Writers on Boxing

Reading List

  • #37: ‘Ringside’ by Budd Schulberg

    #37: ‘Ringside’ by Budd Schulberg

    ‘Ringside – A Treasury of Boxing Reportage’ is a collection of boxing articles written by Budd Schulberg for a number of publications, including Esquire, Boxing Illustrated, Sunday Herald and Sports Illustrated. I really like BS’s writing, which is rooted in a lifetime of fight-watching and a remarkable knack for observing the characters within the professional… Read more

  • #36: ‘In This Corner…!’ by Peter Heller

    #36: ‘In This Corner…!’ by Peter Heller

    ‘In This Corner…! – Forty World Champions Tell Their Story’ by Peter Heller is a collection of interviews with forty former world champions from 1912-1960s. There are some really great interviews in this book, including the likes of Charley Phil Rosenberg, Henry Armstrong, Willie Pep and Emile Griffith. I feel very lucky that a number… Read more

  • #35: ‘The Tartan Legend’ by Ken Buchanan

    #35: ‘The Tartan Legend’ by Ken Buchanan

    ‘The Tartan Legend’ is Ken Buchanan’s autobiography, published in 2000. I don’t read a lot of boxers’ autobiographies as they usually follow the same dull pattern of empty, glossy celebrity books, totally lacking in substance. However, I’ve always been a big fan of Buchanan’s fighting style so I’ve had this book on my reading list… Read more

  • #34: ‘Old Holborn Book of Boxing’ edited by Peter Wilson

    #34: ‘Old Holborn Book of Boxing’ edited by Peter Wilson

    Published in 1969, the ‘Old Holborn Book of Boxing’ is a collection of articles, edited by Peter Wilson, about a number of boxers, including Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Sandy Sadler, Benny Lynch and Henry Cooper. There’s also a quiz – which I did very badly at! Read more

  • #33: ‘East End Born and Bled’ by Jeff Jones

    #33: ‘East End Born and Bled’ by Jeff Jones

    ‘East London Born and Bled – The Remarkable Story of Boxing in London’ by Jeff Jones. I really enjoyed reading this book and being led through the east end of London via its boxing clubs, gyms and venues, most of which don’t exist anymore. Though luckily for the boxing historians out there, east London does… Read more

  • #32: ‘Fen Tiger’ by Bob Lonkhurst

    #32: ‘Fen Tiger’ by Bob Lonkhurst

    ‘Fen Tiger – The Success of Dave “Boy” Green’ is an official biography compiled and written by Bob Lonkhurst. I was born in south London but when I was young my parents moved to Cambridgeshire and I ended up attending secondary school at Cromwell Community College in Chatteris. Sport, mainly rugby, was a big part… Read more