The Glamour of Violence

War, Baby

An astonishing piece of boxing writing, detailing one of the most vicious, controversial and tragic fights of the last thirty years, between Britain's Nigel Benn and American Gerald McClellan.

An acutely intelligent, even-handed analysis of the characters, history and all-round horrible wonders of boxing's brutality and beauty. Solid, straight-talking and as rock’n’roll as sports writing gets

Powerfully taut account of Benn v McClellan brawl captures boxing’s farce and nobility

The boxing book to end all boxing books... compellingly unputdownable

Kevin Mitchell is the boxing and tennis correspondent for the Observer and Guardian. He is the author of Jacob's Beach: The Mob, the Garden and the Golden Age of Boxing, and the co-author of Frank Bruno's autobiography Frank, which won the Best Autobiography category of the British Sports Book Awards.

25th February 1995 
The Dark Destroyer vs the G-Man 
Nigel Benn and Gerald McClennan 
 
Two men with a reputation to defend - a reputation for brutal, unforgiving combat both in the ring and outside it. Ostensibly, they were fighting for a world title and a lot of money, the stuff of professional boxing. But this fight was different. It was a rare collision of wills, and few present had seen anything like it. 
 
After ten of the most gruelling and vicious rounds that the sport of boxing has ever witnessed McClellan finally was defeated. He knelt in his corner on one knee in submission. And he never got up. 
 
This is the story of what brought these two men together on the night of 25th February 1995 and how that night changed them forever. It's a story too about those associated with the promotion of public fist-fighting, who bend morality to suit their needs. It's a story that attempts to unravel the glamour of violence. 
 
William Hill Sports Book of the Year Finalist.

Kevin Mitchell

As punchy as the matches. Wonderfully evocative

A tour de force of reportage and research by an author who really knows his stuff

Mitchell tells a vivid, gripping and very different fairytale of New York with verve and skill

This is Mitchell's natural territory ... he is the connoisseur of both the dark and glorious sides of the ring game

Despite not being a particular fan of the sport of boxing, Kevin Mitchell's compelling knowledge of the personalities involved in the fight game in the 20th century, coupled with a staccato writing style got my attention quickly and kept it to the very last page... Overall a really high recommendation as one of my favourite sports books for some time'

'It's an enthralling, eye-opening read, even for those with no interest in the sport'

Lurid and fascinating tale of the powers behind the scenes in New York, then capital of the boxing world.

The Mob, the Garden, and the Golden Age of Boxing

Gangsters have been around boxing for ever. When boxing took hold in Madison Square Garden just after the First World War, a new wave of criminals moved in: the Mob. It was then that Prohibition gave street legitimacy to organised crime right across America; and by the time Joe Louis arrived to breathe excitement through a country ravaged by the Great Depression, the wise guys were firmly entrenched at ringside. Mike Jacobs, the grizzled boss of boxing at the Garden for nearly twenty years, made the Brown Bomber the biggest sports star in the world, and a string of romantic writers ensured this would be remembered as the fight game's golden age. They mingled with underworld heavies along a strip of New York pavement near the Garden known only as Jacobs Beach. 
 
Kevin Mitchell's gripping book is the unsanitised story of those times and that place, of Rat Pack cool and the fading of the Mob's peculiar glamour, brilliantly told through the eyes of the men who were there.

Jacobs Beach

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Kevin Mitchell

Praise for Jacobs Beach

As punchy as the matches. Wonderfully evocative

A tour de force of reportage and research by an author who really knows his stuff

Mitchell tells a vivid, gripping and very different fairytale of New York with verve and skill

As punchy as the matches. Wonderfully evocative

A tour de force of reportage and research by an author who really knows his stuff

Mitchell tells a vivid, gripping and very different fairytale of New York with verve and skill

As punchy as the matches. Wonderfully evocative

A tour de force of reportage and research by an author who really knows his stuff

Mitchell tells a vivid, gripping and very different fairytale of New York with verve and skill

Books by Kevin Mitchell

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