This Boxing Game: A Study in Beautiful Brutality

by John Wight

What is it about boxing that charms and bewitches us? John Wight looks for the answer as he delves into the world of beautiful brutality. Showing that boxing is fundamentally tied to the human condition, he pulls back the curtains of his own masculinity to reveal the insecurities, life experiences and vulnerabilities that first drew him to the sport and have informed his engagement with it over a 20-year period. Whilst relating his experiences in boxing gyms on both sides of the Atlantic, Wight reflects on the sport’s origins, analyzing some of its most memorable moments and characters. Through Wight’s compelling memoirs we encounter some of modern boxing’s most fascinating figures, among them Freddie Roach, Manny Pacquiao, James Toney and Scotland’s IBF super-lightweight Josh Taylor. Straddling the line between nobility and barbarity, boxing operates on a different moral and spiritual plane than other sports. This Boxing Game explores why and how.

288 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2020

About the author

I have lived in different places and worked at too many occupations to mention, including stints as a nightclub doorman, bodyguard, extra, and double for various Hollywood actors. I have also spent many years as a political activist.

My abiding passion is the written word, believing wholeheartedly in the dictum that 'a man who reads lives a thousand lives before he dies'. As a writer I subscribe to the theory that before sitting down to write you must first stand up to live. In the process I have arrived at the conclusion that you don't get what you deserve in life, you get what you get. All we are able to control as a consequence is how we deal with whatever that may be.

My Edinburgh Trilogy of fiction novels - WAR, METROSEXUALS and A BEAUTIFUL DAY - explore different aspects of Scotland's capital. A review of WAR claimed 'he creates a compelling and nightmarish landscape which makes Ian Rankin's Edinburgh look antiseptic and anodyne by comparison.'

You can read the review in full via the following link: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/ne...

I have also written LAND OF OPPORTUNITY and THE GUARDIANS, the first a crime adventure story and the second a political thriller with an international dimension. Meanwhile CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD is a story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, told from both sides. It is my most ambitious novel to date and, I hope, does this tragic and ongoing conflict the justice it deserves.

Finally, my memoir of the years I spent in Hollywood trying and failing to establish a career as a screenwriter - DREAMS THAT DIE - is also available, both in paperback and eBook formats. It pulls no punches in the process of providing an insight into Hollywood - the town and the industry - from the perspective of the bottom feeder. It is a Hollywood story like no other. Believe me, I still bear the scars to prove it, even though I wouldn't change the experience for the world.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! I was a big boxing fan from grade school up through college (80s-90s). I grew up in Easton, PA, at the pinnacle of Larry Holmes’ (the Easton Assassin) career. Probably stopped following boxing late in Holyfield’s career / early Lennox Lewis career. But saw this book at the library and picked it up.

It’s a well written and very interesting book. Opened my eyes to the supporting infrastructure of boxing and really highlighted the need to be clinical and precise over big and strong. Wight showed the passion that up and coming young fighters or even “give me one more chance” boxers have, the internal drive, confidence, and courage to keep going.

As I neared the end of the book, I was excited to start watching boxing again. I put ESPN on to catch a Saturday night fight and happened to catch an incredible bout between Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez. I don’t think there could have been a better bout to personify the passion that Wight tries to convey in this book. I felt like Wight’s sentence, “…but which in truth sees courage, skill, and determination sit side by side with mutual respect and solidarity,” perfectly summarized these two fighters after this bout.

My personal nit-pick issue is that Wight mentions that Holmes is probably the most unappreciated heavy weight champion…and does not give at least 1 or 2 pages to put Holmes’ career in perspective as both a boxer and a gentleman. But that certainly does not take away from this great read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it has everything, from the atmosphere of the gym especially the parts that covered the Outlaw and Wildcard gyms in LA. To the commentary on the fights. This book really gives you a real understanding of boxing and what it means to be a boxer.

[Mickey Hooman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the boxing world. Highly recommend

[scott j kilgour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sept 2020 Review

I could relate to this book easily and the boxers in it too. Harking back to the mega fight days of the 80s with Hagler vs Hearns. I recall listening to Ali being defeated by Spinks in the late 70s with my Dad (I recall being gutted as everyone else was). I've always loved boxing.

John's boxing world was interesting, funny and I could feel the palpable tension when he climbed into the ring to spar for the first time (been there and nearly shat myself too) - when that happens, you know the read is good.

Well done.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it has everything from the atmosphere of the gym especially the parts from the Oatlaw and Wildcard gyms in LA. To the commentary on the fights. It really gives you a good insight into the world of boxing and the boxers.