An Irish working-class hero of Pittsburgh, Billy Conn captured hearts through his ebullient personality, stellar boxing record, and good looks. A light heavyweight boxing champion best remembered for his sensational near-defeat of heavyweight champion Joe Louis in 1941, Conn is still regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Andrew O'Toole chronicles the boxing, Hollywood, and army careers of "the Pittsburgh Kid" by drawing from newspaper accounts, Billy's personal scrapbooks, and fascinating interviews with family. Presenting an intimate look at the champion's relationships with his girlfriend, manager, and rivals, O'Toole compellingly captures the personal life of a public icon and the pageantry of sports during the 1930s and '40s.

Lo llamaban "Manos de Piedra" y fue uno de los mejores boxeadores de todos los tiempos. Ahora, por primera vez, Roberto Duran cuenta su increible historia: desde las calles de Panama a ser coronado como uno de los "cuatro reyes" junto con Hearns, Leonard y Hagler, a medida que fue abriendose camino en la era dorada del boxeo. Nacido en la pobreza extrema y casi incapaz de leer o escribir, muy pronto Duran se dio cuenta de que sus punos podian protegerlo en las calles y ayudarlo a poner comida en la mesa. Su reputacion se establecio el dia que, por una apuesta, derribo un caballo con un solo golpe. A los veintiun anos gano su primer titulo mundial contra Ken Buchanan en el Madison Square Garden. En ese momento nacio la leyenda de Manos de Piedra, pero su momento mas glorioso aun estaba por venir. En 1980 Duran protagonizo una de las grandes sorpresas de la historia del boxeo al derrotar al previamente imbatible Sugar Ray Leonard. Pero mayor fama trajo mayores distracciones y el andar de fiesta constantemente tuvo su efecto antes de que las dos superestrellas se volvieran a encontrar. Esta vez, y por primera vez en su vida, enfrento a la debacle de la revancha que entro a formar parte del folclore deportivo y la verdad detras del momento en el que se le escucho pronunciar dos palabras infames: "No mas". Las explosivas actuaciones de Duran fueron de la mano con su volatilidad fuera del ring. Paso de vivir como la realeza a caer en bancarrota y, despues de haber sido desestimado por el mundo del boxeo, tuvo un retorno sangriento y legendario que marco el final de su carrera y le trajo por fin la redencion tan anhelada. Vino de la nada y cambio el mundo. Yo soy Duran es la autobiografia de una de las leyendas mas emblematicas del boxeo.

The Noble Art of Heavyweight Boxing is a knockout trip through the history of this popular sport, from the last thrilling bareknuckle contest in 1889 between champion John L. Sullivan and challenger Jake Kilrain, right through to modern times, covering key fights and boxing greats such as Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, and many, many more. Illustrated with contemporary photographs and packed with fascinating true details about the personalities and bouts, this book will be a winner with every sports fan and boxing enthusiast.

When boxing writer Doveed Linder tried to make contact with HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant in hopes of securing an interview, his attempts failed. But one morning, Linder was at a gym wearing a boxing related t-shirt. Someone walked past him who was also wearing a boxing t-shirt. They started talking and it turned out to be Larry Merchant's son-in-law, who offered to set up the interview with Merchant over lunch. Linder did the interview with Merchant, eventually finding himself writing Ringside: Interviews with 24 Fighters and Boxing Insiders, a collection of in depth interviews with various boxers, trainers, promoters, officials, and other boxing figures, who tell their story. Ringside: Interviews with 24 Fighters and Boxing Insiders is an exploration of the sport from top to bottom, as it profiles well accomplished champions and Hall of Fame inductees, as well as those who have labored behind the scenes. A number of synchronistic occurrences similar to the meeting of Larry Merchant's son-in-law led to some of the interviews in this book, notably the interview with Exum Speight, a retired boxer with a record of 9-39-2, who was arrested for a 1987 murder one year after his interview was conducted.