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Title:
Unbeaten : Rocky Marciano's fight for perfection in a crooked world / Mike Stanton.
Author:
Stanton, Mike, 1957- author.
Publication Information:
New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2018.

©2018
Call Number:
GV1132.M3 S73 2018
Abstract:
From the bestselling author of The Prince of Providence, a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: He never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0. Unbeaten is the story of this remarkable champion who overcame injury, doubt, and the schemes of corrupt promoters to win the title in a bloody and epic battle with Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952. Rocky packed a devastating punch with an innocent nickname, "Suzie Q," against which there was no defense. As the champ, he came to know presidents and movie stars - and the organized crime figures who dominated the sport, much to his growing disgust. He may have "stood out in boxing like a rose in a garbage dump," as one sportswriter said, but he also fought his own private demons. In the hands of the award-winning journalist and biographer Mike Stanton, Unbeaten is more than just a boxing story. It's a classic American tale of immigrant dreams, exceptional talent wedded to exceptional ambitions, compromises in the service of a greater good, astounding success, disillusionment, and a quest to discover what it all meant. Like Suzie Q, it will knock you off your feet.
Edition:
First edition.
ISBN:
9781627799195
Physical Description:
xii, 385 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm.
Contents:
Prologue: Two funerals -- The terrific three -- Brawler in the brig -- Rocky Mack -- Suzie Q's Broadway debut -- Timmmberrr! -- A good dream and a hard fall -- The octopus -- Requiem for a heavyweight -- Twelve inches to glory -- The lion and the lamb -- The mongoose and the mob -- America's guest -- The fiftieth fight -- Epilogue: Ghosts -- Appendix: Rocky Marciano's professional ring record.
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