Product Description

"Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest, recounting their often poignant tales of life before and after their dates with the champ. In the end, of course,
we learn more about Ali. What stands out is their almost unanimous expression of affection for Ali. A worthy addition to any boxing
collection." -Library Journal
Muhammad Ali cast a blinding light on his sport, on the tumultuous times in which he reigned as champion, and on all the people who surrounded him. That included the fighters brave enough to stand alone in the ring with the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
Ali's own story has been told often, but the tales of those who faced him have been mostly overlooked. For each, the moments alone in the ring with Ali changed their lives. Facing Ali tells the stories, in the fighters' own words, of fifteen men from around the world-from famous names like Joe Frazier, George Foreman, and Henry Cooper, to lesser lights like Tunney Hunsaker, Jergen Blin, and George Chuvalo. Facing Ali offers a unique perspective on what it was like to fight Ali, and gives new insights into the character of a boxer who is arguably the most recognized man on the planet.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #174459 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Brunt provides penetrating and honest profiles of 15 fighters from around the world who faced Muhammad Ali, and he produces a book that should become one of the essential works for understanding the legendary fighter. Brunt's subjects range in chronological order from Tunney Hunsaker, the first man to fight Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) as a professional, to Larry Holmes, whose crushing victory in Ali's fourth comeback showed that the champion's career was truly finished. In between, Brunt (columnist for Toronto's Globe and Mail) offers bracing new looks at Ali's well-known opponents, including Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and George Foreman. Some of Brunt's best portraits, however, bring to life those "extremely unlikely tales, longshots, no-hopers, fighters lifted out of obscurity for their date with the most famous man on earth," such as Germany's Jurgen Blin, who fought Ali and the next day "was back at work at the sausage factory." Although each story varies, Brunt is amazingly sensitive to and respectful of each fighter's own words, no matter how factually wrong or self-serving they might be. He deftly illustrates how all the fighters to some degree believe that, as Jean Pierre Coopman says, "The Ali fight was the defining moment of my career," although this feeling is ironic for some, such as George Chuvalo, who despite his winning record became better known in his native Canada for going the distance with Ali and losing. Others are bitter, such as Joe Frazier, who views Ali's current Parkinson's disease unsympathetically; as Brunt cannily observes, "on the cosmic scale, [Frazier's] getting even..
- getting even."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Muhammad Ali has been written about ad nauseum, but here we have a fresh approach: examine Ali the boxer through the eyes of his opponents. From the champs (Foreman), to the contenders (George Chuvalo), to the hopelessly overmatched (Jean-Pierre Coopman), the lives of Ali's opponents were profoundly shaped by facing (and, usually, getting pummeled by) an international icon. While Ali transcended boxing, his opponents didn't, and most of these fighters spent their lives getting beat up in the ring and out of it. That makes for fascinating reading, but for those who care more about Ali than, say, Earnie Shavers, the book is also chock-full of anecdotes and opinions about Ali as seen by his opponents. From each fighter's story, a different Ali emerges. To Frazier, Ali is a cruel bully. To Chuck Wepner, Ali is Apollo Creed to Wepner's Rocky Balboa. To Joe Bugner, Ali is just a brilliant businessman who knew how to put butts in seats. Between the perspectives on Ali and the witty, elegant retelling of 15 fighters' lives, this is a must for boxing fans. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Makes it clear that boxing sure could us an Ali today--or any day." --Kirkus Reviews

"Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest, recounting their often poignant tales of life before and after their dates with the champ. In the end, of course, we learn more about Ali. What stands out is their almost unanimous expression of affection for Ali. A worthy addition to any boxing collection." --Library Journal

"Brunt provides penetrating and honest profiles of 15 fighters from around the world who faced Muhammad Ali, and he produces a book that should become one of the essential works for understanding the legendary fighter...Facing Ali should be as coveted as other recent popular works on Ali to which it compares favorably, such as David Remnick's King of the World and Mark Kram's Ghosts of Manila."--Publisher's Weekly

Booklist snippet:

"Between the perspectives on Ali and the witty, elegant retelling of 15 fighters' lives, this is a must for boxing fans."--Booklist

"Brunt does an excellent job of bringing his subjects out of the shadow of the Greatest, recounting their often poignant tales of life before and after their dates with the champ. In the end, of course, we learn more about Ali."--Library Journal

"Between the perspectives on Ali and the witty, elegant retelling of the 15 fighters' lives, this is a must for boxing fans." --Booklist

