Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing

Read Four Kings: Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran and the Last Great Era of Boxing Storyline:

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.From BooklistStarred Review Consider the state of boxing today. Not easy, is it? It’s hard to name a prominent fighter. The audience that once gravitated to the sweet science has been diffused among an alphabet soup of competing organizations presenting overhyped, pay-per-view events. It wasn’t always so. Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns were all household names in the 1980s, held multiple titles in or around the middleweight division, and fought among themselves nine times. Kimball, a columnist for the Boston Herald for 25 years, covered all nine of those epic confrontations among 400 other title bouts. He relies on his notes and recollections of the fights as well as fresh interviews with the fighters, their handlers, their managers, and others of note. His accounts of the fights are riveting blow-by-blows, the “big event” context is palpably rendered, and each of the fighters re-emerges from the mists of memory as colorful and compelling as ever. Boxing fans with a little gray in their hair—paraphrasing Pete Hamill’s foreword—will savor Kimball’s work. Younger fans? If they find their way to the book, maybe they’ll understand the difference between greatness and hype. --Wes Lukowsky ReviewChosen for Booklist Online's 10 Top Sports Books of 2009"Kimball's accounts of the fights are riveting blow-by-blows, the "big event" context is palpably rendered, and each of the fighters re-emerges from the mists of memory as colorful and compelling as ever. Boxing fans . . . will savor Kimball's work."  —Booklist"Boxing's last Golden Age gets the book it deserves. Kimball's breezy, detail-packed book . . . provides vivid, knowledgeable accounts of the action. He also draws clear colorful portraits of [the] four fighters."  —Sports Illustrated"Four Kings is a thriller and George Kimball a prince among sportswriters . . .  an epic poem of a book, a book that lifts the heart."  —Frank McCourt, author, Angela's Ashes,'Tis, and Teacher Man"A a terrific book. Kimball was there and never missed a moment of it. His account of the fighters, the fights and the colorful supporting players is rich with insights and details."  —Vincent Patrick, author, The Pope of Greenwich Village and Family Business"Very accurate and well-researched . . . a phenomenon . . . well-written. I couldn't put it down. I loaned it to a friend and he won't give it back"  —Emanuel Steward, World Champion Boxing trainer"George Kimball is one of America's best-loved sportswriters and Four Kings shows why. With skill, grace and humor, he brings to life a remarkable era and four uniquely gifted athletes."  —Jeremy Schaap, ESPN reporter and author, Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History"Kimball writes with insight and humor. The bigger the fight, the better he tells it."  —Thomas Hauser, author, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times