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.

Shortlisted for the 2021 William Hill Sports Book of The Year award. "This is the book that boxing has always needed...It is shattering yet moving, informative yet tender...An essential read for anyone who cares about boxing and its courageous, damaged fighters."-Donald McRae, The Guardian "Anyone who loves boxing-even the sport's most die-hard supporters-must take a longer and more serious look at the issues that Tris Dixon writes about with such nuance and humanity in Damage..."-Greg Bishop, Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated It's an old story-a fighter gains fame, drives fast cars, makes piles of cash, and dates beautiful women. Then comes the fall-booze, drugs, depression, poverty, illness. This dark narrative has been playing out for a hundred years. Doctors first identified "Punch Drunk Syndrome" in 1928. It later became known as "Dementia Pugilistica." Today, we call it CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). The secret history of this disease in boxing has never been fully told- until now. In Damage, Tris Dixon uncovers the difficult truths of boxing and CTE and chronicles the lives of fighters affected by it. He interviews some of the sport's biggest names, some lesser-known journeymen, and highly respected trainers and other figures to try to understand why no one wants to discuss CTE or take responsibility for it. Ultimately, Dixon takes aim at what boxing can do to help the warriors who sacrifice their health seeking glory in the ring. Will this book finally drive the sport to address the issue and help fighters get the help they deserve?

Each year, readers, writers, and critics alike look forward to Thomas Hauser's newest collection of articles about the contemporary boxing scene. Reviewing his 2018 collection, Booklist proclaimed, "This is Hauser in a nutshell: compassion, character, and context. As always, an annual delight." A Dangerous Journey continues Hauser's tradition of excellence, turning his award-winning investigative reporting skills on the scandal surrounding the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs and the failures of corrupt and incompetent state athletic commissions. Hauser also takes readers into Canelo Alvarez's dressing room in the hours before and after his rematch against Gennady Golovkin, the biggest fight of the year, and offers in-depth portraits of boxing's biggest stars-past and present-as well as reflections on fight-related curiosities ranging from Ronda Rousey to David and Goliath. Thirty-five years ago, Hauser began writing about boxing with his superb The Black Lights, which has long been regarded as a boxing classic. He only gets better.

Take a ringside seat next to A. J. Liebling at some of the greatest fights in history. Here is Joe Louis's devastating final match; Sugar Ray Robinson's dramatic comeback; and Rocky Marciano's rise to heavyweight glory. The heated ringside atmosphere, the artistry of the great boxers and the blows and parries of the classic fights are all vividly evoked in a volume described by Sports Illustrated as 'the best American sports book of all time'. 'A rollicking god among boxing writers ... before Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson were out of diapers, Liebling was taking his readers on excursions through the hidden and often hilarious levels of this bruised subculture ... the Master' Los Angeles Times 'Nobody wrote about boxing with more grace and enthusiasm' The New York Times

Joe Gans captured the world lightweight title in 1902, becoming the first black American world title holder in any sport. Gans was a master strategist and tactician, and one the earliest practitioners of "scientific" boxing. As a black champion reigning during the Jim Crow era, he endured physical assaults, a stolen title, bankruptcy, and numerous attempts to destroy his reputation. Four short years after successfully defending his title in the 42-round "Greatest Fight of the Century," Joe Gans was dead of tuberculosis. This biography features original round-by-round ringside telegraph reports of his most famous and controversial fights, a complete fight history, photographs, early newspaper cartoons depicting boxers, and discussion of contemporary cultural representations of and tributes to the man considered to be among the finest boxers in history.