The publication date of 2017 and I am very late with this review. I had received an arc from Skyhorse publishing for an honest review.
This book covers a time in boxing that we will never see again from 1962-1997, the author who himself was a writer from this period and gives you the history of the different fighters as well as the many different fight which were just as big as the fighters themselves.
As a kid growing up in the sixties, I remember sitting with my father watching the Friday night fights on our black and white T.V. then in the late sixties, everything changed with the big fights from Ali. Ali and Frazier, Ali and Norton, Ali and Foreman, fights themselves were given names like the “Thrilla in Manila”, then “Rumble in the Jungle” which was and still is in my option one of the best fights ever.
Ali 32 fighting Foreman 25 and everyone was expecting Foreman who had gone through every opponent and was undefeated. Instead after the first round, Ali let Foreman hit away at him which he later would call rope-a-dope, Ali would later knock out Foreman. A great fight.
The book also goes the both the Spinks brothers including Leon who would knockout Ali but whose career went down afterward, his brothers Michael was not too bad. You then go into Tyson who took the boxing world by storm and really thought he would be the next champ for many years to come only to see his loss later as well. Then you get into Holyfield.
I really enjoyed this book and brought me back to a time when I thought boxing was great and enjoyed watching. With Ali, Frazier, Norton, Foreman, and some of the others from the ’70s which really made the heavyweight division something to watch when they came on. I a good book to relive the golden history. Very much worth the read.

This is a great gift idea for the sports fan. Boxing’s greatest heavyweight fighters all have a chapter in this easy to read book that contains essentially short stories. An enjoyable read for young and old.

A fantastic deep dive into the glory days of the big boys in boxing. A must read for combat sports fans.

Quick - name someone who is one of the heavyweight boxing champions of the world.

Me neither.

Somewhere along the line, heavyweight boxers stopped mattering. Maybe it's because most of the potential good ones are playing linebacker somewhere. Maybe it's because we became tired of the financial shenanigans in which the people not doing the work took money from the people doing the work - which has been going on since forever.

Maybe it's because the people running Ultimate Fighting and Mixed Martial Arts know more about marketing, especially in a world where they control the entire business. Maybe it's because people figured out there are easier ways to climb out of poverty.

Maybe it's a combination of all of the above.

In any case, it wasn't always like this. Once upon a time, the heavyweight champion was a major celebrity who was considered the toughest man on the planet. Come to think of it, it wasn't that long ago where that was the case - only a quarter of a century, a blink as these things go.

Veteran sportswriter Jerry Izenberg was around for the glory days of the heavyweight division. He apparently was at most of the big fights, and knew the champs and contenders personally. Izenberg empties out the memory book with "Once There Were Giants."

The author warms up for the assignment with a chapter on the history of the relationship between boxing and organized crime. The connection goes back to the start of the 20th century, according to Izenberg, but grew in importance in the 1930s and may have peaked in the 1950s. Fixing the results certainly happened, but the easiest way to influence the sport was through shady deals in management and curious matchmaking. In other words, connections were more important than victories in getting a title shot.

The last of the heavyweight champions to have obvious mob connections was Sonny Liston in the early 1960s. It speaks volumes that some people thought the heavyweight title dropped in class when it went from Liston to Muhammad Ali, who announced he had joined the Black Muslims right after beating Liston. Everyone seemed to be afraid of that group, even the syndicate.

The roll call of champions from there is pretty impressive. It includes Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and Mike Tyson. Even the contenders and the brief champions were at least interesting - Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, Earnie Shavers, Ron Lyle, etc. Once Tyson's career blew up, partly because of self-inflicted wounds, things haven't been the same. Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis haven't faced enough quality opponents for them to qualify as anything close to all-time greats.

Izenberg has plenty of good stories about the greats and near-greats. For example, the author writes that Frazier was something of a one-trick pony for most of his career in the form of a great left hook. However, Frazier had a surprise for Ali in their legendary third fight. He had been discreetly working on developing a punch with his right hand. Frazier shocked Ali with that new skill, and it turned the fight into a classic.

There's some good material here. Izenberg knows his boxing, and his version of events generally feel authentic. He also has some funny lines along the way, and that does wonders for making the story more fun.

On the minus side, this is a mighty quick read - and would have been even quicker without the tales of organized crime that don't feel like it's a good fit with the story. Izenberg also could have used a little more cleaning in his editing. A few facts and incidents get repeated along the way.

"Once There Were Giants" comes across as an entertaining enough package - maybe not a book you'll save forever, but enjoyable along the way. I'm in the sweet spot for the target audience, naturally. The catch comes for those who are too young to remember the principals here. They probably won't be interested enough to pick this up in the first place. But their dads might.

Magical times, such stories and tales that inspire the soul and make you want to strap on the gloves.

Great boxers in the heavyweight division are names that are recognized by even those who are not fans of the sport. Fighters like Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Joe Frazier, and George Foreman are just a few of the heavyweight champions who have left their mark both in boxing and in the world in general. That era when these and other great heavyweight boxers ruled the sport is chronicled in this terrific book by veteran writer Jerry Izenberg.

There is a passage in the prologue that fits the general theme of the book and also expresses the feelings of not only the author but also many of the readers when Izenberg states that “…there will never again be a heavyweight cycle like the one that began when Sonny Liston stopped Floyd Patterson – and ended when Mike Tyson bit a slice out of Evander Holyfield’s ear.” This covers the 35 year period of 1962-1997 and Izenberg tells many great stories about many great fighters from that era.

There is Sonny Liston, whom Izenberg states was the last fighter to be controlled by the Mob, a great account of all three classic fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Noteworthy is that Izenberg believes their third bout, the “Thrilla in Manila”, “…was the greatest fight I ever saw. Hell, I think it was the greatest fight anyone saw.” Many who have seen it will echo that sentiment. Then even more great storytelling is in store for the reader as Izenberg tells about both Spinks brothers who held the crown, Leon and Michael and of course, Mike Tyson and all of the chaos surrounding him.

This book is a breeze to read, especially for fight fans who remember the days when the heavyweight championship was a title that was held in reverence and was held by one man, not by several because of various organizations who claim to be the “one” who can declare the champ. The stories about these fighters, and some of the epic bouts they fought to either gain, lose or defend their championship are ones that boxing fans will treasure for a long time.

I wish to thank Skyhorse Publishing for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.