Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science

Boxing has a history of being easy to rig, and the mob moved into the sport in the 1930s, profiting by corrupting it. Jeffrey Sussman's book, Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science, profiles infamous characters and details fixed matches in boxing's history. It also examines the influence of the mob on legendary boxers and whether they caved to their threats or refused to throw their fights.

Format: Hardback
Length: 216 pages
Publication date: 08 July 2019
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Boxing has a long history of being easy to rig, with only two athletes and one or both being induced to accept a bribe. In the 1930s, the mob moved into boxing and profited by corrupting a sport ripe for exploitation. Jeffrey Sussman's book, "Boxing and the Mob: The Notorious History of the Sweet Science," tells the story of the coercive and criminal underside of boxing, covering nearly the entire twentieth century. He profiles some of its most infamous characters, such as Owney Madden, Frankie Carbo, and Frank Palermo, and details many of the fixed matches in boxing's storied history. In addition, Sussman examines the influence of the mob on legendary boxers, including Primo Carnera, Sugar Ray Robinson, Max Baer, Carmen Basilio, Sonny Liston, and Jake LaMotta, and whether they caved to the mobsters' threats or refused to throw their fights. Boxing and the Mob is the first book to cover a century of fixed fights, paid-off referees, greedy managers, misused boxers, and the mobsters who controlled it all. True crime and the world of boxing are intertwined with absorbing detail in this notorious piece of American history.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 160 x 236 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781538113158