Boxing Day: The Fight That Changed the World

by Jeff Wells

Jack Johnson was one of the greatest black fighters in the history of boxing. This is an account of an extraordinary fight, some extraordinary men, and an extraordinary time in Australia's social history.

245 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Jeff^^^^Wells

Jeff Wells is an Australian newspaperman who has also worked in the United States, Canada, and Hong Kong. He has been described as the "doyen of Australian sports columnists." He is the author of the critically acclaimed sports history Boxing Day which tells the story of how Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion. Much of Dylan's Pilgrim is drawn from his own experiences as a traveller and member of the Australian Bob Dylan Society in the sixties. He is currently writing a novel about urban violence in Australia.

Reviews

[Jesse Fink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous book, a sports classic, deserving of a much bigger readership than Australia. Jeff Wells is a sportswriter from Australia with a great turn of phrase and real passion for boxing.

[Daniel Headifen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read! Bit long on some of the supporting characters like Boshter Bill at the expense of Johnson and Burns but understand it is as a point of difference from other books on this topic. Also the famous "threw the fight" in Cuba story has been disproved. The book was written at a time when films of that weren't as forth coming but shows that Johnson's arm only flashes over his head once he has fallen. Plus I still don't rate the fighting style of any of them from this era. Johnson's was better, but it wasn't, in my opinion, till Jack Dempsey arrived with his brutal continual punching that modern boxing reached the heavyweights. Not that Dempsey had a great style - he could be outboxed. He just brought a ruthless streak.