And the New . . .

About

Booklist says that Thomas Hauser is “the most respected boxing journalist working today and perhaps the best ever.” Robert Lipsyte calls him “the best boxing writer of our time.”

And the New… is the latest compilation of Hauser’s classic writing. It brings readers into the dressing room with fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez in the moments before the year’s biggest fights. Hauser’s award-winning investigative journalism exposes the inner workings of HBO Sports and the economic realities that drive boxing today. There’s a look back in time at the incomparable Henry Armstrong, and much more.

Author

Thomas Hauser is the author of forty-three books. His first work, Missing, was made into an Academy Award–winning film. He later authored Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, the definitive biography of the most famous fighter ever. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for Career Excellence in Boxing Journalism.

Review

“If there’s an award for boxing journalism Hauser hasn’t won, it’s probably not worth winning. Hauser has covered the sport for more than 30 years, and, of course, he reports on the fights themselves, but, like the late, great Jim Murray, he realizes the people are the story. So he’ll provide the blow-by-blow, but never without context. For example, in this latest review of a year in boxing—drawn from blog posts and other online coverage—he reports on an October 2011 fight in which Sergio Martínez defended his middleweight title against Darren Baker. Martínez has been “Fighter of the Year,” so, for Hauser, the real story was Martínez’ inability to break into the big money of pay-per-view cable. Why? Connections, of course. Throughout his writings, Hauser champions the deserving fighters who get shut out because they lack support in the right places. In his annual reviews, he also always profiles a past great. This time it’s Henry Armstrong, who fought in the late thirties and early forties and simultaneously held three titles. For years, Hauser has supplied the best of boxing journalism, and here he’s done it again.”
—Wes Lukowsky, Booklist, Sept. 1 2012

Contents

Fights and Fighters
Henry Armstrong Revisited
Martinez-Dzinziruk: “Maravilla” Was Marvelous
Shane Mosley’s Odyssey
Manny Pacquiao: The Face of Boxing
Pacquiao-Mosley: The Event
Micky Ward: “The Fighter”
Rodriguez-Wolak: A Great Fight
A Note on the Refereeing in Agbeko-Mares
Mayweather-Ortiz: Sucker Punch
Martinez-Barker: A Night at the Office Gets Complicated
Nonito Donaire Hits a Speed Bump
Pacquiao-Marquez III: The Rivals
Pacquiao-Marquez III: Postscript
Cotto-Margarito II: This Fight Is About Honor
Cotto-Margarito II: The Hardest Thing to Do in Boxing
Cotto-Margarito II: The Moment of Truth

Curiosities
My 85-Year-Old Mother Meets Don Elbaum
“My Greatest Moment in Another Sport”
Fistic Nuggets
Don King at Philippe Chow

Issues and Answers
How HBO Lost Manny Pacquiao
What HBO Should Do Now
Pacquiao-Mosley: The Stakes Involved
Boxing: Pure vs. Phony
Literary Notes
Fistic Notes
Top Rank, Innovation, and Boxing
Cotto-Margarito II and the New York State Athletic Commission
In Memoriam
Billy Costello (1956–2011)
Elvis (and Ali)