Full Description
'This book delivers the knockout.' -- Steve Bunce
'The knockout is the ultimate way of victory. What Andy has captured in this book is everything great about it.'-- Tony Bellew, former WBC World Cruiserweight champion
Andy Clarke, Sky Sports' lead boxing commentator and one of the nation's most respected boxing pundits, goes in search of the knockout: the most dramatic and devastating moment in sport.
How does it feel to land that ultimate blow? How does it feel to suffer it? The Knockout assesses the impact it has on the fighters and the people close to it and asks what it takes mentally, physically and emotionally for a person to enter into an arena where the stakes are so unimaginably high. Agony and ecstasy, triumph and disaster, hope and despair, self-belief and doubt, The Knockout embraces it all, with interviews and insight from the following boxing insiders and experts:
Boxers: Carl Froch, Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Tony Bellew, Amir Khan, Deontay Wilder, Jamie Moore, Matthew Macklin, Johnny Nelson, Anthony Yarde, Scott Welch, Fabio Wardley, Karriss Artingstall, Lauren Price, Spencer Oliver, Anthony Crolla
Trainers: Teddy Atlas, Billy Graham, Peter Fury, Dave Coldwell, Joe Gallagher, Mark Seltzer
Referees: Kenny Bayless, Marcus McDonnell, Charlie Fitch, Victor Loughlin
Promoters: Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn
Observers: Steve Bunce, Thomas Hauser, Tris Dixon, Dr Neil Scott, Sara Chenery
Part macro, part micro exploration, the narrative will move across the physical, psychological, social and even philosophical aspects of the knockout. With insights from renowned commentators, as well as fighters, their coaches, doctors and family members, this is a complete look at the finishing blow that brings any match to a sudden close, and the repercussions that follow.
Featuring extensive coverage of Froch vs Groves II, the epic rematch that saw Carl Froch knock out George Groves with what proved to be the final punch of his career and close the book on their bitter rivalry, The Knockout goes deeper into the phenomenon than ever seen before and explores the idea of male vulnerability and the delicate nature of many boxers, particularly pronounced once they have experienced a knockout.
'I love the knockout, the big finish. I love how conclusive it is. It settles the argument once and for all. This book took me back to those massive moments in my career.' -- Carl Froch, three-time world Super Middleweight champion
Contents
Foreword by Damian Hughes vii
Preface xi
Chapter One - A Unique Moment in Sport 1
Chapter Two - What Is the Knockout? 11
Chapter Three - A Strange Kind of Glory 41
Chapter Four - An Inconvenient Truth 77
Chapter Five - Dicing with Death 111
Chapter Six - A Duty of Care - Referees 131
Chapter Seven - A Duty of Care - Trainers 157
Chapter Eight - Fear 179
Chapter Nine - Are You Not Entertained? 201
Chapter Ten - The Night of the Perfect Knockout 227
Chapter Eleven - Knockout Truths 237
Bibliography 255
Picture credits 255
Index 256
