Clash of the Little Giants: George Dixon, Terry McGovern and the Culture of Boxing in America, 1890-1910

In the late 1890s, when boxing rivaled the popularity of baseball, George Dixon and Terry McGovern were among its most famous practitioners. Their paths first crossed in 1900 in what is widely considered the most significant featherweight bout in history. Both men were fighters who died young under distressing circumstances. Both were products of a burgeoning industrial society and a cult of masculinity, at a time when prizefighting’s adherents and opponents were in a constant tug-of-war. This book tells the full story, with a fascinating cast of characters including imperious manager/promoter Tom O’Rourke, World Welterweight Champion Barbados Joe Walcott, and Tammany Hall bigwig Timothy ＂＂Big Tim＂＂ Sullivan, whose invisible hand made New York the epicenter of boxing in the 1890s.

Sociologist Arne K. Lang has taught at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the University of Nebraska, and Tuskegee University. A leading authority on the history of boxing and the history of American sports gambling, he lives and writes in Las Vegas, Nevada.