When Boxing Mattered

Book excerpt: When Boxing Mattered is a fact-based history of boxing covering the classic era from 1880 to 1980. Beginning with John L. Sullivan and the bare-knuckle beginnings of the modern sport, the author takes the reader through all the greats, and some of the not-so-greats, who make up the fascinating history of professional boxing. The book utilizes a decade-by-decade approach, focusing on the original eight weight divisions. All-timers Jack Johnson, Stanley Ketchel, Joe Gans, Barbados Joe Walcott, Jack Dempsey, Willie Pep, Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Panama Al Brown, Archie Moore, and Muhammad Ali as well as many, many more are covered in detail, aided by historical photographs. The author also takes on the various sanctioning bodies that govern professional boxing and whom he feels have had a largely negative influence on the Sweet Science.