13 November 2014
£12.99
Paperback
New Holland Publishers
The Greatest Fights That Never Were
Matthew Bazell
Sports fans fondly recall the greatest boxing matches of all time but an obsessive conversation among fight fans will also focus on those bouts that ‘should have been’, but for a variety of reasons never happened.
In The Greatest Fights That Never Were, the author talks about the unique culture of professional boxing where
corruption, fear, racism, and even friendship, prevented many great fights from ever happening. The book looks at the lost match-ups over the years and the careers of some of the featured fighters: Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Lennox Lewis and Tim Witherspoon, who was denied a showdown with ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson by promoter Don King, right up to the much anticipated Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquaio bout – the biggest fight in history not to happen.
The Greatest Fights That Never Were will appeal to anybody who enjoys pondering the ‘what if….’ It’s not just a book for boxing fans.
Born in 1977, Matthew Bazell is a London-based journalist and author (Invasion and Deportation [2000], Theatre of
Silence: The Lost Soul of Football [2008]. A lifelong follower of Arsenal, his second team are the mighty Darlington! A keen boxing historian and general sports enthusiast, Matthew has also appeared on ESPN and various sports programmes as commentator.