And the New . . .: An Inside Look at Another Year in Boxing

"Virtually every piece is notable for its carefully drawn characters who will linger on the edges of readers' minds long after the book has been shelved. As always, Hauser is the best." --"Booklist" on Boxing Is . . ., 2010 "If there's an award for boxing journalism Hauser hasn't won, it's probably not worth winning. Hauser has covered the sport for more than 30 years, and, of course, he reports on the fights themselves, but, like the late, great Jim Murray, he realizes the people are the story. So he'll provide the blow-by-blow, but never without context. For example, in this latest review of a year in boxing--drawn from blog posts and other online coverage--he reports on an October 2011 fight in which Sergio Martinez defended his middleweight title against Darren Baker. Martinez has been "Fighter of the Year," so, for Hauser, the real story was Martinez' inability to break into the big money of pay-per-view cable. Why? Connections, of course. Throughout his writings, Hauser champions the deserving fighters who get shut out because they lack support in the right places. In his annual reviews, he also always profiles a past great. This time it's Henry Armstrong, who fought in the late thirties and early forties and simultaneously held three titles. For years, Hauser has supplied the best of boxing journalism, and here he's done it again." -- Wes Lukowsky, "Booklist" (9-1-12)"