"Lords of the Ring "revives the exciting era--now largely forgotten--when college boxing attracted huge crowds and flashy headlines, outdrawing the professional bouts. On the same night in 1940 when Joe Louis defended his heavyweight crown before 11,000 fans in New York's Madison Square Garden, collegiate boxers battled before 15,000 fans in Madison . . . Wisconsin.
Under legendary and beloved coach John Walsh, the most successful coach in the history of American collegiate boxing, University of Wisconsin boxers won eight NCAA team championships and thirty-eight individual titles from 1933 to 1960. Badger boxers included heroes like Woody Swancutt, who later helped initiate the Strategic Air Command, and rogues like Sidney Korshak, later the most feared mob attorney in the United States. A young fighter from Louisville named Cassius Clay also boxed in the Wisconsin Field House during this dazzling era.
But in April 1960, collegiate boxing was forever changed when Charlie Mohr-- Wisconsin's finest and most popular boxer, an Olympic team prospect--slipped into a coma after an NCAA tournament bout in Madison. Suddenly, not just Mohr's life but the entire sport of college boxing was in peril. It was to be the last NCAA boxing tournament ever held. "Lords of the Ring" tells the whole extraordinary story of boxing at the University of Wisconsin, based on dozens of interviews and extensive examination of newspaper microfilm, boxing records and memorabilia.

Sugar Ray Robinson (1921-1989) was hailed as the finest boxer to ever enter a ring. Muhammad Ali once called him "the king, my master, my idol"--and indeed, he was the idol of everyone who had anything to do with boxing. But for African Americans, he was more than a great boxer. In an era when blacks were supposed to be humble and grateful for favors received, he was a man whose every move in and out of the ring showed what black pride and power meant.Sugar Ray grew up during the Depression in the ghettos of Detroit and New York, rose through the amateur boxing ranks, became Golden Gloves champion at the featherweight at the age of eighteen, and become world welterweight champion in 1946 and middleweight in 1951. Robinson had it all, but later lost it all; and in this classic autobiography he tells it all with remarkable candor. Here is Sugar Ray: the dazzlingly handsome champion with a craving for fast cars and fast living; the kid who was terrified of elevators; the young GI who, together with Joe Louis, combated racial discrimination; the honest fighter who refused a million dollars to throw a fight against Rocky Graziano; the boxer who dreamed he would kill his opponent in the ring, and did so the following night.This Da Capo edition is supplemented with a new foreword and afterword by Dave Anderson about Sugar Ray's last years in Los Angeles and the legacy he left behind, and with eight new pages of stunning photographs.

Sugar Ray Robinson was boxing royalty. King of the world. Personality with a punch. Over 25 years he ruled three divisions, from lightweight to middleweight. As a kid he had danced for pennies on the streets of Harlem, and he danced again in the ring from New York and Vegas to Paris and back again. The greatest pound-for-pound fighter in history. After a brilliant amateur career he turned professional in 1940 and won his first 40 contests before Jake LaMotta snapped his streak of 123 fights. He was unbeaten over the next nine years and would beat LaMotta in five of their six fights, taking his middleweight title in the process. One of Ray's toughest fights was with Uncle Sam over his $4 million fight earnings. He built and lost a Harlem business empire before retiring from the ring and entering showbiz. The great fighter proved a philandering husband and a redundant father before settling down with his third wife, Millie, in California where he set up the Sugar Ray Robinson Youth Foundation, teaching kids about sports and life.

Nipper Pat Daly was boxing's most amazing prodigy. Extraordinary but tragic, his was a career like no other in sports history. Born in Wales in 1913, he became a professional boxer at age ten after moving to London. With his exceptional talent, by age 14 he was beating grown men in gruelling 15-round fights. At 15 he was thrashing national champions and at 16 was ranked by America's The Ring magazine in the world's top ten. In the late 1920s, audiences across Britain sat spellbound as the Wonderboy delivered boxing masterclasses against Europe's elite fighters. Daly beat three British champions, a European champ and the reigning champions of Italy, Belgium and Germany. A magnetic figure, leading sportswriters saw him as a future world champion and possible all-time great. Tragically, however, he was recklessly overworked and forced to retire aged 17, after well over 100 pro fights. Incorporating Nipper's previously unpublished memoirs, Born to Box is the story of his unique career, life and times.

Records of modern female boxing date back to the early eighteenth century in London, and in the 1904 Olympics an exhibition bout between women was held. Yet it was not until the 2012 Olympics—more than 100 years later—that women’s boxing was officially added to the Games. Throughout boxing’s history, women have fought in and out of the ring to gain respect in a sport traditionally considered for men alone. The stories of these women are told for the first time in this comprehensive work dedicated to women’s boxing. A History of Women’s Boxing traces the sport back to the 1700s, through the 2012 Olympic Games, and up to the present. Inside-the-ring action is brought to life through photographs, newspaper clippings, and anecdotes, as are the stories of the women who played important roles outside the ring, from spectators and judges to managers and trainers. This book includes extensive profiles of the sport’s pioneers, including Barbara Buttrick whose plucky carnival shows launched her professional boxing career in the 1950s; sixteen-year-old Dallas Malloy who single-handedly overturned the strictures against female amateur boxing in 1993; the famous “boxing daughters” Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde; and teenager Claressa Shields, the first American woman to win a boxing gold medal at the Olympics. Rich in detail and exhaustively researched, this book illuminates the struggles, obstacles, and successes of the women who fought—and continue to fight—for respect in their sport. A History of Women’s Boxing is a must-read for boxing fans, sports historians, and for those interested in the history of women in sports.