"Brunt provides penetrating and honest profiles of 15 fighters from around the world who faced Muhammad Ali, and he produces a book that should become one of the essential works for understanding the legendary fighter. Brunt is amazingly sensitive to and respectful of each fighter's own words, no matter how factually wrong or self-serving they might be. Facing Ali should be as coveted as other recent popular works on Ali to which it compares favorably, such as David Remnick's King of the World and Mark Kram's Ghosts of Manila."--Publishers Weekly

"Facing Ali contains a number of touching moments, but Stephen Brunt does not sentimentalize a brutal sport."--Columbus Dispatch


"More books have been written about Muhammad Ali than any other athlete in history. The strength of Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt's Facing Ali is that it manages to unearth fresh details about the man who called himself "the Greatest" while providing a series of compelling stories outlining the lives of 15 prizefighters."-- Houston Chronicle

"Facing Ali is not only a fine read, it succeeds in finding a new angle to the Ali story."-- Cleveland Plain Dealer
-- Review

Customer Reviews

A must-read for any Ali fan.
For a casual boxing fan who's too young to remember Ali, this book might be a little obscure. But for boxing fans of my generation, who grew up on Ali, your boxing library won't be complete without it. Each of the 15 opponents featured here has an interesting story to tell, and the book provides a ton of material for serious boxing historians.

What is particularly interesting is how most of these men's lives were profoundly affected by their encounter(s) with Ali. Henry Cooper, for instance, a national hero in the U.K., will still always be best known for a single punch he threw in a fight he lost: the left hook that knocked Cassius Clay (as he then was) on his butt. A few of them regard Ali with love or reverence, a few with indifference, and one, in particular, with undying resentment. Overall, one gets a remarkable education on the human condition by comparing the stories of these 15 very different men. Highly recommended.

untold stories of those who fought "the greatest"
A great book, adding a perspective on Ali from the least reported angle - namely 15 of his opponents. Most lost, a few knocked Ali down, a few defeated him. All have won or lost the corresponding internal battle they had to fight.

the fighters range from well-known and immensely talented boxers (foreman, frazier) to some of the least capable and likely contenders for the title in the history of the sport. All are fascinating, not merely for their perspecitves on Ali, but also for the value of their own stories as minor players in the most turbulent and glorious period in boxing history.

Now if these 15 fights were only available on a dvd.....

Facing Ali
Have you ever wondered what happened to the many boxing opponents of Mohamed Ali?
Perhaps you would like to know the other side of the story, what did they think about their matches with Ali or what did they think about one of the greatest boxers of all time?

Whatever happened to George Chuvalo, Henry Cooper, Brian London, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and many more who had the opportunity to demonstrate their pugilistic skills before millions of spectators?

As Stephen Brunt, author of Facing Ali, states in the opening remarks of his book, Facing Ali, "in boxing, in everything else, only one side of the story tends to be told."
Brunt writes a meaty book recounting his interviews with 15 boxers who had the good or bad luck, depending on how you would view it, in meeting up with Ali in the ring.
Other authors may have cluttered these interviews with the relentless analysis of their bouts; however, Brunt avoids falling into this trap and concentrates on exposing the human side of these pugilists.

The revelations are resonating even to the extent that when we put away the book they still linger on in our memories.
How can you not sympathize with Joe Frazier who fought 47 rounds with Ali? After all, he was constantly been used as a verbal punching bag for Ali, subjected to insults and taunts, such as being called stupid, ignorant, and the worst insult of all, gorilla.
As the book mentions, "with Frazier, it was different-different because Ali, no doubt sensing vulnerability, went straight for the heart, different because Frazier was unequipped to fight back, at least outside the ring."
Today Frazier's bitterness is evident when asked whether he knew where Ali was, whether he knows how he was, he replies, "I don't think nothin' about him, I know one thing. He thinks about me. He thinks about me everyday when he gets out of bed."
This latter comment, as Brunt points, out is in reference to Ali's infirmity, to his Parkinson's syndrome, and the part Frazier's left hook might have played in causing it.

One of the reoccurring themes that keeps on popping up throughout the reading of the book is that no matter what accomplishments many of these boxers achieved throughout their career, we only seem to remember their Ali encounters. Such is the example of Jurgen Blin, who won the European boxing title, however was badly defeated by Ali.

No doubt, Ali's insatiable fans will be snapping up Facing Ali, however, they may come away with a different picture of their hero.

This review first appeared in the reviewer's own site
www.bookreviews.com