In 1923, not long after oil had started gushing from northern Montana fields, real-estate sales in nearby Shelby were declining, dimming the little town's prospects of becoming the "Tulsa of the West." Then the mayor's son dreamed up a marketing ploy: offer to host heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey's next fight. What began as a publicity stunt soon spiraled into a civic drama unlike any Montana had ever seen-or ever would again. Shelby's Folly tells this story in full for the first time. Against the background of boom-and-bust Montana history, the folly of Shelby's would-be promoters unfolds in colorful detail. It took months to persuade Dempsey's conniving manager, Jack "Doc" Kearns, to sign a $300,000 contract. With less than two months before the July 4th fight, the town still had no stadium and no accommodations for tens of thousands of expected fans. Jason Kelly describes the promoters' desperate measures and their disastrous results, from the first inkling of the idea to the bitter end of the fifteen-round boxing match. Shelby residents identified with the underdog challenger, Tommy Gibbons, who went toe-to-toe with the champion in an atmosphere crackling with tension. Nerves were so frayed that a holiday firecracker exploding in the arena sent shockwaves of fear through the crowd. A soap opera of financial intrigue and chicanery, Shelby's Folly chronicles how Big Sky ambition and the scheming mind of Doc Kearns collided to produce one of the most preposterous series of events in boxing history. Watch the Shelby's Folly book trailer on YouTube.

Boxing lost a true warrior and gentleman of the ring when the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, Alexis Argüello, died in 2009. To millions in Nicaragua and around the world, Argüello was an iconic figure, a willing role model, and a shining light in a nation that places its sports figures on pedestals. Beloved Warrior explores the extraordinary rise, fall, and rebirth of this great fighter. With a career that began in 1968 in Managua, Argüello overcame early losses, including a knockout in his debut. He went on to win three world titles, relinquishing them only by moving up in weight class. While boxing until 1995 and reaping luxury and fame, Argüello never forgot his people. Using his skills and power, "El Flaco Explosivo" (The Explosive Thin Man) earned his lofty status as one of the most celebrated Latin American boxers ever. While Argüello's devotion to the sport cannot be challenged, questions about the man still remain. How did he rise from the streets of Managua to become one of the greatest fighters in the world? What happened to him after he fought Aaron Pryor, whom many considered the greatest 140-pounder in history? How was he affected by his time spent fighting against the Sandinistas? And finally, what is the story behind his mysterious death less than eight months after he won Managua's mayoral election? Despite Argüello’s notorious losses to Pryor, his remarkable career as an unforgettable fighter lives on in his fans’ memories. As Christian Giudice illustrates, Argüello’s status as a hero both in and out of the ring will forever remain intact.

"It didn't occur to me until fairly late in the work that I was writing a book about the beginnings of a national celebrity culture. By 1860, a few boxers had become heroes to working-class men, and big fights drew considerable newspaper coverage, most of it quite negative since the whole enterprise was illegal. But a generation later, toward the end of the century, the great John L. Sullivan of Boston had become the nation's first true sports celebrity, an American icon. The likes of poet Vachel Lindsay and novelist Theodore Dreiser lionized him Dreiser called him 'a sort of prize fighting J. P. Morgan' and Ernest Thompson Seton, founder of the Boy Scouts, noted approvingly that he never met a lad who would not rather be Sullivan than Leo Tolstoy." from the Afterword to the Updated Edition

Elliott J. Gorn's The Manly Art tells the story of boxing's origins and the sport's place in American culture. When first published in 1986, the book helped shape the ways historians write about American sport and culture, expanding scholarly boundaries by exploring masculinity as an historical subject and by suggesting that social categories like gender, class, and ethnicity can be understood only in relation to each other.

This updated edition of Gorn's highly influential history of the early prize rings features a new afterword, the author's meditation on the ways in which studies of sport, gender, and popular culture have changed in the quarter century since the book was first published. An up-to-date bibliography ensures that The Manly Art will remain a vital resource for a new generation."

Boxing's greatest trainer reveals all

"The book is written in a highly conversational tone, and by the end the reader will know precisely what it is like to listen to the Bill Walsh of boxing hold court on the exotic art of the cornerman."
"--New York Times "Book Review

" H]ere's one for the fans: an as-close-up-as-you-can-get view of boxing's biggest, baddest personalities and poundings."
"-Men's Journal "

"The teaming of esteemed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee and Bert Randolph Sugar, perhaps the best boxing writer around, produces a lively and insightful look at professional boxing in the second half of the 20th century... His fascinating portraits of Ali, Leonard and Foreman make this a terrific read."
"--Library Journal"

"This book's appeal lies in Dundee's colorful and punchy personality, as he enlivens the prose with entertaining, Yogi Berra-like jokes, tautologies and euphemisms. It's no surprise that Dundee helped Ali develop his famous rhymes."
"--Publishers Weekly"

Angelo Dundee was named Manager of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association in 1968 and 1979. In 1994 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He continues to train boxers and has acted as ringside commentator for many televised fights.

Bert Randolph Sugar is the most recognized and well-known boxing writer in history. The former editor of Ring Magazine and Boxing Illustrated and publisher of Fight Game magazine, he has written dozens of books on boxing and is a regular ESPN sports analyst.

Born into a boxing family, the son of Mexican-born parents, Oscar "the Golden Boy" De La Hoya has lived the American Dream--achieving unparalleled success in everything from athletics to business, from the recording industry to numerous charitable ventures. The winner of six world titles and an Olympic gold medal, he has defeated more than a dozen world champions and has left a positive mark on the sport of boxing, inspiring many who had all but given up hope.

American Son is his story--a quintessentially American story--a frank, touching, and revealing memoir from one of the most celebrated fighters in the history of boxing. It is the thrilling tale of an immigrant's son--the chronicle of an amazing life's journey that offers new insight into the private world and remarkable career of a gentleman, an athlete, and a true national icon.

Everybody in the unlicensed fight game knows that only one man has the honour of being titled 'Guv'nor' - and that man is Lew 'Wild Thing' Yates. Yates began boxing at the age of six, and as an adult he was ruthless in pursuit of his dream of becoming world heavyweight champion. But when his licence was revoked following an assault on a referee, he turned to unlicensed boxing. By day, Yates pounded punchbags and the streets in an effort to reach the peak of physical fitness as he prepared for his epic battle with Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw. At night, he pounded gangsters and drug dealers foolish enough to take him on in the nightclubs where he worked. Wild Thing documents how Yates rose to the top of his bloody profession. When it comes to his fighting ability, he doesn't need to boast, brag or exaggerate. With Lew Yates, what you see is what you hope you're never going to get. This is his remarkable story.

Muhammad Ali memorably referred to Sugar Ray Robinson as the king, the master, my idol," and rarely a fight fan has chosen to argue too much with those words. With a career spanning three decades, multiple championships, over two hundred fights (without once taking a 10-count), and more victories than Joe Louis and Ali combined it was no surprise when RING magazine named Robinson pound for pound, the best boxer of all time." In Being Sugar Ray , acclaimed scholar Kenneth Shropshire contends that Sugar Ray Robinson's influence extends far beyond the ring. It was Robinson who introduced America to the athlete as entrepreneur and celebrity. From his business empire to his prized flamingo pink Cadillac, described as the Hope Diamond of Harlem, Sugar Ray was the trailblazer whom every athlete since has been trying, consciously or otherwise, to emulate.