Sorry I haven't been updating this spot lately but besides being very busy I was also reading an excellent book on boxing. "I Don't Believe It, But It's True-A Year in Boxing" is a book by noted author Thomas Hauser who has among his credits the biography of Muhammad Ali and the classic "Black Lights".
This book is a collection of articles and observations culled by Hauser in 2005. Some of the names profiled are familiar to non-boxing fans, others will make sense only to the knowledgable but all of the stories are interesting.
I'll highlight some passages.
The late world champion Diego Corrales said, "It takes a great athlete to play basketball, baseball or some other professional sport. You have to be more than an athlete to be a fighter."
Young prospect Derric Rossy comes to the sport after having a background in football and he observes, " I thought boxing would be similar to football. But it's not. Football is about emotion and getting in the trenches. Being in shape means quick bursts and then you stop. You're on the field and then you're off and then you're on again. Boxing is more of a thinking game. It's not just about using your muscle, and its always your turn to punch."
Among the many words written by author Budd Schulberg, "Boxing is a mental sport. Think of prizefighting as a chess game of mind and body, and you are a little closer to it than if you compare it to a bloody brawl in an alley."
This from an essay by Katherine Dunn inn the book "Shadow Boxers", "Boxing gyms are more than training facilities. They are sanctuaries in bad neighborhoods for troubled kids and shrines to the traditions of the sport. the gym is home. For many it's the safest place they know. A boxing gym is a place where men are allowed to be kind to one another."
Others profiled are Bernard Hopkins, Don King, announcer Al Bernstein and Showtime honcho Jay Larkin among others. But don't think that this book is just about boxings positives.
The issues of fighter's health, and exploitation are delved into deeply and quite critically. All in all this is an excellent warts and all look at the sport.
This book is a collection of articles and observations culled by Hauser in 2005. Some of the names profiled are familiar to non-boxing fans, others will make sense only to the knowledgable but all of the stories are interesting.
I'll highlight some passages.
The late world champion Diego Corrales said, "It takes a great athlete to play basketball, baseball or some other professional sport. You have to be more than an athlete to be a fighter."
Young prospect Derric Rossy comes to the sport after having a background in football and he observes, " I thought boxing would be similar to football. But it's not. Football is about emotion and getting in the trenches. Being in shape means quick bursts and then you stop. You're on the field and then you're off and then you're on again. Boxing is more of a thinking game. It's not just about using your muscle, and its always your turn to punch."
Among the many words written by author Budd Schulberg, "Boxing is a mental sport. Think of prizefighting as a chess game of mind and body, and you are a little closer to it than if you compare it to a bloody brawl in an alley."
This from an essay by Katherine Dunn inn the book "Shadow Boxers", "Boxing gyms are more than training facilities. They are sanctuaries in bad neighborhoods for troubled kids and shrines to the traditions of the sport. the gym is home. For many it's the safest place they know. A boxing gym is a place where men are allowed to be kind to one another."
Others profiled are Bernard Hopkins, Don King, announcer Al Bernstein and Showtime honcho Jay Larkin among others. But don't think that this book is just about boxings positives.
The issues of fighter's health, and exploitation are delved into deeply and quite critically. All in all this is an excellent warts and all look at the sport.
