#29: ‘The Fight’ by Norman Mailer

‘The Fight’ is Norman Mailer’s first-hand account of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s famous meeting in Kinshasa, Zaïre in 1975, for the world heavyweight title.

‘The Fight’ is one of those classic books that regularly appears in the regurgitated online ‘top-ten’ lists of boxing books that you must read! Obviously, the history of professional boxing can’t be told without any account of The Rumble in the Jungle, so it’s clear why this book is considered so important, but I have to acknowledge here my dislike for Norman Mailer and anyone that, through this style of reportage, puts themselves at the centre of the story. Especially when the story also revolves around one of the most charismatic, beloved and important human beings to have lived during the 20th Century. Imagine having a large enough ego to think that your experience should be put to the forefront at an event headlined by Muhammad Ali!

My next opinion may seem a little controversial, and even contradictory, after the previous paragraph, but if you spend any amount of time reading anthologies of boxing writing it can lead to more than a little Ali-related exhaustion, due to the weight of prose produced relating to him. I’m not saying here that I’m bored of reading about The Greatest; rather, I’m much more selective in what I want to read about him. I’d definitely rather read essays by Oates, Schulberg and McIlvanney before I revisit this book.