Sparring with Hemingway, and Other Legend of the Fight Game, by Bud Schulberg (Robson Book £10.99 in UK)

The title essay of this collection is rather an irrelevance - perhaps Schulberg included it chiefly because he thought it would…

The title essay of this collection is rather an irrelevance - perhaps Schulberg included it chiefly because he thought it would add interest to the title, but otherwise it adds little. He met Hemingway at a party, typically full of liquor and belligerence, and was told in effect that he had no business writing about prizefighting since he knew nothing about is anyway. This bullying rankled since Schulberg had always been a fight fan and his father's passion was watching the great Benny Leonard in action. When he gets past his anti Hemingway petulance, he writes well about the great fights and boxers he has, known: Ali, Leonard versus Duran, Hagler versus Hearns Marciano (he was present at the latter's demolition of Archie Moore and Done Cockell) and contemporary events such as the sad decay of Mike Tyson. Well worth adding to a sporting library.