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10th Round
Mickey Brannigan was once a name that echoed under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden-a world champion who fought like he had nothing to lose. But years of punishment, bad choices, and silence from the ones who mattered most left him a ghost of sick, broke, and estranged from his only son.
When Mickey stumbles into the life of Tyrell Banks, a hungry young fighter with raw talent and a storm of his own to survive, he sees more than a protégé-he sees a second chance. Training Tyrell reignites the fire Mickey thought was gone forever, forcing him to confront not only the brutality of the sport but the wreckage of his past.
As Tyrell's rise collides with Mickey's failing health, the old fighter is pushed into the most important round of his life-not in the ring, but at home, face-to-face with the son he abandoned. 10th Round is a story about fathers and sons, about the blows that scar outside the ropes, and about how sometimes the hardest fight is the one for forgiveness.
When Mickey stumbles into the life of Tyrell Banks, a hungry young fighter with raw talent and a storm of his own to survive, he sees more than a protégé-he sees a second chance. Training Tyrell reignites the fire Mickey thought was gone forever, forcing him to confront not only the brutality of the sport but the wreckage of his past.
As Tyrell's rise collides with Mickey's failing health, the old fighter is pushed into the most important round of his life-not in the ring, but at home, face-to-face with the son he abandoned. 10th Round is a story about fathers and sons, about the blows that scar outside the ropes, and about how sometimes the hardest fight is the one for forgiveness.
142 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 10, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 11, 2026
While I don’t read many fictional stories with a sports theme, the description of this short book by Eric J. Polli intrigued me. It’s the story of Mickey Brannigan, a former middleweight boxing champion whose life has been broken by several bad decisions after his time in the ring was over. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he tries to make peace with his estranged son Danny. He is also making one last entry into the sport - not by fighting, but by training a young, up and coming fighter named Tyrell Banks.
The story is very inspiring, no matter if the reader is reading it through the eyes of Mickey, Danny or Tyrell. Polli does an excellent job of developing all three of these characters fairly quickly without needing to go into extraneous information or with long side stories to explain their characteristics. This is the biggest strength of the book, along with a good fast paced story.
If a reader wants to read it as a sports story more than as a story about the main characters, then it’s quite good for that as well. While the reader will get some bits and pieces of Mickey’s fights through flashbacks, the best writing about the sport is during Tyrell’s training sessions, both before and after Mickey becomes his trainer.
Not only is the story great, but so is the ending for all three of these characters. It’s a short, quick read that readers of both boxing and inspiring stories will enjoy.
I wish to thank the author for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
The story is very inspiring, no matter if the reader is reading it through the eyes of Mickey, Danny or Tyrell. Polli does an excellent job of developing all three of these characters fairly quickly without needing to go into extraneous information or with long side stories to explain their characteristics. This is the biggest strength of the book, along with a good fast paced story.
If a reader wants to read it as a sports story more than as a story about the main characters, then it’s quite good for that as well. While the reader will get some bits and pieces of Mickey’s fights through flashbacks, the best writing about the sport is during Tyrell’s training sessions, both before and after Mickey becomes his trainer.
Not only is the story great, but so is the ending for all three of these characters. It’s a short, quick read that readers of both boxing and inspiring stories will enjoy.
I wish to thank the author for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
January 19, 2026
Hi Eric, 10th Round really stayed with me. I loved how the boxing backdrop gave way to a deeply human story about regret, redemption, and fathers and sons. Mickey’s journey felt raw, honest, and earned quietly powerful right through the final round.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews