War, Baby Kevin Mitchell Yellow Jersey Press, 184pp, £10 ISBN 0224060724
This hard-edged narrative revolves around a brutal world title boxing match in London in 1995, won by Britain's Nigel Benn. The loser, the American Gerald McClellan, who at the time was rated as the best "pound for pound" boxer in the world, was rushed to hospital after the fight, one of the most punishing in the recent history of the fight game. A blood clot was removed from his brain, leaving him blind. He now lives close to penury in the Midwest. Kevin Mitchell, a sports writer on the Observer, takes us, round by round, through the charged contest. His account is interspersed with illuminating commentary on the corrupt world of boxing, as well as stylised reflection, including passages in which he writes in the imagined voice of McClellan: "All I gotta do is put those on him. Then it be over." Excellent photographs intensify the atmosphere.
Fans of boxing will relish War, Baby, while others may be frustrated that Mitchell does not explore in greater detail the motivations behind our continuing desire for violent sport.
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