Rice, Harold – Within the Ropes, a Blow by Blow Account of all Heavyweight Championship Bouts from Figg’s Victory over Sutton in 1727 to Joe Louis

Description

Rice, Harold ‘Within the Ropes, a Blow by Blow Account of all Heavyweight Championship Bouts from Figg’s Victory over Sutton in 1727 to Joe Louis’ 1946 1st ed. English ring champions, Cribb v. Molineaux, American prize ring champions, Sullivan v. Kilrain, Sullivan v. Corbett, Corbett v. Fitzsimmons, Fitz v. Jeffries, Burns v. Johnson, Jeffries v. Willard, Dempsey, Dempsey v. Tunney, Sharkey-Carnera-Baer-Braddock, Joe Louis, Heavyweight Champion Fights, Gate Receipts, Fighting Names, Ring Rules, Famous Referees and Announcers, Training Methods VG/G $30.00

Within the Ropes: Champions in Action by Harold Rice, published as a 1946 1st edition hardcover (194 pages) by Stephen-Paul Publishers, New York, is a historical non-fiction sports work focused on the history of boxing. It covers the evolution of pugilistic sports, specifically tracking blow-by-blow accounts of major heavyweight championship bouts from the 18th century through the mid-20th century.

Book Description:
The book captures the dramatic and shifting eras of professional boxing, contrasting the rough, bare-knuckle rules of the past with modern gloved contests. Usually bound in distinctive yellow cloth boards, it serves as an analytical chronicle of elite boxing culture, detailing key strategies, cultural context, and fight records.
Key contents and features of the volume include:
• Historic Bouts: Explores landmark clashes in ring history, including the famous 19th-century bare-knuckle battle between Tom Molyneux and Tom Cribb, as well as the heavyweight title championship fight between Robert Fitzsimmons and James J. Jeffries.
• Anecdotes of Immortals: Captures striking vignettes of early legendary figures, such as a breakdown of the massive breakfast John L. Sullivan consumed right before enduring a brutal, 75-round outdoor victory under a 107-degree sun in 1889.
• Historical Appendixes: Features detailed reference lists tracking heavyweight championship matches from 1889 up to the book’s publication year in 1946. It also documents lists of the era’s most famous ring referees and announcers.