Once There Were Giants: The Golden Age of Heavyweight Boxing

Great boxers in the heavyweight division are names that are recognized by even those who are not fans of the sport. Fighters like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman are just a few of the heavyweight champions who have left their mark both in boxing and in the world in general. That era when these and other great heavyweight boxers ruled the sport is chronicled in this terrific book by veteran writer Jerry Izenberg.There is a passage in the prologue that fits the general theme of the book and also expresses the feelings of not only the author but also many of the readers when Izenberg states that “…there will never again be a heavyweight cycle like the one that began when Sonny Liston stopped Floyd Patterson – and ended when Mike Tyson bit a slice out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.” This covers the 35 year period of 1962-1997 and Izenberg tells many great stories about many great fighters from that era.There is Sonny Liston, whom Izenberg states was the last fighter to be controlled by the Mob, a great account of all three classic fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Noteworthy is that Izenberg believes their third bout, the “Thrilla in Manila”, “…was the greatest fight I ever saw. Hell, I think it was the greatest fight anyone saw.” Many who have seen it will echo that sentiment. Then even more great storytelling is in store for the reader as Izenberg tells about both Spinks brothers who held the crown, Leon and Michael and of course, Mike Tyson and all of the chaos surrounding him.This book is a breeze to read, especially for fight fans who remember the days when the heavyweight championship was a title that was held in reverence and was held by one man, not by several because of various organizations who claim to be the “one” who can declare the champ. The stories about these fighters, and some of the epic bouts they fought to either gain, lose or defend their championship are ones that boxing fans will treasure for a long time.I wish to thank Skyhorse Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A good book, much crisp and graceful writing, many sharp insights, but marred by extremely sloppy editing, which permitted unjustified repetition and failed to correct numerous annoying typographical errors. The presentation, therefore, is not worthy of the author.

I enjoyed reading about some of the legends from the heavyweight division of boxing, many bouts I remember watching with my father when I was just a kid. What makes this book so good is the author was there for these fights and interviewed these legends personally. The author spent a large part of the book talking about Ali, justifiable because love or hate him he was the man to beat for many years and brought footwork and glove speed not normally seen in the heavyweight division. Of course it also seems the author had a much closer relationship with Ali than he did with some of the other fighters. I do wish he had covered some of the other fighters more like Norton, Foreman, Frazier, Shavers and others. A very good book, but it is predominantly about Ali.

If you like boxing, you will love this book. it's incredibly well written and informative. The author knows boxing like few people ever have.

I really enjoyed reading jerrys storys of all the boxing matches I seen growing up . Very good read .

From start to finish in this action-packed, detail-rich book, Jerry Izenberg gives readers the inside scoop on heavyweight boxing. From vital background on the mob's control of the racket for decades, to secret pacts between promoters, to vivid descriptions of the best rounds and the best fights he ever saw, Izenberg brilliantly describes the heavyweight division's golden era. Within the pages of "Once There Were Giants," you'll be schooled on heavyweight boxing from before and after this golden era. It's all here — the unfiltered truth about Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson, et al. This is a highly recommended book.

Jerry Izenberg was a veteran boxing journalist and has many entertaining yarns to tell, and in Once There Were Giants he certainly tells them. The problem is that he tells them as more of a memoir than as a serious look at the era of heavyweight boxing from the 1960s to the 1990s.His prejudices in terms of who and what he wished to dwell are truly limiting. For a book that was supposed to begin with Sonny Liston, it spends far too many pages setting the stage for Liston's emergence and delving into the sordid history of the mafia and boxing. The last stanzas focus overwhelmingly on Mike Tyson, give short shrift to Evander Holyfield and are absolutely dismissive of Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe. It smacks very much as the observations of a cranky old man who only cares about what he cares about.Even within those limits, Izenberg is good, but not great. More words spent on secondary figures like Jerry Quarry or Earnie Shavers would have made this a much better book. Instead, he rambles on about the mafia or how his good pal so-and-so knew more about this business than anyone will ever know and things of that nature.Add to that some rather embarrassing grammatical errors and I must also ask where the editor was...My gold standard for works of this kind is Four Kings by George Kimball. Compared to that, this book gets a bronze.