"While the
other essays here, which range from analysis of Floyd Mayweather's fight with
Conor McGregor to an examination of boxing’s 'Black Code,' are must-reads in
their own right, it’s the tale of Farrell’s relationship with Green as manager
long after the New Yorker’s 1986 bout with Mike Tyson and his infamous street
fight with 'Iron Mike' that’s the star of the show…. Like his previous book [Low(life):
A Memoir of Jazz, Fight-Fixing, and the Mob], he removes the romance of the
boxing business and gives it to readers straight, whether we want it or not."-The Ring
"Charles Farrell is that rare insider who can write as beautifully about the ugly side of sport as he can about boxing itself. No-nonsense honesty combined with wonderful turns of phrase."—All Sports Book Reviews
“Wow. A story everyone in the fight game can relate to, and a story everyone who thinks they know the fight game should read. This is a real dive into the dreams, hopes, insanity, and business of the Wild West of all professional sports—boxing!”—John Lepak, COO, KRONK
“Some
people know the fight game, and some people know how to write. Charles Farrell
is one of the only people in America who truly knows both. That's why he's my
favorite boxing writer. Read this book and he'll be yours, too.”—Hamilton
Nolan, writer for The Guardian and author of The Hammer: Power,
Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor
“Mitch ‘Blood’ Green is a legend in the streets of New York City, one whose roller-coaster life is referenced so often in hip-hop that some contemporary fans might mistakenly assume it was he, not Mike Tyson, who reigned as heavyweight champion.”—Todd D. Snyder, author of Beatboxing: How Hip-Hop Changed the Fight Game and Bundini: Don't Believe the Hype
"With his trademark insider acuity, unsentimental compassion, and faultless eye and ear, Charles Farrell gives us an indelible portrait of one of boxing's great characters and a definitive account of what happens when talent runs afoul of the way things work in the world."—Carlo Rotella, contributor to The New York Times Magazine and author of Cut Time: An Education at the Fights
“Charles Farrell is certainly, without question, among the greatest boxing writers of all time— not merely because of his unique and unmatched experience in the dark underbelly of boxing, but because of his intellect, his craft (he is an artist, first) and his honesty. Charles is not always right—no one is, not about boxing—but he is often brilliant, and always unflinchingly honest about the essentials, the essence. He educates and elucidates and pulls back the curtain on a world slightly more real than reality. In the litmus test for a great writer, I’m smarter, wiser, better, for having read him.“—Sam Sheridan, film producer and author of A Fighter's Heart and The Fighter's Mind
“On
boxing, Charles Farrell is the best writer we have. I learned this many moons
ago when I read my first Farrell piece and he has only gotten better. So what’s
the secret sauce? Near as I can figure: (a) command of the subject, (b) lucid
prose, (c) unique insights into an opaque and exploitive world, a world mos
