JERRY FITCH has been fortunate to have lived during a very exciting era in boxing history. He has watched fights ringside as a fan, as a reporter for many major boxing publications and also on live television and closed circuit. In addition some of his favorite fights written about here involve battles that took place long before the author was born. Viewing these pieces of boxing history on film and video provided him with a historic insight into boxing history and the men who made it. MY FAVORITE FIGHTS is just a small capsule of the countless fights Jerry has enjoyed over sixty years of watching boxing. The book is meant to not only remember these favorite fights but to provide insight leading up to them and the impact that occurred after them. Jerry gives his opinion of the fights from not only a writer's perspective but also from that of a fan. In addition, Jerry met many of the fighters involved in these encounters, even became friends with several of them. Jersey Joe Walcott, Joe Louis, Billy Conn, Roberto Duran, Bobby Chacon, Carlos Palomino, Lloyd Marshall, Bob Foster and Larry Holmes are just some of the giants of boxing recalled here. Jerry Fitch tells his story of many of these encounters and friendships.

My Favorite Fights

Fitch, Jerry

Biographies & Memoirs

Read Corner

In a season of unrelenting assaults upon our nation, schools, churches and seemingly every other fabric of our society, there's another season that has broken out of this darkness and has offered a contrast that cannot be mistaken! This season doesn't bring destruction; it brings hope and deliverance to those who are willing to be constant in their commitment to Christ. The Season of Suddenlies are upon us, and now is the time to capture Heaven's best instead of the world's worst.

Seasons of Suddenlies

Self-Help

Personal Transformation

McDougal & Associates

Boxing began in Cleveland in the 1880s. As pugilism was an illegal activity, brawling workers from the iron ore docks surreptitiously met on "Whiskey Island" to settle disputes. They would be followed by crowds of spectators who cheered them on and often ended up fleeing from the sheriff. Boxing grew in popularity and soon became a legitimate sport that brought packed houses to such local venues as Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Cleveland Arena, and the Public Auditorium. Thousands of fans from across the country would come to Cleveland to attend the marquee bouts of many of the city and the nation's most celebrated fighters.
Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time follows the amazing careers of the city's most popular and successful boxers, highlighted by more than 100 rarely-seen images. From the speedy and resilient Johnny Kilbane, Cleveland's first great champion, to the heroic Jimmy Bivins, a true champion in and out of the ring, these stories of triumph and heartbreak are to be enjoyed by boxing fans of all eras. Much of the action inside is described in such a way as to bring the reader ringside.

Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time (Images of Sports)

Arts & Photography

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Cleveland's Jimmy Bivins fought in one of boxing's toughest eras. He beat eight world champions in three different weight divisions, yet was never given a shot for any world title. Author Jerry Fitch tells the real story of his friend of 40 years, Jimmy Bivins, and details his fights with Joe Louis, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Charley Burley and many others.

James Louis Bivins: The Man Who Would Be Champion

Tora Book Publishing

Jerry Fitch has written five books on boxing including Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time, and James Louis Bivins...The Man Who Would Be Champion. Now he offers up this collection of anecdotes that tell of his travels through the world of boxing covering over fifty years and his meetings with some of the greatest fighters of all time including Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Tony Zale, Jimmy McLarnin, Billy Conn and Carmen Basilio to name a few. Some stories are serious, some quirky but all are personal stories of a special lifetime of boxing adventures.

50 Years of Fights, Fighters and Friendships

Sports & Outdoors

Individual Sports

Boxing historian Jerry Fitch, called "the dean of Cleveland boxing historians" by the Cleveland Public Library, brings us the story of a very unique and special heavyweight contender from the 1920s and 30s, Johnny Risko, also known as the Cleveland Rubber Man. Risko fought in one of the toughest eras in boxing and his career record contains the names of such boxing luminaries as Sharkey, Tunney, Godfrey, Schmeling, Baer, Slattery, Stribling, Berlenbach,Galento, Walker and Delaney. This volume, the first book written about this Cleveland boxing legend, contains numerous first-hand accounts of his famous battles at the Cleveland Arena, Boston Garden, Detroit Olympia and Madison Square Garden.

