Twenty and Out: A Life in Boxing [Hardcover]

During a hugely successful career, the name of Mickey Duff has been synonymous with all the best boxers of the last 50 years – Sonny Liston, Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson to name but a few.

Mickey Duff has been at the top of the fight game since the early Fifties, when as a 15-year-old he cunningly side-stepped the British Boxing Board of Control to acquire himself a promoter’s licence – by law a licence could not be issued to anyone under 16.

Since then his name has been linked, either through promotion or management, with all the world’s best fighters from Liston to Tyson. In Britain he has managed or promoted the likes of Frank Bruno, John Conteh, Lloyd Honeygan, John H. Stracey, and Alan Minter – all of whom became world champions.

In the mid-1970s, along with his partner, Jarvis Astaire, Duff became the supreme force in British boxing – a stranglehold that was to last over 10 years. He talks candidly about that time, and about how he and Astaire formed their exclusive broadcasting alliance with the BBC.

He also tells the true story of Britain’s loveable hero, Frank Bruno, who Duff criticises for walking out on the men who made him; and provides a fascinating account of his relationship with the Kray Twins, both of whom frequented Duff’s East End gym in the late 1950s and early 60s.

Duff also sets the record straight about that infamous left hand from Henry Cooper which floored Cassius Clay in their first fight; reveals how Mike Tyson’s old manager, Jim Jacobs, was so dependent on Duff’s advice that Duff hand-picked the former champion’s first 18 opponents; and speaks of his love of gambling and the money he’s won and lost on fights over the years.

But above all, the book provides an unrivalled insight into the countless changes and developments within the fight game over the past five decades. A must for boxing aficionados everywhere.

During a distinguished career as a boxing manager and promoter, Mickey Duff has guided 20 different fighters to world championship success. In fact he has been associated with all the best fighters of the last 50 years. Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Robinson – Duff has worked with them all.

Born and raised in Poland he escaped the clutches of Nazi Germany and the concentration camps in which many of his family perished, by a matter of weeks, and fled to England with his father. As a teenager in London's East End, he found his vocation – boxing. Although an undistinguished fighter, his record of eight defeats in 61 contests belied a greater talent for matchmaking. He had become adept at choosing his own opponents to get the most from his modest accomplishments. It was a talent that would later make him the best matchmaker the sport of boxing has ever seen.

From humble beginnings – putting on small hall shows in London's East End – he quickly emerged from the shadow of the big time promoter Jack Solomons to become one of the main players in the sport worldwide. This dominance reached its peak in a 10-year period fro9m 1975 when, in partnership with millionaire businessman Jarvis Astaire, he formed an exclusive alliance with the BBC and exerted a stranglehold of influence over the sport that will probably never be surpassed.

Duff has either managed or promoted a string of world champions – most notably guiding John H Stracey and Lloyd Honeyghan to improbable victories on foreign soil; turned former schoolboy discus champion, Joe Bugner, into a world heavyweight challenger who fought Ali twice; and more famously, masterminded the rise of Frank Bruno.

Among the many colourful tales from a lifetime in the fight game, he recounts fearsome encounters with gangsters, Jack 'Spot' Comer and the Kray twins; tells how he hand-picked disgraced former champion Mike Tyson's first eighteen opponents; and gives his forthright opinion on rival promoters, Don King and Frank Warren.

From war-torn Poland via London’s East End, to the neon lights of Las Vegas, the life and career of Mickey Duff has had all the twists and turns of a pulsating 12-round contest. He has witnessed first-hand many changes to a sport which has had more than its share of controversy over the years. Any fight-fan worth their salt should read the enthralling story of this giant of the sport and get the inside track on 50 years of boxing.