Title/Author:
“Championship Rounds”
by Bernard Fernandez
Tags:
Boxing, professional, collection, history
Publish date:
April 29, 2020
Length:
220 pages
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
The sport of boxing has had a very
colorful history and depending on what one reads or who he speaks with, the
sport is either dying or has never been better.
One writer who has seen it all in a 35 year career writing about the
sweet science, Bernard Fernandez, has published a compilation of his more
memorial columns and articles in his career.
His writing is especially worthy of
this type of consideration as Fernandez is one of the latest inductees into the
International Boxing Hall of Fame as a writer. This book covers just about
anything one can consider about the sport. If a reader wants to read about
legendary fighters, there are articles on Muhammad Ali, Archie Moore and George
Foreman, for starters. If it is managers
or promoters, there’s an excellent article on Lou Duva for his obituary by
Fernandez. Of course, one can’t avoid
Don King when talking about promoters and his story on “His Hairness” is one of
the better selections in this collection.
Fernandez doesn’t just write about
the well-known boxing figures, he also writes about some more obscure ones as
well. One great example of this is Craig
Bodzianowski. While he may not be a
household name, a reader will become a fan after reading about his success as a
one-legged fighter, as he fought with a prosthesis after losing one leg in an
accident. Fallen heroes such as Tony
Ayala, Jr are also featured with stories about more than just their actions
inside the ring. Even a superfan is
covered as Fernandez also writes a moving obituary on Jack Obermayer, who
attended (by an unofficial count) “3514 fight cards in 400-plus cities spread
across 49 states. Somehow, he never made
it to Alaska.”
Fernandez also wrote several
selections on women’s boxing. While he was one of hundreds who wrote about the
fight between Laila Ali and Jacqui Frazier-Lyde (daughters of Muhammad Ali and
Joe Frazier respectively), Fernandez also introduces the reader to several
outstanding female boxers who should be recognized for their contributions to
the sport. These include Jackie Tonawanda (a women’s boxing pioneer often
dubbed “The Female Ali”), Claressa Shields (first American woman to win a
boxing Olympic gold medal) and Rochelle Gilkin.
This is just a small sample of the
material in this short book that fight fans will want to read in one sitting as
this reviewer did. No matter what level
of interest or what era of boxing a reader wants to read about, the person is
sure to find something of interest in this book. Every selection in this book
is one that is well written, entertaining and educational for even the most knowledgeable
of boxing readers.
Book Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
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