Sporting Blood: Tales from the Dark Side of Boxing - 2nd Edition by Carlos Acevedo (Paperback)

About the Book

Sporting Blood is the highly-anticipated debut from multiple-award-winning boxing journalist, Carlos Acevedo.

Book Synopsis

"Acevedo is one of the most talented boxing writers working today and this is a book in the lineage--and spirit--of some of the great boxing compendia, McIlvanney on Boxing, or A. J. Liebling's round-ups."--Electric Literature

Boxing has one of the richest literary traditions in sports. From A. J.
Liebling to Donald McRae, the sweet science has consistently inspired great
writing. The work of Carlos Acevedo stands firmly in that distinguished
tradition.

In this expanded edition of Sporting Blood, Acevedo adds two new masterful
essays--one about the murder of Stanley Ketchel, the other about the gangland
slaying of Battling Siki--to those that made his debut collection an instant
classic. Other highlights include a moving meditation on Muhammad Ali; a
penetrating look at the enigmatic Charles "Sonny" Liston; and a vivid profile
of Mike Tyson, which brilliantly conjures the Boy King's late 1980s reign of
terror. Acevedo also offers many other unforgettable tales from boxing's dark
side, featuring Jack Johnson, Joe Frazier, Roberto Duran, Aaron Pryor, Jake
LaMotta, and more.

Sporting Blood is ultimately a poetic throwback, an uncanny book that evokes journalism's golden age and places Acevedo not only among the best sportswriters of this generation, but of any other as well.

Contents

Foreword: Thomas Hauser

1: A Ghost Orbiting Forever: Muhammad Ali 1942-2016

2: Fugitive Days: Jack Johnson in Exile

3: The Last Goodbye: Remembering the Rivalry Between Roberto Durán and Esteban De Jesús

4: Right on for the Darkness: On Aaron Pryor 1955-2016

5: The Catastrophist: The Troubled World of Don Jordan

6: Dark Sun: Remembering Joe Frazier

7: Strange Days: The Johnny Saxton Story

8: The Hurting Kind: Wilfredo Gomez vs. Lupe Pintor

9: Yesterday Will Make You Cry: The Short, Tragic Career of Davey Moore

10: Under Saturn: Johnny Tapia 1967-2012

11: Total Everything Now: Mike Tyson, 1988

12: The Windfall Factor: The Night Bert Cooper Almost Beat Evander Holyfield for the Heavyweight Title

13: Red Arrow: The Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston

14: The Dark Corner: The Furious Life of Jake LaMotta

15: A Young Old Man: The Tragic Life of Ad Wolgast

16: The Lightning Within: Tony Ayala, Jr.

17: No Exit: Eddie Machen

18: One Long Season in Hell: On Michael Dokes

19: Lightning Express: The Quick Rise and Even Quicker Fall of Al Singer

20: Live Forward, Learned Backward: Mike Quarry and the "Quarry Curse"

21: Leftover Life to Kill: Who Will Remember Carmelo Negron?

22. The Busy World: The Murder of Stanley Ketchel

23. Too Far from Home: Battling Siki Comes to America

Review Quotes

"This book may cement [Acevedo's] status as one of today's best boxing journalists."-Kirkus Reviews

"This is powerful writing. Enjoy it."--Thomas Hauser, author of Ali: A Life, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominee

"Carlos Acevedo is the most original, perceptive, and best new writer in boxing. Sporting Blood is a vivid and gripping collection."--Donald McRae, writer for The Guardian and author of Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing

"Acevedo is a sensationally good writer with some brilliantly memorable turns of phrase. Each essay packs a mighty punch and resonated with me long after I read it. It is a great collection to dip in and out of, to take your time over, to reread and savour the writing and the imagery."--All Sports Books Reviews

"Carlos Acevedo's book of essays...finds a balance between the familiar and the less so for a read that goes by quickly and feels over too soon. Acevedo... gets to show off the range of his talent in this collection, applying varying stylistic flourishes to each subject approached." --Boxing Scene

"Carlos Acevedo understands the sweet science. Just as a DJ knows how to keep the dance floor populated with bodies, Acevedo knows how to string words together to keep a reader turning pages deep into the night...Like a forensic psychologist profiling a deep psychological mystery, Acevedo explores the psyches of each boxer in these essays with deftness and compassion...This book is recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries."--Gavin J. Woltjer, Past-President, Montana Library Association

"This book may cement [Acevedo's] status as one of today's best boxing journalists."--Kirkus Reviews

"This is powerful writing. Enjoy it."--Thomas Hauser, author of Ali: A Life, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominee

"Carlos Acevedo is the most original, perceptive, and best new writer in boxing. Sporting Blood is a vivid and gripping collection."--Donald McRae, writer for The Guardian and author of Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing

"Acevedo is a sensationally good writer with some brilliantly memorable turns of phrase. Each essay packs a mighty punch and resonated with me long after I read it. It is a great collection to dip in and out of, to take your time over, to reread and savour the writing and the imagery."--All Sports Books Reviews

"Carlos Acevedo's book of essays...finds a balance between the familiar and the less so for a read that goes by quickly and feels over too soon. Acevedo... gets to show off the range of his talent in this collection, applying varying stylistic flourishes to each subject approached." --Boxing Scene

"Carlos Acevedo understands the sweet science. Just as a DJ knows how to keep the dance floor populated with bodies, Acevedo knows how to string words together to keep a reader turning pages deep into the night...Like a forensic psychologist profiling a deep psychological mystery, Acevedo explores the psyches of each boxer in these essays with deftness and compassion...This book is recommended for high school, public, and academic libraries."--Gavin J. Woltjer, Past-President, Montana Library Association

About the Author

Carlos Acevedo, author of Sporting Blood: Tales From the Dark Side of Boxing (Hamilcar Publications 2020) and The Duke: The Life and Lies of Tommy Morrison (Hamilcar Publications 2022), was the founder of The Cruelest Sport and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His work has appeared in Inside HBO Boxing, Boxing News, Remezcla, Boxing Digest, and Hannibal Boxing. His stories "A Darkness Made to Order" and "A Ghost Orbiting Forever" both won first place awards from the BWAA. Acevedo is also a member of the International Boxing Research Organization.