Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Based on the acclaimed article in Men's Journal
Soon to be a major motion picture
Undefeated in seventy-one fights, Bobby Gunn, 42, is the undisputed world champion of bare-knuckle boxing. He rules the circuit, a nationwide underground network of pro boxers, mixed martial artists, and anything-goes street brawlers who square off without gloves in empty warehouses and mobster McMansions for as much as $50,000 a fight. It's dangerous, bloody, and illegal almost everywhere--a secret world run by organized crime. And for Gunn, a devout Christian using the prize money to put his seven-year-old daughter through private school, it's his only shot at a better life--one that may even revive America's first sport in the process.
Synopsis
In this riveting debut book from acclaimed journalist Stayton Bonner, the grisly and captivating world of underground bare-knuckle fighting is exposed through the life of Bobby Gunn, one of the sport's most dominant, charismatic, and complicated figures.
Based on the acclaimed article in Men's Journal
Soon to be a major motion picture
Undefeated in seventy-one fights, Bobby Gunn rose to become the undisputed champion of bare-knuckle boxing. He ruled the circuit, a nationwide underground network of pro boxers, mixed martial artists, and anything-goes street brawlers who square off without gloves in empty warehouses and mobster McMansions for as much as $50,000 a fight. It's dangerous, bloody, and still illegal almost everywhere--a secret world run by organized crime.
Stayton Bonner combines you are there reportage and impeccable research to capture the lurid subculture of this sensational sport and the complexities of one of its most dominant figures.
This is a knockout of a book. --Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated writer
A remarkable story of triumph and heartbreak. --Don Winslow, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Cartel
Synopsis
Father. Fighter. Champion. Outlaw.
Hailed as an exhilarating debut by Publishers Weekly, Bare Knuckle by former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner (nominated for the Dan Jenkins Medal of Excellence in Sportswriting) takes readers into a previously unknown world: the underground circuit of illegal bare-knuckle fighting.
Bare knuckle is the remarkable true tale of Bobby Gunn, the 71-0 undisputed champion of bare-knuckle boxing.
An inspiring underdog story that reads like a real-life Rocky.
Bobby Gunn has been fighting for his existence since a childhood spent living under the hand of his volatile father, and would do anything to give his seven-year-old daughter a better life--including betting on himself in the underground world of bare-knuckle boxing.
In 1984, Gunn was an eleven-year-old boxer in Ontario when his father woke him in the middle of the night to fight grown men in motel parking lots for money, his old man pocketing the cash. From there, Gunn traveled to Las Vegas, Tijuana, and beyond, competing in ringed matches as well as in biker bars and mobster dens on the side, brawling to make ends meet.
But it was only with the birth of his daughter--and his desire to help her avoid his fate--that Gunn entered the big-time world of underground Russian-mob matches of up to $50,000 a night in New York City, hoping to finally raise his family above the fray.
Former Rolling Stone editor Stayton Bonner travels the underground for years with Gunn, the world champion of bare-knuckle boxing with a 71-0 record, shining a light on a secret circuit that's never before been revealed. Along the way, we explore the fascinating history of this first sport in America, Gunn's Irish Traveler community--a sect of religious fighters best known through Brad Pitt's depiction in Snatch--as well as his part in the improbable rise of the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship, the first legal revival of the sport.
Bare Knuckle, a tale of triumph, loss, and a father's love for his family, is a heartbreaking but ultimately inspiring story that will have you rooting until the end.