Flesh and Blood: A Journey into the Heart of Boxing

Glynn A. Leyshon is a professor of physical education at the University
of Western Ontario, a former weekly columnist for the London Free Press,
and author of 18 Sporting Stories.

For those of us old enough to remember the old Friday night fights
sponsored by the Gillette company, this book brings a twinge of
nostalgia. Christy, a Philadephia-born sports writer, knows whereof he
speaks; boxing is a seedy business, but it has a sort of enduring
attraction that the author exploits extremely well.

Although an American, Christy came to Canada at age 23 after a brief
fling at the “sweet science” himself, and took up residence in
Vancouver. His familiarity with the ring and its hangers-on makes this
more than a compendium of columns (which it often appears to be). It is
also to his credit that Christy allots most of the pages to Canadian,
rather than American, boxers.

There are several interesting characters from Toronto, Montreal, and
Vancouver. Baby Yak, for example, toiled in the squared circle during
the thirties and was one of the best in the world. At a time when many
were taking their meals at soup kitchens, Baby Yak was making a small
fortune. He had a record of 69 and 6. When Christy finally tracks him
down, he is a Toronto cab driver living in a hotel with a pile of
clippings under his bed—a sad, but not untypical story.

In the 13 chapters, there is a good, broad-stroke canvas of the sport
as it has been carried on in this country for the past 100 years. The
characters are not all boxers, either; several of the more questionable
players are managers. Don King, with his electric hair, gets brief
mention as part of the dealings with Canadian boxers brought in, and
J.J. Johnson of Vancouver ranks with the best of the Damon Runyon
players.

Christy writes, convincingly, that boxing is the only major
anti-establishment sport. He also makes a rational case for its safety.
This book is well worth the read. It is interesting, well written, and
evokes a sympathy for the participants in a sport where “only the ring
is square.”