Into the Woods provides a sharp insight into the true motivations of fighting men. Rather than dealing in cliche, hype or the myth of the 'noble art', former world light heavyweight champion, Clinton Woods, lays bare the culture that surrounds his sport. From meagre beginnings in a large family, on Sheffield estates decimated by Margaret Thatcher's attacks on the steel industry, to booze, drugs and tussles with the law, Woods had chaotic and bloodstained origins. Having boxed as a junior, he returned to the ring in his 20s, seeking change. On a pro journey that eventually saw him trade blows with Roy Jones Jr, Glen Johnson and Antonio Tarver, he confounded naysayers to win every title from domestic level to world. Along the way, he mixed with some of the most fascinating characters of his era. Woods's integrity, honesty and refusal to surrender forged his success. Seven years into his retirement, he has time to reflect. Into the Woods asks whether those who come from violence can ever really leave it behind.

Sweet Fighting Man is based on a collection of interviews with British boxers, from journeymen to champions. The book covers a timespan of over 50 years and features some classic personalities, such as Dave 'Boy' Green, the ever-popular British and European champion who fought for world titles against Carlos Palomino and Sugar Ray Leonard; Bunny Johnson, the first black British Heavyweight Champion, and Joe Somerville, the jovial journeyman who had literally thousands of fights in the lurid environment of the boxing booths. Boxers are fundamentally entertainers and each chapter in this book is an individual performance, giving the true flavour of the characters involved. Their thought-provoking reflections proffer a unique insight into the often rollercoaster life of a professional boxer. The interviewees also talk about many aspects of their lives away from the ring and, as they drop their guards and open their hearts, they deliver plenty of laugh-out-loud moments along the way.

Muhammad Ali was not only a champion athlete, but a cultural icon. While his skill as a boxer made him famous, his strong personality and his identity as a black man in a country in the midst of the struggle for civil rights made him an enduring symbol. From his youth in segregated Louisville, Kentucky, to his victory in the 1960 Olympics, to the controversy that surrounded his conversion to Islam and refusal of the draft during the Vietnam War, Ali's life was closely linked to the major social and political struggles of the 1960s and 70s. The story of his struggles, failures, and triumphs sheds light on issues of race, class, religion, dissent, and the role of sports in American society that affected all Americans. In this lively, concise biography, Barbara L. Tischler introduces students to Ali's life in social and political context, and explores his enduring significance as a symbol of resistance. Muhammad Ali: A Many of Many Voices offers the perfect introduction to this extraordinary American and his times.

"Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest, recounting their often poignant tales of life before and after their dates with the champ. In the end, of course,
we learn more about Ali. What stands out is their almost unanimous expression of affection for Ali. A worthy addition to any boxing
collection." -Library Journal
Muhammad Ali cast a blinding light on his sport, on the tumultuous times in which he reigned as champion, and on all the people who surrounded him. That included the fighters brave enough to stand alone in the ring with the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
Ali's own story has been told often, but the tales of those who faced him have been mostly overlooked. For each, the moments alone in the ring with Ali changed their lives. Facing Ali tells the stories, in the fighters' own words, of fifteen men from around the world-from famous names like Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Henry Cooper, to lesser lights like Tunney Hunsaker, Jergen Blin, and George Chuvalo. Facing Ali offers a unique perspective on what it was like to fight Ali, and gives new insights into the character of a boxer who is arguably the most recognized man on the planet.

Mike Tyson is boxing's most beloved bad boy. With a history of street-gang violence, juvenile prison, sexual scandal, marital strife, courtroom battles, and imprisonment for rape, he has become one of the most publicized athletes in history. At age 23 he was already considered among the greatest prizefighters of all time, and, his career is far from over. Relying on in-depth research and interviews with those who have known Tyson at every stage of his life, "Bad Intentions" portrays the shy child who became a vicious street thug, discovered boxing in juvenile prison, and was brought to the attention of the legendary Cus D'Amato to be shaped to be one thing only--heavyweight champion of the world. Here is Tyson's fight-by-fight path to that goal, the millions of dollars made and fought over, the sex and violence of his personal life, and his eventual defeats both in the ring and in court. "Bad Intentions "is an essential read for all who would understand the ins and outs of the most controversial sport in America.

Boxing is the top popular sport in Cuba and part of its cultural identity. The martial arts, often represented as warlike in form, acquire here an unexpected elegance, speed and technical perfection. This publication reflects the Cuban love of sport, from youth work in the back yards of Havana to the preparations for the Olympic Games. At the same time it tells the story of this fascinating world sport. Cuba's pride in its boxers and its sports tradition remains unbroken. Boxing schools and national boxing idols happily granted the photographer Katharina Alt access to their training facilities and private homes in order to record life in and around the sport and the contests. The photos provide an impressive record of the arduous preparations for a fight and continue until the boxers are saved by the gong in the final round. The text by author and journalist Michael Schleicher is divided into twelve rounds and shows how the sport has changed since Antiquity. Motifs, aesthetics and boxing language occur today in art and culture and are thus an omnipresent witness to the fact that "Boxing is life itself", according to Joyce Carol Oates.

In this captivating and complex portrait of an American sports legend, Russell Sullivan confirms Rocky Marciano's place as a symbol and cultural icon of his era. As much as he embodied the wholesome, rags-to-riches patriotism of a true American hero, he also reflected the racial and ethnic tensions festering behind the country's benevolent facade. Spirited, fast-paced, and rich in detail, Rocky Marciano is the first book to place the boxer in the context of his times. Capturing his athletic accomplishments against the colorful backdrop of the 1950s fight scene, Sullivan examines how Marciano's career reflected the glamour and scandal of boxing as well as tenor of his times.