In the Red Corner: A Journey into Cuban Boxing

by John Duncan

Professional boxing has been illegal in Cuba since 1961, so it was no surprise that Felix Savon, Cuba's double Olympic heavyweight champion, had to turn down the $25 million purse offered by Don King to fight Mike Tyson. John Duncan wanted to make the fight happen and so he quit his then job as sports writer for the Guardian and left for Cuba.

His plan was to cut a deal with Cuban boxing authorities to make this fight happen. His account of the year spent in the maelstrom of Havana's heat and bureaucracy is intercut with often poignant portraits of some of Cuba's most famous boxers.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

342 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Duncan
John Duncan, d. 1941 John^^^Duncan: Science
John Duncan (1866 - 1945) John^^^^Duncan: Scottish artist
John 8^ Duncan: Scottish Travels in Western Africa

Reviews

[Thomas Safrazyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. John Duncan is a little bit annoying to be completely honest—many of his observations about Cuba and boxing generally are trite, and he’s a little bit too Guardian Columnist for me—but it is a good book. Very much enjoyed the asides about notable Cuban boxers, very much enjoyed the exploration of boxing as not just a means out of poverty in a professional capacity but as a legitimate athletic and artistic pursuit, and it was good fun reading about the organisation and the bootstrap nature of Cuban boxing. Some great real life characters in here, and was interesting diving into this book now as Cuba has since relaxed its rules regarding professional boxing. Big shout out to Kid Chocolate.

[Panos Vlachopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το ταξίδι ενός Άγγλου- άσχετου με το άθλημα της πυγμαχίας, ειδικά της ερασιτεχνικής- στην κουβανέζικη πυγμαχία. Μία μίξη ενδιαφέροντων ιστορικών στοιχείων και προσωπικών μαρτυριών για την εξέλιξη του αθλήματος στην Κούβα (από τις πρώτες στιγμές μέχρι την γιγάντωσή του στα χρόνια της επανάστασης), με τις προσωπικές ταξιδιωτικές εμπειρίες του δημοσιογράφου.

[Eoghan Whelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for anyone with even a passing interest in either boxing or life in Cuba.

[ei_tc Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

No bad. Enjoyed more, Duncan's musings on hatching a plan with Frank Warren, than his exploits in Havana.

[Leo van Halsema · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books about Cuba. Through the tale of Duncan's sabbatical when he tries to organize the match of the century Savón-Tyson, we get an intimate description of Cuba going through the changes of the end of the century and how Cubans deal with it.

[Gordon Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s years since I read this, so I’m going by memory, but it’s a fantastic book that’s part travelogue and part boxing history of Cuba, through some of its most famous sons. Really atmospheric, thoroughly recommended.