oates, New York Times Book Review Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Clay in racially segregated Louisville, Kentucky, the son of a sign painter and a housekeeper. He went on to become a heavyweight boxer with a dazzling mix of power and speed, a warrior for racial pride, a comedian, a preacher, a poet, a draft resister, an actor, and a lover. Millions hated him when he changed his religion, changed his name, and refused to fight in the Vietnam War. He fought his way back, winning hearts, but at great cost. Jonathan Eig, hailed by Ken Burns as one of America's master storytellers, sheds important new light on Ali's politics, religion, personal life, and neurological condition through unprecedented access to all the key people in Ali's life, more than 500 interviews and thousands of pages of previously unreleased FBI and Justice Department files and audiotaped interviews from the 1960s. Ali: A Life is a story about America, about race, about a brutal sport, and about a courageous man who shook up the world.

Essentially the last of the bare-knuckle heavyweight champions, John L. Sullivan was instrumental in the acceptance of gloved fighting. His charisma and popular appeal during this transitional period contributed greatly to making boxing a nationally popular, ""legitimate"" sport. Sullivan became boxing's first superstar and arguably the first of any sport. From his first match in the late 1870s through his final fight in 1905, this biography contains a thoroughly researched, detailed accounting of John L. Sullivan's boxing career. With special attention to the 1880s, the decade during which Sullivan came to prominence, it follows Sullivan's skill development and discusses his opponents in detail, providing various viewpoints of a single event. Beginning with a discussion of early boxing practices, the sport itself is placed within sociological, legal and historical contexts including anti - prize fighting laws and the so-called ""colour line."" Ironically, Sullivan's personal adherence to this final concept with his refusal to fight a coloured opponent remains the one blemish on a phenomenal career. A complete record of Sullivan's career is also included.

**Winner of Best Sports Entertainment book at the British Sports Book Awards 2022** 'Hard-hitting and hilarious' - James Acaster 'Funny, moving and compelling' - Mike Costello A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family, based on the acclaimed stage show. For fans of books by Dave Gorman, James Acaster and Danny Wallace, along with boxing tales from the likes of Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton. THE CHAMP Terry Downes - the charismatic cockney known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and later a film star and businessman. THE CHUMP James McNicholas' PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant stints as a car park caretaker and river cruise salesperson. After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing his story of underachievement against that of his world champ grandad. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey through post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Shoreditch, via Mayfair parties with the Krays. Along the way, James begins to dig into his own story, confronting the dysfunctional elements of his childhood, describing his often hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempting to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal military boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two tales of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance altogether. 'A wonderfully funny and heartfelt story of what family and lineage means. Even made me like boxing' - Josh Widdicombe 'An extraordinary family history, told with warmth and wit. Two remarkable underdog stories - come for the cockney scrapper who conquered the world, stay for the grandson and the fight of his life' - Greg Jenner 'If you like comedy and boxing this is the perfect book. James McNicholas is a very funny man and a brilliant writer' - Rob Beckett

Abraham Washington Attell (1883-1970) was among the cleverest, most scientific professional boxers ever to enter the ring. The native San Franciscan fought 172 times in his career-scoring 127 wins, 51 by knockout-and successfully defended his World Featherweight Champion title 18 times between 1906 and 1912, defeating challengers who included Johnny Kilbane and Battling Nelson. Attell's success inspired his brothers Caesar and Monte to take up the sport-Abe and Monte both held simultaneous world titles for a time. This first ever biography covers Attell's life and career. Growing up poor and Jewish in an predominantly Irish neighborhood, he faced his share of adversity and anti-Semitism in and out of the ring. He was charged for alleged involvement in the 1919 Black Sox Scandal. The charges were dropped but Attell was branded by association for the remainder of his life.

