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Four Kings
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Product Description
Book Description
The first book to comprehensively tell the story of how four middleweight boxing giants came to dominate the sport throughout the 1980s
Product Description
By the late 1970s, boxing had lapsed into a moribund state and interest in it was on the wane. In 1980, however, the sport was resuscitated by a riveting series of bouts involving an improbably dissimilar quartet: Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran. The 'Four Kings of the Ring' would fight one another nine times throughout the decade and win sixteen world titles between them.
Like Ali and Frazier, Dempsey and Tunney, Robinson and LaMotta, these four boxers brought out the best in each other, producing unprecedented multi-million-dollar gates along the way. Each of the nine bouts between the four men was memorable in its own way and at least two of them - Leonard-Hearns I in 1981 and Hagler-Hearns in 1985 - are commonly included on any list of the greatest fights of all time. The controversial outcome of another - the 1987 Leonard-Hagler fight - remains the subject of heated debates amongst fans to this day.
Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran didn't set out to save boxing from itself in the post-Ali era, but somehow they managed to do so. In Four Kings, award-winning journalist George Kimball documents the remarkable effect they had on the sport and argues that we will never see their likes again.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I share the first reviewer's scoring for this book, although not his affection for the brutal end of the sport. Rather, the history of boxing (like that of its poorer cousin, pro wrestliing, and its travelling companion, the mafia) fascinates me for sociological reasons. I agree that the author has omitted to choose his preference, but he's hinted at it by listing them Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and I'd guess this matches the public perception, with SRL at the head due to his show-biz image and the rest in that sequence due to the results of high-profile contests among the four. I personally favour Hagler, who first caught my attention by thrashing the evidently-overrated A. Minter, and Hearns, who upset me late on by beating the quiety capable Dennis Andries. Each line of this book drips with detail, and you could argue that the author is simply thumbing through results in Ring magazine except that asides and qualifications confirm that he's "been there". While the switching back and forth between the four angle characters can be hard to keep up with -- and the incidental biogs of supporting characters even more so, so that I had to backtrack -- this amount of detail makes the book more "liveable". The author is also frank about the seamier side of the fight game, suicidally so with some attestations. A good read for anyone who enjoys evocative newsreel of this atmospheric sport. (Dave)
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I like how honest the author is. He doesn't pander to Ray Leonard like many of authors and journalists tend to. That is not to say Ray Leonard's skill and ability are overlooked by the author. Hearns, Hagler, Duran and Leonard are all treated equally and unbiasedly by the author.
My only "complaint" (without wishing to sound like a 9 year old boy) was I would have liked more photographs of the pugilists.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the period of boxing, it really is excellently written, many insightful comments and completely without prejudice to any of the four legends.
My only "complaint" (without wishing to sound like a 9 year old boy) was I would have liked more photographs of the pugilists.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the period of boxing, it really is excellently written, many insightful comments and completely without prejudice to any of the four legends.
Format:Kindle Edition
Kimball is a very respected Boxing writer and historian who passed away recently. This book is part of his legacy and documents the last truely great era of boxing, containing a four way rivalry that will never be seen in this modern game of boxing.
Kimball was so close to the game, the fighters, and the fights that his experiences, opinions, and recollections are invaluable. a truely inside look at four of the greatest fighters and rivalries boxing has ever seen.
Kimball was so close to the game, the fighters, and the fights that his experiences, opinions, and recollections are invaluable. a truely inside look at four of the greatest fighters and rivalries boxing has ever seen.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
excellent for avid fans or newcomers!!
one review of the book states that it is "An epic poem of a book that lifts the heart" i can only agree wholeheartedly with this statement. Read more
Published 10 months ago by mikey1990
Riveting
I generally prefer watching boxing to reading about it at length, but this book was a glaring exception to that rule. Very well-written and quietly funny. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. J. Cook
Four King awful
Having read the other reviews here I found Four Kings incredibly disappointing.
The writing style is both clunky and prosaic. Read more
The writing style is both clunky and prosaic. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2009 by Lobo Jones
Nice inside look at the fights, fighters and other people involved
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author writes in a very pleasant style. The way he describes the Four Kings in certain situations made me laugh a lot. Read more
Published on 27 July 2009 by M. Balk
A good companion piece to the Fabulous Four HBO video
A good read generally with revealing behind the scenes insights to the major fights of Hearns,Duran,Hagler and Leonard. Read more
Published on 25 July 2009 by Asmodeous
Solid reading for the pugilists
What strikes me these days is there are no true showmen in the ring anymore, gone are the days when you watched a fight to see a boxer truly batter someone about the ring, getting... Read more
Published on 13 May 2009 by Harry O'Lye
A good read
......and an interesting concept and I suspect the subject could have stood more detail and I read it as a sports enthusiast rather than a boxing afficiado. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2009 by Michael Bromfield
Listmania!
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