Straight Writes and Jabs

About

Commenting on Thomas Hauser’s annual collections of articles on boxing, Ring Magazine declared, “What makes Hauser’s stories so extraordinary is that the man many consider ‘The Dean of Boxing Writers’ refuses to allow his admiration for the sport to blind him to its dark side. His annual volumes on boxing have become required reading for hardcore and casual fans alike.”

Straight Writes and Jabs is the latest in the popular series. It brings readers into the dressing room with elite champions in the moments before some of 2012’s biggest fights. Hauser’s award-winning investigative journalism is on display in a groundbreaking exposé of the use of performance-enhancing drugs. There’s a look back in time at the incomparable Archie Moore and much more.

Author

Thomas Hauser is the author of forty-five 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

“For the last few years Booklist has heaped praise on Hauser’s annual look back at the previous year in boxing. This year is no different. Why is Hauser one of the best sports journalists working today? He is an unashamed lover of boxing but never hesitates in exposing its flaws.In this overview of 2012, he does some of his best work… Wonderful writing from a world-class journalist.”
—Booklist

Content

Fights and Fighters
Sergio Martinez vs. Matthew Macklin: Good Fighters, Good Fight
Hopkins-Dawson II: The Champion
Pacquiao-Bradley in Perspective
Martinez-Chavez: Peaks and Valleys
Paulie Malignaggi Won’t Go Away
Miguel Cotto Grows Old at Thirty-Two
The End of the Pacquiao Era
Archie Moore Revisited

Curiosities
Lou DiBella on Epix
Evander Holyfield on the Night Before Fighting Mike Tyson
My 86-Year-Old Mother Meets . . .”
Boxing Personalities Remember “My Greatest Moment in Another Sport”
Fistic Nuggets
A Letter from Emanuel Steward

Issues and Answers
The PED Mess
It’s Sixty Seconds Between Rounds, Not Sixty-Seven
Bad Judging: A Case Study
Klitschko-Chisora: Sucker Slap
Chad Dawson’s KO by
Fistic Notes
Ray Mancini for Real
Joe Gans Comes to Life
Ray Arcel: Behind the Façade
The Rise and Fall of Alexis Arguello
The End of College Boxing
Literary Notes
In Memoriam
Remembering Joe Frazier