During the early years of the 20th century, San Francisco promoters served up boxing's grandest spectacles, with the most compelling matches coming in the lightweight division. On February 22, 1910, a crowd of more than 15,000 braved chilly, rainy conditions to witness one such match, pitting lightweight champion Oscar ""Battling"" Nelson against Adolphus ""Ad"" Wolgast. Spectators were rewarded with an epic battle, one that came to stand virtually unchallenged as the most brutal fight of all time. This volume recaptures that historic fight while vividly illuminating the backdrop and the confluence of geographic, historic, and political forces that made it all possible. In chronicling these colorful boxers and their vibrant era, this work also reveals the dangers faced by workman pugilists like Nelson and Wolgast, making their tale, at its heart, a cautionary one.

Floyd Patterson delivered a number of knockout punches during his Hall of Fame career, but it might have been the fights he won beyond the boxing ring that made him great. Born in 1935, he overcame poverty and prejudice to become the youngest world heavyweight championship in history. He would later became the first man to regain the crown after losing it. Boxing legend Muhammad Ali called Patterson the most skillful fighter he ever faced.In the first biography of the former heavyweight, Alan Levy covers Patterson's meteoric rise as boxer while giving equal attention to the boxer's life away from sport, including Patterson's work as an activist for civil rights causes in the 1960s. Joining Ali and George Frazier as boxers who used their celebrity to bring attention to social issues, he became an icon of the movement.

Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction In this groundbreaking new book, Thomas Page McBee, a trans man, trains to fight in a charity match at Madison Square Garden while struggling to untangle the vexed relationship between masculinity and violence. Through his experience of boxing - learning to get hit, and to hit back; wrestling with the camaraderie of the gym; confronting the betrayals and strength of his own body - McBee examines the weight of male violence, the pervasiveness of gender stereotypes and the limitations of conventional masculinity. A wide-ranging exploration of gender in our society, Amateur is ultimately a story of hope, as McBee traces a way forward: a new masculinity, inside the ring and out of it. A graceful and uncompromising exploration of living, fighting and healing, in Amateur we gain insight into the stereotypes and shifting realities of masculinity today through the eyes of a new man.

This is a cradle-to-grave biography of Mickey Walker, former welterweight (1922-1926) and middleweight champion (1926-1931) of the world, one of the greatest fighters in ring history. He fought at a time when boxing was a major sport with only eight championships, and he held two of them over a nine-year period. He fought at a time when each weight division was jammed with good fighters, and he fought them all from welterweight up to heavyweight, frequently being outweighed 20 to 30 pounds, himself only five-seven and never weighing more than 170 pounds. Walker was not only a great fighter, he was a great personality who loved life and lived it to the full. He went through seven marriages with four different women, he cavorted with movie stars and mobsters from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone. When his boxing career ended in 1935, Walker ran saloons in various locations, was often his own best customer, finally quit drinking and became an artist of some standing, several of his paintings hanging in some of America's top galleries. Walker died in 1981, aged 79.

Advance Praise

"The Fight of the Century brings back memories of a different and troubled time both in sports and in our country. It is vividly reported and a perfect example of the old saying that the genius is in the details."

--John Feinstein

"The Fight of the Century just floats like a butterfly and sings like a canary. Arkush recaptures the period of the late '60s when America was in a quandary about Vietnam, Ali's refusal to be drafted, about Smokin' Joe Frazier's claim on the heavyweight title, and the amazing build-up to this great fight. I saw the fight and remember the intensity in Madison Square Garden; people were fainting in the aisles. The electricity of that fight buzzes through this book."

--Phil Jackson

"Ali-Frazier I was the greatest sports event I ever saw or ever expect to see. With his landscape portrait of the men and their times, Michael Arkush takes us again to that historic moment in Madison Square Garden when two of boxing's proudest warriors began their blood feud."

--Dave Kindred, author of Sound and Fury: Two Powerful Lives, One Fateful Friendship

"Arkush not only gives us the inside story on one of the century's signature sporting events, he frames it politically and socially. I was there, and now I know much more about what happened. This is flesh and blood and history."

