Aussie Mike's Top 10 Boxing Books !!

 Boxing and the colorful characters involved both in and out of the ring have inspired some of the world’s best writers and journalist to share their craft.  While I can’t claim to have read every boxing book published I do have a very extensive collection including biographies of nearly every heavyweight champion from John L Sullivan to the present day.

So with this in mind let’s take a look at Aussie Mike’s 10 BOXING BOOKS   

10. Facing Ali by Stephen Brunt (2003)

    15 different fighters who fought Ali recall their experience facing the Greatest.  Much has been written about Ali’s battles with major foes like Frazier, Foreman and Norton  but we seldom hear from lesser known opponents wo while not as formidable as that trio, were still top ranked heavyweights in their day.  In separate chapters we hear from British Boxers Henry Cooper and Joe Bugner, Germany’s Karl Mildenberger,   Belgium’s Jean-Pierre Coopman and many others.  All of whom will forever be remembered because of their contests against Ali, hence the importance of their recollections.

9)   In this corner By Dave Anderson (1991)

     A selection of interviews with some of the world’s best boxing trainers including Angelo Dundee trainer of Muhammad Ali, Ray Arcel (Roberto Duran), Eddie Futch(Joe Frazier, Kevin Rooney (MikeTyson) Good Petronelli  (Marvelous Marvin Hagler) and a host of other trainers of champions including  George Foreman , Tommy Hitman Hearns and Ken Norton .  Training techniques, fight tactics, and behind the scenes tales of boxer’s individual quirks and idiosyncrasy’s make this book a must read for fans and students of the game.

8)  Home before Dark by Ruth Park and Rafe Champion (1995)

  The story of one of Australia’s, most revered sporting icons, Les Darcy Australia’s first world Boxing champion told through the eyes of people who boxed him, lived and grew up with him. A man who was very badly treated by the Australian sporting press during the bitterly divisive World War 1 conscription debate.  A tumultuous time that saw him seek to further his boxing career in the USA only to die prematurely under very suspicious circumstances.  Les Darcy a member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame and true Aussie sporting icon is a life that should not be forgotten with the passing years.

   7)  Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson (2013)

     This is the unvarnished biography of Iron Mike Tyson, the Baddest Man on the Planet.  This book is not for the feint hearted. Just like his boxing Tyson pulls no punches in describing his youth, boxing career, rape conviction and rebirth as a standup performer and budding marijuana entrepreneur.

6) Muhammad Ali... His life and Times by Thomas Hauser, (1991)

   Published in 1991, this biography of Muhammad Ali is a collection quotation from prominent people in Ali’s life.  Close family and friends major opponents like Joe Frazier and George Foreman, promoters, trainers, all give their perspective on Ali at various points in his life.   I personally enjoy this style of biography because it allows for contemporaneous perspectives from many different parties rather than just the authors viewpoint.

Published in 1991 it does not cover the final 15 years of his life and battles with Parkinson’s disease.  For a more complete recounting of Muhammad Ali’s life I recommend the huge (50lb) pictorial biography “Greatest of All Time: A tribute to Muhammad Ali by Taschen publications 2013 (NB: the huge book also has a considerable price tag of $100 pus, but well worth it even just for the pictures)

5) Dempsey by Jack Dempsey and Barbara Piatelli Dempsey 1977 (out of print)

Written in collaboration with his step-daughter Barbara Piatelli “Dempsey” describes the life and times of the man known in pugilistic circles as the Manassa Mauler.

Dempsey recounts his humble beginnings as a Colorado coal miner whose only way out of poverty was to capitalize on his greatest talent: the ability to punch with devastating power. None of these recollections are colored by introspective self-analysis. Barbara Piatelli Dempsey’s writing allows Jack's words to speak for themselves.

Intertwined within Dempsey's life is a colorful montage of characters and events (both in and out of ring). The Willard fight, the infamous long count, his trial for refusing to enter the army, his days as a movie star and restaurateur, are all told with disarming honesty.

More than a mere blow by blow description of a boxing career, Dempsey tells of the struggles of a simple honest man in difficult times. Through world wars, economic depressions and personal turmoil Jack Dempsey emerges as the archetypical American hero.

What makes the story even more appealing is its warts and all approach. Dempsey's foibles are exposed; his life is no sugar-coated fairy tale. For any sports historian or fanatic, "Dempsey" is essential reading. It is a timeless work which will ensure that the famous catch cry "I can beat any man in the house" will continue to be shouted by those seeking to emulate the fistic feats of the eternal symbol of American male machismo, the one and the only Jack Dempsey 

4) The Harder They Fall by Bud Schulberg (1947)

 Described by USA Today as "The quintessential novel of boxing and corruption” this. Is a fictionalized d account of the career of Primo Carnera a mob controlled Heavyweight Champion in the 1930’s.  Subsequently made into a film starring Humphrey Bogart both book and film provide an accurate description of the nefarious characters boxing attracts and the corruption involved.

3) The Fight by Norman Mailer (1975)

One of Americas most talented writers  Norman Mailer (1923-2007)  reports on the 1974 Foreman v Ali fight aka “The Rumble in the Jungle’ in Kinshasa Zaire.  The definitive account of one of the best heavyweight fights t of the 20th century.

Mailer also appears in the documentary “Once were Kings”   the award winning documentary of the Ali Foreman fight.

2) Unforgiveable Blackness by Geoffrey C ward. (2004)

A brilliant recounting of the life and times of Jack Johnston the first black World Heavyweight champion.  More than a book about boxing it is also a book about Jim Crowe America and the racism present at all levels of society. Johnston rails against this and travels to the other side of the world, Sydney Australia to win the world championship from Canadian Tommy Burns. The Johnston era of the championship, the search for the Great white hope and his ultimate loss to Jess Willard are recounted together with his brushes with the law and peripatetic life after boxing. 

Papa Jack, Jack Johnston and the era of the White Hopes by Randy Roberts (1983) is another book I would highly recommend.  Robert’s recounting of Johnston’s life differs markedly from the popular narrative of Johnston as an early day Muhammad Ali. He depicts Johnston as a substantial historical figure but in essence an ego driven opportunist rather than racial martyr.

1) The Sweet Science by A J Liebling, 1951

  In this true masterpiece of modern journalism Liebling presents 18 separate essays which describe boxing in the 1940’s and 1950’S. Through humor and colorful descriptive prose he recaptures an era in sports that will never be duplicated whether at the fights themselves, the sweaty gyms and raucous taverns where most of the followers convened before and after the event. A great read even for the non-boxing fan.

Honorable mentions to “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay , “Shadow Box “by George Plimpton and  “Boxing Day the Fight that changed the World” by Jeff Wells.

So there you have it folks, let me know what you think, hey reading but most importantly

Keep punching!!!