Writers on Boxing

Reading List

  • #103: ‘Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye: 50 years in boxing’ by J. Russell Peltz

    #103: ‘Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye: 50 years in boxing’ by J. Russell Peltz

    Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye is J. Russell Peltz’s look back at his 50-year career as a boxing promoter and matchmaker. Peltz took his first steps as a promoter in 1969, at the now legendary Blue Horizon in north Philadelphia. At the age of 22 this was, and still would be, a very bold Read more

  • #102: ‘The Grass Arena’ by John Healy

    #102: ‘The Grass Arena’ by John Healy

    The Grass Arena is the, at times, harrowing autobiography of John Healy, recounting his years living homeless with a severe alcohol addiction. I have been wanting to read this book for a few years now, after watching the documentary about Healy’s life, Barbaric Genius. I had intended it to be a break from reading solely Read more

  • #101: ‘Boxer Handsome’ by Anna Whitwham

    #101: ‘Boxer Handsome’ by Anna Whitwham

    Boxer Handsome is Anna Whitwham’s debut novel and was published by Vintage in 2014. Whitwham’s grandfather was an amateur featherweight at the Crown and Manor Boy’s Club in Hoxton, east London, and his involvement with the sport was, no doubt, the seed of her own interest in boxing. The novel revolves around two protagonists: Bobby, Read more

  • #100: ‘The 12 Greatest Rounds of Boxing: The untold stories’ by Ferdie Pacheco

    #100: ‘The 12 Greatest Rounds of Boxing: The untold stories’ by Ferdie Pacheco

    ‘The 12 Greatest Rounds of Boxing’ is Ferdie Pacheco’s attempt to list just that, 12 single rounds of boxing which he believes meet the following criteria: 1) Rounds that had a significant, lasting effect on the rules of boxing2) Rounds that affected a fighter’s career3) Rounds of international importance beyond their boxing significance4) Rounds in Read more

  • #99: ‘Kill The Body, The Head Will Fall’ by Rene Denfeld

    #99: ‘Kill The Body, The Head Will Fall’ by Rene Denfeld

    ‘Kill The Body, The Head Will Fall: A closer look at women, violence, and aggression’ was written by Rene Denfeld, and published by Vintage in 1997. What a pleasant surprise this book turned out to be! I completely expected it to be a personal story about the author’s experiences as an amateur boxer (which I Read more

  • #98: ‘Fighting Men of London: Voices From Inside The Ropes’ by Alex Daley

    #98: ‘Fighting Men of London: Voices From Inside The Ropes’ by Alex Daley

    ‘Fighting Men of London’ is the result of a project by Alex Daley, who realised that time was running out if anyone was going to record the career experiences and life stories of boxers from London whose professional careers spanned the 1940s and 50s. The book was published in 2014 by Pitch Publishing and contains Read more