--Robert Lipsyte

"The Fight of the Century transcends the mere sports story. In Michael Arkush's capable hands, this classic duel and its surrounding pressures and personalities show us where we have been as a society and where we are going. It is a story that truly stands for a place and time. It is a fully engrossing read."

--Michael Connelly, #1 New YorkTimes bestselling author

"Never is a long time, but there'll never be another cosmic boxing event like Ali-Frazier I. Michael Arkush brings alive that melodrama with all its political-social implications, wheeling and dealing, hyping and hitting."

--Larry Merchant, author and boxing commentator

"A richly detailed history of Ali and Frazier's first big fight and the social and political forces at play. A great read."

--Ron Shelton, director of Bull Durham and Tin Cup

Inside stories of some of the greatest prizefights of all time, including Floyd Patterson-Ingemar Johansson II, Joe Frazier-George Foreman I, and The Fight of the Century: Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier I. Referee and elder statesman of boxing Arthur Mercante gives behind-the-scenes glimpses into his world and into the lives and careers of the greatest boxers of all time. Mercante has officiated more championship fights than any other referee, and his blow-by-blow accounts are peppered with grit and telling details.

Boxing - Training, Skills and Techniques is essential reading for both recreational and competitive boxers, and all those who wish to take up amateur boxing, or participate in a boxing-based programme. It offers practical advice on the many crucial factors that need to be taken into account if the boxer is to maximize his, or her, performance and potential. An overview of the history of boxing, the amateur code, boxing weights, recreational boxing, equipment and attire A detailed consideration of both basic and advanced techniques The role of the coach Fitness training, gym work, running, conditioning, speed and agility training Making the weight and nutrition Planning the season, and much more

'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.

In "Atlas", Teddy recounts his incredible life, from juvenile delinquent, to his induction into the legendary Cus D'Amato's Boxing Camp and his first major challenge - training 14-year-old Mike Tyson. An amateur boxer trained by D'Amato, Atlas captured the Adirondack Golden Gloves title at 139 pounds in 1976. Forced out of competition because of injury, Teddy turned his talents to training fighters, including Mike Tyson, Barry McGuigan, Tracy Patterson, Joey Gamache, Simon Brown and Donny Lalonde. In 1994, in a memorable performance as trainer and corner man, Teddy inspired Michael Moorer to beat Evander Holyfield for the world heavyweight championship. Teddy has also employed his talents outside of the ring appearing in 2 films and choreographing fight scenes for the television series "Against the Law". "Atlas" is the remarkable story of all of these achievements, told in Atlas' completely inimitable voice. As you'd expect from a boxing memoir, it pulls no punches.

Hands are the most accessible, effective and natural tool available for use in self defence situations. This manual takes the reader step by step through the moves and techniques required to become competent in real punching. These moves can be used to compliment other forms of martial arts, or used alone in close-range self defence. Topics covered include sparring, stances, the jab, the cross, footwork, defences, "cheeky" shots and hooks.

Boxing is one of the oldest sports in the world, reaching back to the Ancient Greeks, although it has become popular only in the past century or so. But, in some ways, it is a rather complicated sport since - to avoid unnecessary harm - it has been endowed with rules to keep it clean, referees to see the rules are obeyed, and organizations to regulate the sport. Boxing was once largely amateur, although the professional bouts attracted the most attention, but now it is also an Olympic sport. And, over the years, there has been one champion after another who symbolized what boxing was all about, such Joe Louis, Mohammad Ali and Cassius Clay. Naturally, these champions are the focus of the Historical Dictionary of Boxing as well, and they have the biggest entries in the dictionary section, but they had to fight against someone and there are dozens and dozens of other boxers with smaller entries. More of these boxers come from the United States than elsewhere, but there are others from Europe, Asia and Latin America, and there are also entries on the major boxing countries as well. Plus entries on the rules, on the organizations, and on the technical terminology and jargon you have to know just to follow the bouts. The introduction provides a broad view of boxing's history while the chronology traces events from 688 B.C. to 2012 A.D. Not all that much has been written on boxing that is not ephemeral, but much of that literature can be found in the bibliography. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the sport of boxing.

