Mullally, Frederic – Primo. The Story of ‘Man Mountain’ Carnera. World Heavyweight Champion.

Description

Mullally, Frederic ‘Primo. The Story of ‘Man Mountain’ Carnera. World Heavyweight Champion.’ 1991 1st ed. 210-pages. Former owner stamp & signature on blank frontispiece, else VG/VG.

“Primo: The Story of ‘Man Mountain’ Carnera, World Heavyweight Champion” is a 210-page biography written by novelist and former boxing critic Frederic Mullally, published by Robson Books in 1991.
The book provides a thoroughly researched, tragic account of Primo Carnera (1906–1967), the 6’7″, 260-lb Italian circus strongman who miraculously rose to become the World Heavyweight Champion from 1933 to 1934. Mullally exposes the darker side of Jazz Age boxing, detailing how Carnera—a gentle and trusting man—was ruthlessly manipulated by French promoters and American mobsters who fixed his early fights to generate media ballyhoo. The biography chronicles his exploitation, his sudden abandonment to poverty when he was no longer a crowd-puller, and his eventual reinvention as a successful international professional wrestler.

The inclusion of the handwritten name and book stamp of J. Karel de Vries (1923–2012) adds direct historic pedigree to this volume. De Vries was a highly respected Marine photographer, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO), and a prominent boxing historian and collector.