Customer Reviews

(Forgive me) Four-King Enjoyable Read - By: D. Robinson, 20 Oct 2008
I share the first reviewer's scoring for this book, although not his affection for the brutal end of the sport. Rather, the history of boxing (like that of its poorer cousin, pro wrestliing, & its travelling companion, the mafia) fascinates me for sociological reasons. I agree that the author has omitted to choose his preference, but he's hinted at it by listing them Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran & I'd guess this matches the public perception, with SRL at the head due to his show-biz image & the restin that sequence due to the results of high-profile contests among the four. I personally favour Hagler, who first caught my attention by thrashing the evidently-overrated A. Minter, & Hearns, who upset me late on by beating the quiety capable Dennis Andries. Each line of this book drips with detail, & you could argue that the author is simply thumbing through resultsin Ring magazine except that asides & qualifications confirm that he's "been there". While the switching back & forth between the four angle characters can be hard to keep up with -- & the incidental biogs of supporting characters even more so, so that I had to backtrack -- this amount of detail makes the book more "liveable". The author is also frank about the seamier side of the fight game, suicidally so with some attestations. A good read for anyone who enjoys evocative newsreel of this atmospheric sport. (Dave)