The only British-born boxer to have won the world heavyweight crown was Bob Fitzsimmons, who reigned from 1897-1899. Since then, a host of challengers had attempted to duplicate Fitzsimmons' success and bring the championship back to British shores. They were duly turned back by the defending title-holders, who were vastly superior in every department. Many fans had come to the depressing conclusion that they would never see a Briton wear the crown in their lifetime. When Frank Bruno emerged, followed later by Lennox Lewis, it appeared that Britain finally had two fighters who could compete with the elite in the division, succeed where others had failed, and win the big prize. Bruno and Lewis: The Boxing Years gives an account on how these two fighters changed the global image of British heavyweights by their respective successes inside the square ring. The road to the top was not always easy, and both men had to overcome setbacks along the way. The pair eventually clashed in an exciting historical contest in 1993-a fight which pitted two Britons against each other to contest the world heavyweight crown for the first time.

Wales has always punched above its weight in the boxing ring. The United States, with 100 times the population, may have been the dominant player in the sport, but St David has done remarkably well against Goliath over the 120 years since the first bout in 1894. The Americans drooled over Jim Driscoll, the man dubbed 'Peerless' by the gunfighter-turned-journalist, Bat Masterson, while Jimmy Wilde also demonstrated his right to be considered one of the greatest of all time. Freddie Welsh even based himself in the States for most of his career, although he claimed the world lightweight title from Willie Ritchie in London, with both men having to cross the Atlantic. In more recent years, Joe Calzaghe's masterclass against Jeff Lacy finally convinced the American doubters, before he completed his unbeaten career by beating legends Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr, in front of their own people. This book, while giving those bouts their due, looks at dozens of other contests between the two nations, covering more than a century, revealing some of the tales behind the headlines.

"Mr. Snyder writes lyrically, and his research appears to be impeccable: It's hard to imagine that anyone has slipped through his interview net... When Bundini died, Ali was abroad and unable to attend the funeral, but he sent flowers with a card that read: 'You made me the greatest.' Many members of the boxing fraternity, George Foreman and Larry Holmes included, think that Ali wasn't exaggerating. Mr. Snyder's affecting portrait will convince the rest of us as well." -Gordon Marino, Wall Street Journal "I think Bundini was the source of Muhammad Ali's spirit. I wouldn't even call him a trainer or cornerman, he was more important than a trainer. Ali had an unmeasurable determination and he got it from Bundini." -George Foreman "When you talk about Bundini, you are talking about the mouthpiece of Muhammad Ali, an extension of Muhammad Ali's spirit. There would never have been a Muhammad Ali without Drew Bundini Brown." -Khalilah Camacho-Ali (Muhammad Ali's second wife) "Bundini gave Ali his entire heart. Bundini played a very important part in Ali's career. He was Ali's right hand man. He knew exactly how to motivate him. He was the one guy who could really get him up to train and get him ready to fight." -Larry Holmes Fifty years after he coined the iconic phrase Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, Drew "Bundini" Brown remains one of boxing's most mysterious and misunderstood figures. His impact on the sport and the culture at large is undeniable. Cornerman and confidant to two of the greatest fighters ever-Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali-Brown lived an extraordinary American life. After a poverty-stricken childhood in Jim Crow Florida, Brown came of age traveling the world as a naval steward. On being discharged, he settled in New York City and spent wild nights in the jazz joints of Harlem, making a name for himself as the charismatic street philosopher and poet some called "Fast Black." He married a white woman from a family of Orthodox Jewish immigrants, in dramatic defiance of 1950s cultural norms, and later appeared in films such as the blaxploitation classic, Shaft. In Bundini, Todd Snyder digs deep into Brown's expansive story, revealing not only how he became Muhammad Ali's "hype man," but also, as boxing's greatest motivator, how he became a model for others who seek to inspire, in any endeavor.