Best Boxing Books You've Read

[NHB7]

I rarely come in the boxing forum because I haven't really watched much boxing since the 90's. That being said, despite not really watching boxing, I still love reading boxing bio's and stories. I'm sure you all probably do a boxing book thread every other day in here, but here is another.

So have you read any great boxing books. Here is one that I really enjoyed some time last year:

It is a book about Two Ton Tony Galento. If you read the boxing hall of fame, he isn't in it, except that you see his name pop up on a few other fighters records, like Joe Louis (notice the cover of the book). Two Ton Tony was a real charatcer. Take any movie from the 40's and 50's where they need some big bad guy to play the role, well Two Ton Looked like every one of those bad guys.

In the book you will read about his drunken escapades and the time he fought a live, giant, octopus. And of course, the night he knocked down Joe Louis in the first. Good times.

 

[Sunfish]

Four kings was good.
Unforgivable blackness also.

 

[NHB7]

Four kings was good.
Unforgivable blackness also.

I never read the book, but the Unforgivable Blackness Documentary is probably one of my all time favorite documentaries of any genre. Another good documentary was "The Fight" detailing the events around the Max Schmelling vs. Joe Louis fight.

 

[Sunfish]

I just posted what I enjoyed. You'd pick it up cheap.

I enjoyed srls auto, the Hauser book on Ali as well.

 

[Sunfish]

And the book on Ruben carter.

 

[XThe GreatestX]

sugar ray leonard's my big fight was a very good. and the ali bio mentioned above was very good as well

 

[BluntTrauma21]

Four Kings and The Sweet Science are the first two that come to mind for me. Four Kings is obviously about the Four Kings: Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, Duran and follows their fights with each other, personas, etc.

The Sweet Science is a mix up of many different fights/fighters that Liebling wrote about but a lot of it centers around the rise of Marciano and follows most of his career in the early-mid 50's.


Both awesome books and classics which is why I bought them in the first place.

 

[Seano]

Agree on 4kings. Fantastic book. Page after page of excellent info.

Purely for informational purposes, the Fearless HArry Greb was good but a bit dry. If you want to know about Greb, its probably the best source.

 

[NHB7]

Four Kings and The Sweet Science are the first two that come to mind for me. Four Kings is obviously about the Four Kings: Hagler, Leonard, Hearns, Duran and follows their fights with each other, personas, etc.

The Sweet Science is a mix up of many different fights/fighters that Liebling wrote about but a lot of it centers around the rise of Marciano and follows most of his career in the early-mid 50's.


Both awesome books and classics which is why I bought them in the first place.

The second one interests me quite a bit because the reason I actually thought of the question was because I'm considering reading a Marciano biography...I'll look into The Sweet Science I guess.

 

[Drunken Meat Fist]

Maybe doesn't fit the category but a pictorial history of boxing by Nat Fleischer and Sam Andre was my first favorite boxing book.

 

[ICHEERTHEBULL]

The long round is a amazing book, very sad though

 

[Drunken Meat Fist]

Four kings was good.
Unforgivable blackness also.

I forgot I read unforgivable blackness. I gotta stop loaning books out no one ever brings them back. I loaned my Criterian Fear and Loathing and so many good books to fucks. That needs to stop. thanks for the reminder.

 

[Drunken Meat Fist]

it's not a boxing book but I was looking for some second hand underwear at the thrift store and picked up Randy Couture Becoming the Natural for a buck fifty, what a pretentious hunk of shit horrible waste of eyesight. I just felt obligated. I highly recommend it.

 

[Sunfish]

You crack me up bro.

 

[mozfonky]

lots of good ones, lots of good ones i have skimmed too, which i've never read cover to cover. Joe louis' bios and his boxing instructional, same goes for Dempsey. Ali, Robinson, Lamotta all had great bios. Ali's the greatest gets lost in the shuffle and it's own revisionism but it's actually first rate in some ways. The writer had access to ali's thoughts in his prime so that's a huge plus. The new Tyson bio has been a pleasure to skim through, haven't bought it. As far as subject wise, the sweet science is great but maybe a tad dated. His other posthumous work the neutral corner is great too and has his interesting view on a young up and coming heavyweight named Clay. In this corner (any version) is fantastic. those of you who lack respect for the old time fighters will see just how much shit they had to live through and still try to win a fight. Lots and lots of good ones, many in my library which i can't think of the titles of just now. books with interviews of the best trainers is fantastic, i have them but can't think of their titles just now but they are brilliant.

 

[Sunfish]

Rays book was good. You'd like it.

 

[consortium11]

it's not a boxing book but I was looking for some second hand underwear at the thrift store and picked up Randy Couture Becoming the Natural for a buck fifty, what a pretentious hunk of shit horrible waste of eyesight. I just felt obligated. I highly recommend it.

Most MMA autobiographies are brilliant in an unintentionally hilarious kind of way. In truth outside of No Holds Barred (which is more interesting for the stories rather than the prose) I can't really think of many good MMA books in general.

 

[Cheese]

What happened to the sticky.

Anyway a book i liked was Shelby's Folly. Its talks about how Doc Kerns(Jack Dempsey manger) bankrupt the city of Montana when Jack fought there. People think Bob and King are bad.

 

[M o A]

"The Dark Trade" by Donald McRae is a great read.

 

[mozfonky]

Most MMA autobiographies are brilliant in an unintentionally hilarious kind of way. In truth outside of No Holds Barred (which is more interesting for the stories rather than the prose) I can't really think of many good MMA books in general.

ya, mma'rs as i've long maintained are just wierd, never really liked them as people.