#31: ‘The Woman in the Corner’ by Gilbert Odd

‘The Woman in the Corner – Her Influence on Boxing’ is a collection of 25 essays about the wives, girlfriends and mothers of boxers, written by Gilbert Odd.

This book was published in 1978 so I wasn’t expecting it to share the more enlightened language readers expect today, when it comes to discussing women’s roles in a male dominated sport. Aside from that, the biggest annoyance is probably that each chapter/essay is identified by the name of the boxer, rather than by the name of the woman being written about.

All that being said, this is the only book I’ve come across that makes any attempt to record the women behind any boxers, never mind 25 prominent champions. For this reason this book offers insights into the support networks around these boxers that you probably won’t find elsewhere.

It’s also important to be reminded regularly that, in what seems so isolated and solo a sporting endeavour, just about all successful boxers are supported along the way by a group made up of trainers, spouses, parents, siblings and other loved ones.