A Year at the Fights

by Thomas Hauser

Overview

Acclaimed boxing writer Thomas Hauser admires the sweet science, but he also recognizes and confronts its problems. His essays here portray the sport in all its glory and gore, its grace and disgrace.

Hauser tracks the effects of big money on the sport, exposes corruption at the highest levels, and examines the emotional links between the September 11 attack on America and the way we experience the violence of boxing. He follows the biggest fighters and the most important fights through 2001 into the early months of 2002. He also depicts the broadcasters, government regulators, and others-the people behind the scenes who shape boxing without ever taking a punch. We meet fighters such as Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, and Bernard Hopkins, and non-combatants like ringside physician Margaret Goodman, trainer Eddie Futch, and the powers that be at HBO.

Praise for Thomas Hauser’s writing about professional boxing:

New York Times: Incomparable and indispensable.
Washington Post: Brilliantly crafted.
New York Daily News:The best writing so far on the business of boxing.
Boxing Collectors’ News: A. J. Liebling’s current-day successor.
Ring Magazine: No one has ever done it better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557287335
Publisher:	University of Arkansas Press
Publication date:	07/01/2002
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Thomas Hauser is the author of twenty-eight books, including Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, the definitive biography of the most famous man on earth. The University of Arkansas Press reissued his first book on boxing, The Black Lights, in 2000 and published A Beautiful Sickness: Reflections on the Sweet Science in 2001. Hauser's novel, Finding the Princess, was published by the University of Arkansas Press in 2000.

Table of Contents

	Author's Note	xi
Round 1	Fights and Fighters
	Sir Henry Cooper	3
	In Search of Naseem Hamed	9
	Illusion, Reality, and Naseem Hamed	13
	Anatomy of a Tragedy	22
	Bernard Hopkins--Y4145	24
	Bernard Hopkins and the Puerto Rican Flag	32
	Bernard Hopkins and Lou DiBella	35
	Bernard Hopkins: Craftsman at Work	40
	Francisco Bojado: The Young Phenom Stumbles	44
	Rahman-Lewis II: The Countdown Begins	48
	Guilty Pleasures: The Rematch, Marc Ratner, and Las Vegas	51
	Marketing Shane Mosley	60
	Mosley-Forrest: A Good Fight Becomes a Great One	65
Round 2	Non-Combatants
	Dr. Margaret Goodman	73
	Gil Clancy	78
	Hugh McIlvanney	81
	Jimmy Lennon Jr.	85
	Mr. Futch	88
Round 3	A Case Study
	At the Hammerstein Ballroom	93
	Explaining the Heavyweights	99
	Don King and Tony Soprano	106
	The Soap Opera Continues	110
	The Next Episode	115
	More Mom	120
	Heavyweight Trial Update	129
	Cedarbaum Rules	134
Round 4	The New York State Athletic Commission
	A Scandalous Tragedy	143
	Incompetence, Corruption, and Gov. George Pataki	152
	Fighters at Risk	155
	The NYSAC: "They Just Don't Care"	160
	Testimony	166
	The "New" New York State Athletic Commission	171
Round 5	Issues and Answers
	Ghosts of Manila	179
	Fathers and Sons	185
	What's Going On at HBO?	190
	Seth Abraham and Madison Square Garden	197
	Enough Already!	202
	Bill Cayton Belongs in the Hall of Fame	205
	No More Sanctioning Fees?	209
	The Bigot	213
	More on Hasim Rahman's "Gay" Comment	216
	Reschedule the Fight	219
	Madison Square Garden: September 15, 2001	221
	Madison Square Garden: September 29, 2001	223
	September 11, 2001	224
	Ali As Diplomat: "No! No! No! Don't"	227
	The Handshake	229
	Lewis-Tyson: Cancel the Fight	232
	Nevada Says "No" to Mike Tyson	235
Round 6	Curiosities
	Hello, Joe: A Letter To Joe Louis	245
	Reader Mail	249
	Insights and Nuggets	252
	The King of Diamonds	256
	The Small Promoter	258
	The New Mike Tyson	260
	Everlast: The Choice of Champions	263
	Overheard at Gallagher's	267
	A Prayer from Naseem	269
	George Foreman on Christmas	271