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Unlicensed: Random Notes from Boxing's Underbelly
Unlicensed fighting is the raw flipside of boxing. A few men make what they call easy money, but for many the unlicensed game becomes a nightmare of pain and fear. This book shares the lives and times of these men, from John Barnwell, a veteran of 30 years of brutal contests around the world, to the undefeated Billy Heaney, the street-fighting champion called "The Galway Bull."
192 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
8 people want to read
About the author
Jon Hotten
22 books5 followersEnglish author, sport and music journalist. Contributor to Kerrang! magazine (1987–92) and Classic Rock Magazine, author of cricket blog The Old Batsman.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 18, 2009
Jon Hotten takes you through a grimy blood soaked journey accounting his sight into the dark stars of unlicensed boxing. Fore a mere 191 pages, this book manages to guide you through the history, first hand accounts and the blood spilled pride from this underground world. A true insight into this raw flipside of boxing. A read that will keep you gripped whether you are a boxing fan or not. Some of the graphic depictions explore raw and brutal violence which may disturb some readers (barefist fighting described vividly does not paint a pretty picture). A book that won't let you leave it alone until it's had it's say. A truly personal insight from an intellectual stance. Definetly worth a read.
November 6, 2017
An underrated gem that could go toe to toe with any boxing book ever written.
It’s been said boxing is a world of bright lights and long shadows – this is a book that shines a light on the shadows.
Away from the bright city lights and the TV and media, there is another side of boxing, far less celebrated but just as compelling. It’s a sweat and sawdust world of doorman and labourers, ex fighters and could’ve- beens, of mouldy gyms hiding under dilapidated pubs and make- shift rings in abandoned warehouses; of grubby London streets and broken down vans, cash- in- hand deals and no questions asked. A world populated by men with names like ‘Steve the Hammer’, Donny ‘The Bull’ Adams, and ‘Dennis the Dogman’. In the hands of any other writer it would be a bleak and barren wilderness but Hotten finds the poetry in all of it and has a gift for dialogue that renders the people in this book as vivid and colourful as characters from a Dickens novel. Bob Dylan once said that to live outside the law you have to be honest, and there is an unvarnished honesty about the men of this illicit, lawless world that is endearing and child-like. You want the best for them and can’t help admiring the purity of their fighting spirit: the odds may be stacked against them but at least they’re determined to go down swinging. The brief foray into professional boxing speaks volumes. Hotten ends up covering a night of sporting infamy when under the bright lights of Vegas a dark vengeance overwhelmed Mike Tyson, resulting in a scene as chaotic and shambolic as any car park brawl. It’s funny, melancholic, and written with real swagger and style. One to enjoy again and again.
It’s been said boxing is a world of bright lights and long shadows – this is a book that shines a light on the shadows.
Away from the bright city lights and the TV and media, there is another side of boxing, far less celebrated but just as compelling. It’s a sweat and sawdust world of doorman and labourers, ex fighters and could’ve- beens, of mouldy gyms hiding under dilapidated pubs and make- shift rings in abandoned warehouses; of grubby London streets and broken down vans, cash- in- hand deals and no questions asked. A world populated by men with names like ‘Steve the Hammer’, Donny ‘The Bull’ Adams, and ‘Dennis the Dogman’. In the hands of any other writer it would be a bleak and barren wilderness but Hotten finds the poetry in all of it and has a gift for dialogue that renders the people in this book as vivid and colourful as characters from a Dickens novel. Bob Dylan once said that to live outside the law you have to be honest, and there is an unvarnished honesty about the men of this illicit, lawless world that is endearing and child-like. You want the best for them and can’t help admiring the purity of their fighting spirit: the odds may be stacked against them but at least they’re determined to go down swinging. The brief foray into professional boxing speaks volumes. Hotten ends up covering a night of sporting infamy when under the bright lights of Vegas a dark vengeance overwhelmed Mike Tyson, resulting in a scene as chaotic and shambolic as any car park brawl. It’s funny, melancholic, and written with real swagger and style. One to enjoy again and again.
October 7, 2021
HBO commentator Larry Merchant is famous for quipping (ad nauseum) that pro boxing is the Red Light District of sports. Fair enough, but if pro boxing is as shady as it gets, what does that make underground gloveless fights?
"Unlicensed" is the story of a journalist who sets out to probe that question, and ends up being surprised by the answer. His journey takes him from the rowhouses and fuggy gyms of working-class England all the way to the gaudy palace casinos of Vegas and Atlantic City. Along the way he meets an intriguing cast of characters, some as sleazy as one would expect, others far more noble than one might think they'd find when seeking out interviews with blokes who punch men for peanuts in dark rooms.
This is the second book by author Jon Hotten I've read, after "Years of the Locusts," about the tragic downfall of ex-NFL player Tim Anderson, and, like that book, "Unlicensed" proves to be an engrossing bit of straightforward journalism, laced with a small dose of layman's sociology. The result is a mostly fascinating, at times ruminative look at a violent, harsh world, where greed predictably thrives but somehow, inexplicably, great human virtues are also not exactly wanting. Recommended.
"Unlicensed" is the story of a journalist who sets out to probe that question, and ends up being surprised by the answer. His journey takes him from the rowhouses and fuggy gyms of working-class England all the way to the gaudy palace casinos of Vegas and Atlantic City. Along the way he meets an intriguing cast of characters, some as sleazy as one would expect, others far more noble than one might think they'd find when seeking out interviews with blokes who punch men for peanuts in dark rooms.
This is the second book by author Jon Hotten I've read, after "Years of the Locusts," about the tragic downfall of ex-NFL player Tim Anderson, and, like that book, "Unlicensed" proves to be an engrossing bit of straightforward journalism, laced with a small dose of layman's sociology. The result is a mostly fascinating, at times ruminative look at a violent, harsh world, where greed predictably thrives but somehow, inexplicably, great human virtues are also not exactly wanting. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews