{"product_id":"floyd-patterson-the-fighting-life-of-boxings-invisible-champion-9780151014309","title":"Floyd Patterson: The Fighting Life of Boxings Invisible Champion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A well-researched and overdue tribute. Like one of Pattersons reliable left hooks  Stratton sharply recounts the life of an important  but often forgotten  two-time world heavyweight champion.\"  Gary Andrew Poole  author of PacMan: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao  In 1956  Floyd Patterson became  at age twenty-one  the youngest boxer to claim the title of world heavyweight champion. Later  he was the first ever to lose and regain that honor.  Here  the acclaimed author W. K. Stratton chronicles the life of \"the Gentle Gladiator\"  an athlete overshadowed by Alis theatrics and Listons fearsome reputation  and a civil rights activist overlooked in the Whos Who of race politics. From the Gramercy Gym and wildcard manager Cus DAmato to the final rematch against Ali in 1972  Pattersons career spanned boxings golden age. He won an Olympic gold medal  had bouts with Moore and Johansson  and was interviewed by James Baldwin  Gay Talese  and Budd Schulberg. A complex  misunderstood figure  he once kissed an opponent at the end of a match  he was known for his peekaboo stance and soft-spoken nature.  Floyd Patterson was boxings invisible champion  but in this deeply researched and beautifully written biography he comes vividly to life and is finally given his due  as one of the most artful boxers of his time and as one of our great sportsmen  a man who shaped the world in and out of the ring.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648040984629,"sku":"ByrdShop_0151014302","price":26.06,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780151014309.jpg?v=1781707352","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/floyd-patterson-the-fighting-life-of-boxings-invisible-champion-9780151014309","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}