Writers on Boxing

Reading List

  • #13: ‘Bunce’s Big Fat Short History of British Boxing’ by Steve Bunce

    #13: ‘Bunce’s Big Fat Short History of British Boxing’ by Steve Bunce

    ‘Bunce’s BFSHoBB’ is a summary of the diaries and notebooks Steve Bunce has meticulously kept in his role as possibly the most prominent boxing correspondent and broadcaster currently working in Britain. The book spans 1970-2017, with each chapter focusing on an individual year and giving a remarkably detailed overview of that year’s action. I have… Read more

  • #12: ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ by Markus Zusak

    #12: ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ by Markus Zusak

    ‘Fighting Ruben Wolfe’ is a fiction novel written for the Young Adult audience by Markus Zusak. Set in Australia, this book is centred around two brothers, Ruben and Cameron, who accidentally find their way into the world of underground unlicensed boxing. The book explores themes of class, aggression, violence and masculinity through the eyes of… Read more

  • #11: ‘The Boxer’ by Reinhard Kleist

    #11: ‘The Boxer’ by Reinhard Kleist

    ‘The Boxer’ by Reinhard Kleist is a non-fiction graphic novel, telling the story of Holocaust survivor Hertzko ‘Harry’ Haft. I haven’t read many graphic novels before as I find the mixture of text and detailed images a little overwhelming – as embarrassing as this is to admit, with children regularly coping with far more complicated… Read more

  • #10: ‘A Man’s World’ by Donald McRae

    #10: ‘A Man’s World’ by Donald McRae

    I LOVE THIS BOOK!! ‘A Man’s World (The Double Life of Emile Griffith)’ by Donald McRae is an utterly absorbing and, at times, distressing account of the life and boxing career of Emile Griffith. The book follows Griffith’s arrival in New York from the Virgin Islands, his beginnings as a boxer, the sad death of… Read more

  • #9: ‘On Boxing’ by Joyce Carol Oates

    #9: ‘On Boxing’ by Joyce Carol Oates

    ‘On Boxing’ is a collection of essays written by Joyce Carol Oates, which has proved pretty influential over how other writers approach boxing as a subject. It’s also the main influence for the choice of name for this blog. This book holds a rare place in the canon due to it being written by a… Read more

  • #8: ‘Boxiana’ by Pierce Egan

    #8: ‘Boxiana’ by Pierce Egan

    Now, I need to say upfront that I haven’t yet finished this book, but I wanted to include it now as I have no idea when I will get around to finishing it. ‘Boxiana, volume 1’ is a collection of journalistic articles written in the early 1800s by Pierce Egan. This book is probably the… Read more