#25: ‘The Road to Nowhere’ by Tris Dixon

‘The Road to Nowhere – A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands’ by Tris Dixon is a record of Dixon’s travel across numerous U.S. states, attempting to speak to forgotten boxers.

I have a special fondness for any book in which the author goes off on a quest to talk to a group of people before it’s too late for anyone to do so, and my feelings for this book are pretty strong in that respect. Dixon does a great job in this book of describing the gritty reality of travelling great distances on a tight budget, along with the guilt of stretching the goodwill of supportive colleagues, family and loved ones.

Dixon talks to a number of retired fighters in the book, but his conversations with Mickey Ward are hugely insightful, in terms of how unstable a career as a professional boxer can be, and his encounters with Matthew Saad Muhammad highlight how difficult and lonely the transition can be for former champions.

I don’t think this is stated explicitly in the book, but there is definitely an acknowledgement that while it’s sad enough that boxing fans are somewhat guilty of moving on too quickly to the next exciting fighter, leaving retired fighters a little in limbo, the people who should be examining their behaviour are the promoters, who use fighters when they can earn money, and drop them as soon as they no longer can.

If you’re not already aware of their work, please follow this link and consider supporting the Ringside Charitable Trust, who are aiming to set up a reliable support network to provide help to former boxers, whether that be because of financial trouble or failing health.