Summary
 It was in Las Vegas where Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack were the stars in the showrooms, but fighters like Sonny Liston and a brash Cassius Clay helped put the city on the boxing map.
Soon it was Las Vegas, not New York City, that could truly boast it was the center of the boxing world. This was a place where champions were made-where Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever and George Foreman became the oldest. It was the home of the most bizarre spectacles, yet sometimes they seemed normal in a city that never sleeps. It was in Las Vegas where Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear, and a motorized parachutist crashed into the ring as Holyfield was fighting Riddick Bowe. There were touching moments too, like Foreman praying in his corner after knocking out Michael Moorer with one punch to win the heavyweight title at the MGM Grand.
Tim Dahlberg, who saw his first fight in 1969 at the old International Hotel, captures it all in Fight Town with an anecdotal flair and brilliance of the beautiful, accompanying photos. This book will take you to the arenas and enable you to peek inside the lives of the fighters. In photos never before published, see a 21-year-old Cassius Clay jump into the ring to challenge Liston after he knocks out Floyd Patterson in 1963, promising he will go down in eight rounds when they meet. Gerry Cooney stares into the darkening sky outside Caesars Palace in another as he prepares to take on Larry Holmes in the biggest heavyweight title fight of its time. The faces and places are all there, spread out over more than 200 pages. This is truly a tribute to both the city and the sport it loves. This is Fight Town. |
