This four-volume reference work covers the history, records and lore of boxers and boxing.
Part I, the longest section, presents alphabetical entries of bare knuckle boxers, and the transitional and Queensberry Rules eras (with more than 2,600 fighters from the latter). Each entry includes dates of birth and death, place of birth, nicknames, a list of fights, and career statistics. Part II covers non-boxers, including referees, promoters, publicists, managers, trainers, cut men, announcers and others. Part III contains records of world title bouts from 1878 through 2010. Part IV lists various records and champions, both amateur and professional, including the all-time leaders in many statistical categories. Part V describes the organization of the sport, tracing the history of weight divisions, world titles and halls of fame. Part VI is an overview of boxing in history and culture (champions of ancient Greece, equipment, gymnasiums, radio and television, literature, drama, the arts, etc.). An appendix offers a timeline of boxing and a bibliography concludes the work.

Herbert G. Goldman is a former editor of The Ring, Boxing Illustrated and Boxing Digest, and the award-winning author of several books. A theatrical researcher at Packard Humanities Institute, he lives in New York.

Herbert G. Goldman
Format: softcover (8.5 x 11 in 4 vols.)
Pages: 1752
Bibliographic Info: appendix, bibliography
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6054-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0254-7
Imprint: McFarland

Volume 1

Acknowledgments      vi

Preface      1

Part I. The Boxers      3

Bare Knuckle Era, 1791–1880      5

Transitional Era, 1870s–1880s      19

Queensberry Rules Era, 1895–Present (Ada–Gallagher)      27

Volume 2

Queensberry Rules Era, 1895–Present (Galloway–O’Brien)      455

Volume 3


Queensberry Rules Era, 1895–Present (O’Brien–Zyglewicz)      913

Women Boxers      1326

Part II. Registries of Other Personnel      1333

Referees      1335

Managers      1346

Judges      1339

Trainers      1350

Timekeepers      1341

Cut Men      1352

Promoters      1341

Ring Announcers      1353

Matchmakers      1344

Ringside Commentators      1353

Booking Agents      1345

Historians      1354

Publicists      1345

Record Keepers and Compilers      1354

Volume 4

Part III. World Title Bouts      1355

Part IV. Records and Champions      1479

All-Time Professional Leaders      1481

Miscellaneous Queensberry Records      1491

Professional Champions      1500

Amateur Champions      1624

Part V. The Organization of the Sport      1651

Weight Divisions and World Titles      1653

U.S. Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC)      1664

Boxers Associations      1666

Halls of Fame      1667

Part VI. Boxing in History and Culture      1673

Olympic Champions of Ancient Greece      1675

A Brief History of Boxing      1676

Boxing Demographics      1680

Equipment and Equipment Makers      1682

Selected Boxing Venues and Gymnasiums      1683

Boxing Broadcasts on Radio and Television      1689

Literature, Stage, Screen and the Arts      1697

Appendix: Timeline of Boxing History      1705

Bibliography      1721

“Recommended”—Choice; “recommended”—Library Journal; “Goldman…has created a resource full of detailed information and provides a handy reference set that will be valued by both devoted fans and serious historians”—Against the Grain; “presents alphabetical entries on about 2,600 boxers from 1791 to the present”—SciTech Book News; “excellent…elegantly done”—Doghouseboxing.com.