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Expanded Edition with Two New Essays!
“This is powerful writing. Enjoy it.”—Thomas Hauser, 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
“This book may cement Acevedo’s status as one of today’s best boxing journalists.”—Kirkus Reviews
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 a poetic throwback, a singular book that evokes journalism’s golden age and places Acevedo among the best sportswriters of his generation.
Learn More:
Author
Carlos Acevedo, also the author of 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.
Follow Carlos on Twitter @cruelestsport
Interview With Carlos Acevedo
Praise
“… 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, 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 award-winning author of over twelve books
“Acevdo 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 re-read 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. —Cliff Rold,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
