Unlicensed: Random Notes from Boxing's Underbelly - Softcover

Hotten, Jon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1840182806 ISBN 13: 9781840182804

Publisher: Mainstream Publishing, 1999

Synopsis

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."

About this title

Review

Away from the glamour and hype of the professional ring, there lies a range of activity categorised under the banner of unlicensed boxing. This is the world which Jon Hotten's accounts explore, along with the odd glance sideways to the licensed game.

As the murky world of shady gyms, pubs and warehouses--and even shadier characters--becomes clearer, lines of distinction between the various forms of the fight game become more and more blurred. The contradiction is perfectly illustrated; organised unlicensed boxing quickly strays into street violence and psychopathy. Aspects of the two not only overlap but seem interwoven; one violent criminal described also holds regard as something of a noble fighting man. Aside from this dark background, it is the characters involved who make the accounts come to life. From the "Dogman", so-named after an organised bout with a pit-bullterrier, to "The Galway Bull" and the astonishing veteran and part-time crooner, John Barnwell, each figure introduced from the pugilistic underground is accompanied by a strangely gripping tale, making the whole narrative fascinating.

By conveying the human side of his experiences of these often somehow seemingly virtuous men, Hotten creates a fine perspective. The absence of any true border between his setting and that of the professional realm of Mike Tyson and promoter Don King is crystal clear. Unlicensed the pro game may not be, but it leaves a taste certainly no less unappetising than these stories from the other side. --Trevor Crowe

Book Description

* The first book ever published on the bizarre and secretive world of unlicensed fighting. * The book is the result of 18 months of investigative research with the men - and women - who take part.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1840182806
• ISBN 13: 9781840182804
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192