If you’ve hung out here for any length of time, you know I have more than a casual interest in the sport of boxing. In fact, I’ve written several short stories featuring the sport (you can read them here.) Yes, boxing is full of toxic masculinity, casual racism and violence, to which I say, “what’s your point?” It is the very essence of drama.
But as much as I enjoy the sport, it doesn’t begin to approach the love my old friend and stand-up comic friend Lou Joshua Eisen has. We’ve talked prize fighting for almost 40 years (including a memorable night watching Cooney-Foreman.) He’s finally written a book worthy of his obsession, and even though it doesn’t fit what we usually talk about here, I wanted you all to know about it.
Okay, Eisen. What should people know about you?
I was born and raised on December 1st, 1960 in Toronto, Canada, where I reside today with my wife Cynthia. I fell in love with boxing when I first saw Muhammad Ali on local television to promote his upcoming fight with Canada’s George Chuvalo on March 29, 1966. I became obsessed with boxing at that moment. My mother had died only one month earlier and boxing kept my mind occupied. It was at that point that I started obsessively watching boxing on TV. I also started collecting boxing books, magazines, and newspaper articles, most of which, I still have today. Boxing was really my first love.
What’s the book about?
My book is entitled, BOXING’S GREATEST CONTROVERSIES – BLUNDERS, BLOOD FEUDS AND MOB CORRUPTION. My book covers eleven controversial fights from different eras in boxing, starting in 1772, when the first fixed fight that can be unequivocally verified occurred in England, and ending with the second Tyson-Holyfield fight in June of 1997.
We both love boxing, flawed as it is. Why do you think that is?
Boxing appeals to me primarily because the prize ring is really the only bastion of honesty that I know of. There is no artifice about two warriors in the ring facing each other with only the skills God gave them, to succeed. Boxing is great not because it gives a fighter a chance to be as good as his/her opponent but, because it gives them a chance to be better.
We have spent a lot of time over the years BSing, and I don’t know many people who have written, spoken, and been interviewed about the sport as much as you. Why write the book now?
The roots of the book emanate from 60 years of watching thousands of fights on television, many of them controversial. I wrote the book because much of what has previously been written about some of these fights is incorrect, deliberately or otherwise. I wanted to find out the real reason these fights ended up being so controversial and a source of arguments.
What’s your favorite story in the book?
That’s a tough question. My favorite story in the book may very well be the chapter on the Roberto Duran-Ken Buchanan fight because I watched it on TV with my cousin Barbara who was from Glasgow, Scotland and the way it ended was outrageous. We were both angry and yelling at the TV!
Where can folks learn more about your book?
You can learn more about my book and where to purchase it at amazon.com, dundurn.com and at barnesandnoble.com. They can also follow and subscribe to my substack at https://loue.substack.com/
Whether your tastes run to historical fiction or award-winning urban fantasy, check out all my work on my Amazon Author Page, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter.
