Overview

"This work brings a fresh perspective to the history of modern prizefighting, a sport which has evolved over several centuries to become one of mankind's most lasting and valued sporting attractions. With his primary focus outside the ropes, the author shows how organizers, publicity agents, and political allies overcame both legal and moral roadblocks to make fisticuffing a lively commercial enterprise. The book begins with the clandestine bare-knuckle fights in eighteenth-century London, and ends with the vibrant, large-scale productions of modern Las Vegas ""fight nights."" Along the way, he explains many of the myths about antiquarian prizefighters, describes the origins of slave fight folklore, and examines the forces that transformed Las Vegas into the world's leading venue for important fights."

Full Product Details

Author:   Arne K. Lang
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.40cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.494kg
ISBN:  

9781476683676

ISBN 10:   1476683670
Pages:   274
Publication Date:   11 June 2020
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Preface      1. Noblemen and Knockabouts      2. Diffusion to America      3. The Queensberry Antiseptic      4. The Watershed Fight      5. The Boomtown Boxing Phenomenon      6. The War and the Walker Law      7. The Golden Era      8. Fighters’ Writers      9. Boxing and Jews      10. Hard Times and Hoaxes      11. Boxing and Blacks      12. Marcianomics      13. Floyd and Sonny      14. Tank Town Boxing in Las Vegas      15. The Doctor Makes a House Call      16. Las Vegas: The Transition Years      17. The Rise and Fall of Ali      18. Parking Lot Extravaganzas      19. The Iron Mike Express      20. Buster Craps Out      21. Mariachi Salsa      22. El Gran Campeón de Culiacan      23. Iron Mike II: Another Vegas Implosion      24. The Golden Boy      25. Lennox the Lion      26. The Wise Old Owl      27. Atomic Salsa      28. The “X” Factor      29. Shifting Sands      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index     

Reviews

recommended - Choice excellent...outstanding...extremely well researched and referenced - East Side Boxing outstanding...recommend[ed] - www.chicagoboxing.com well written - Amatoboxing a great job...excellent...a must-read - www.dieiscast.com a pleasure to sit down with a well-written, painstakingly researched boxing book...I have seldom enjoyed a book on boxing as much as I did this one...written in the erudite fashion one would expect from a sociologist and teacher...written with love...most heartily recommend - www.fightwriter.com a worthy addition...recommended - www.boxingscene.com Throughout my life I have read several boxing history books. I am always seeking more knowledge of this brutal yet beautiful sport aptly called the 'sweet science.' The newly released boxing history book 'Prizefighting : An American History' is best new book of this genre I have read in years. In fact it is among the best I have ever read. Author Arne K. Lang has done an outstanding job as he goes 'outside the box' in bringing to light the trials and tribulations of boxing's humble beginnings and brings us up to speed as the sport now booms in Las Vegas as a multi-million dollar operation. In reviving the sports past history as well reviewing the recent events of the last decades. 'Prizefighting' is well written and the outstanding effort of the author's research is apparent throughout the book. From the early days in jolly old England to the emergence of boxing as a popular sport in the United States, Lang serves up several slices of boxing's rich heritage to the reader. The author brings to life some of boxing's most influential participants like John L. Sullivan, Corbett, Jack Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, Julio Cesar Chavez and more. There are various chapters on the impact of many ethnic groups who have broadened the landscape of the sport. In essence this book is a wonderful walk through spectrum of the sport. I recommend this book to fans young and old. You will not be disappointed. - Jim Amato, www.boxinginlasvegas.com.

“recommended”—Choice “excellent...outstanding...extremely well researched and referenced”—East Side Boxing “outstanding...recommend[ed]”—www.chicagoboxing.com “well written”—Amatoboxing “a great job...excellent...a must-read”—www.dieiscast.com “a pleasure to sit down with a well-written, painstakingly researched boxing book...I have seldom enjoyed a book on boxing as much as I did this one...written in the erudite fashion one would expect from a sociologist and teacher...written with love...most heartily recommend”—www.fightwriter.com “a worthy addition...recommended”—www.boxingscene.com “Throughout my life I have read several boxing history books. I am always seeking more knowledge of this brutal yet beautiful sport aptly called the ‘sweet science.’ The newly released boxing history book ‘Prizefighting : An American History’ is best new book of this genre I have read in years. In fact it is among the best I have ever read. Author Arne K. Lang has done an outstanding job as he goes ‘outside the box’ in bringing to light the trials and tribulations of boxing’s humble beginnings and brings us up to speed as the sport now booms in Las Vegas as a multi-million dollar operation. In reviving the sports past history as well reviewing the recent events of the last decades. ‘Prizefighting’ is well written and the outstanding effort of the author’s research is apparent throughout the book. From the early days in jolly old England to the emergence of boxing as a popular sport in the United States, Lang serves up several slices of boxing’s rich heritage to the reader. The author brings to life some of boxing’s most influential participants like John L. Sullivan, Corbett, Jack Johnson, Dempsey, Louis, Marciano, Ali, Julio Cesar Chavez and more. There are various chapters on the impact of many ethnic groups who have broadened the landscape of the sport. In essence this book is a wonderful walk through spectrum of the sport. I recommend this book to fans young and old. You will not be disappointed.”—Jim Amato, www.boxinginlasvegas.com.

Author Information

The editor-in-chief of The Sweet Science on-line boxing magazine, Arne K. Lang taught sociology at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. A leading authority on the history of boxing and the history of American sports gambling, he lives and writes in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is his fifth book.

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