Cleveland Boxing Greats

April 14th, 2008

The following was submitted by Jim Amato:

The great city of Cleveland has a rich boxing history and much of that is captured in Jerry Fitch’s book ” Cleveland’s Greatest Fighters Of All Time “.

You don’t have to be from Cleveland or Ohio for that matter to enjoy this book. It is a must read for any boxing fan.

Historian Fitch does a terrific job in profiling the careers of these fine fighters. Many of them that he knew personally. There are chapters on Hall Of Famer’s Joey Maxim, Johnny Kilbane and Jimmy Bivins and their tremendous accomplishments.

Fitch also includes chapters on 1920′s and 30′s heavyweight contender Johnny Risko, ex-N.B.A. Bantamweight champ George Pace, the talented Lloyd Marshall and rugged middleweight Paul Pirrone. The hard punching Pirrone holds a KO victory over the legendary “Toy Bulldog”, Mickey Walker.

So many other prominent Cleveland boxers are mentioned in this fine work. The 1932 Olympic Middleweight champion Carmen Barth and 1952 Olympic Flyweight champion Nate Brooks are among them.

You can not go wrong with this book as it is also loaded with an array of classic black and white photos.

“Cleveland’s Greatest Fighter’s Of All Time” is available at these outlets; Borders, Waldenbooks and Barnes and Nobles. It is also available on line at Amazon.com.

ENJOY !!!

Jim Amato can be reached at jimsboxing@zoominternet.net