Johnny Risko: The Cleveland Rubber Man

Product Description 
Cleveland Arena featured professional boxing from 1937 to 1973 and left a lasting legacy that can never be duplicated. Many Cleveland boxers fought there during those years, including Jimmy Bivins, Joey Maxim, Chuck Hunter, Georgie Pace, and Carmen Barth. These men all came out of the Cleveland Golden Gloves. Cleveland Arena was the mecca of Ohio boxing with appearances from 50 fighters who at one time held recognition as world champions. Those fighters include such names as Henry Armstrong, Jake LaMotta, George Foreman, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Sonny Liston. Each of the arena's 162 fight shows--feature bouts, undercards, and all results--appear here together for the first time in print, accompanied by great stories and rare photographs. 
 About the Author 
Jerry Fitch started following boxing in the 1950s. His love of the sport began while watching televised fights and eventually attending the World Welterweight Championship match between Carmen Basilio and Johnny Saxton at Cleveland Arena on February 22, 1957. He was only 10 years old. Fitch has since participated in many boxing activities; the one that has stayed with him is writing. He has written hundreds of articles for major boxing magazines and authored six books, including Arcadia's Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time. This latest continues his journey.

Cleveland Arena: Ohio’s Professional Boxing Mecca, 1937-1973

History

Americas

Boxing began in Cleveland in the 1880s. As pugilism was an illegal activity, brawling workers from the iron ore docks surreptitiously met on "Whiskey Island" to settle disputes. They would be followed by crowds of spectators who cheered them on and often ended up fleeing from the sheriff. Boxing grew in popularity and soon became a legitimate sport that brought packed houses to such local venues as Cleveland Municipal Stadium, the Cleveland Arena, and the Public Auditorium. Thousands of fans from across the country would come to Cleveland to attend the marquee bouts of many of the city and the nation's most celebrated fighters.Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time follows the amazing careers of the city's most popular and successful boxers, highlighted by more than 100 rarely-seen images. From the speedy and resilient Johnny Kilbane, Cleveland's first great champion, to the heroic Jimmy Bivins, a true champion in and out of the ring, these stories of triumph and heartbreak are to be enjoyed by boxing fans of all eras. Much of the action inside is described in such a way as to bring the reader ringside.

Cleveland's Greatest Fighters of All Time

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Cleveland Arena featured professional boxing from 1937 to 1973 and left a lasting legacy that can never be duplicated. Many Cleveland boxers fought there during those years, including Jimmy Bivins, Joey Maxim, Chuck Hunter, Georgie Pace, and Carmen Barth. These men all came out of the Cleveland Golden Gloves. Cleveland Arena was the mecca of Ohio boxing with appearances from 50 fighters who at one time held recognition as world champions. Those fighters include such names as Henry Armstrong, Jake LaMotta, George Foreman, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott, and Sonny Liston. Each of the arena's 162 fight shows--feature bouts, undercards, and all results--appear here together for the first time in print, accompanied by great stories and rare photographs.

Cleveland Arena: Ohio's Professional Boxing Mecca, 1937-1973

Arcadia Pub (Sc)

Professional boxing is filled with stories of dreams, determination, blood, and will. A Few More Rounds: A Collection of Boxing Tales, by Jerry Fitch and John J. Raspanti, examines the sights, sounds, and assorted types that populate the fistic landscape. The 20 chapters include unique stories from Fitch, who writes lovingly of his lifetime friendships with legendary fighters of the past, and Raspanti, whose prose includes instances of racism, hate, retribution, and loyalty. Stories featuring Jersey Joe Walcott, Tony Zale, Muhammad Ali, Sergey Kovalev, and Andre Ward are included, along with personal experiences, insights, and memories from both authors. The foreword is authored by famed former Ring magazine and International Boxing Hall of Fame member Nigel Collins.

A Few More Rounds: A Collection of Boxing Tales

Raspanti, John J.

WIN BY KO Publications

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