Boxing Championship (A Tee and Sam Story Book 1)
Brooke uses words like a handless man wearing a blindfold uses a hammer — blindly and with no discernible precision. My head is spinning inside my cranium. Editing is not evil, writers. Give it a try. So, anyway, Brooke is insufferable. Brooke just fucking loves it when he goes manic, mostly because he gets really, really horny, and also because she likes to feel needed. Aside from the tranquilizers, Remy will NOT take medication for his very dangerous condition. In fact, if this book mentions something other than how perfect, hot, glistening, hard, strong Remy is, it only lasts for a couple of paragraphs.
But come on, Rachel , you say, thinking I seem like a huge bitch for being mean to this book. The sex has to be good. His expression is tense, ravenous, so hot as he scrapes his finger deep into my channel. Read my status updates for more squicky excerpts. D One more quote before I go: And his cock, standing before me. And a visual representation of how I feel about this book: View all 95 comments. Apr 08, Heather K dentist in my spare time rated it did not like it Shelves: Oh Katy Evens, you made me laugh so hard today.
Your brilliant satire on the state of modern women in their early 20s is an insightful critique of the unabashed shallowness and anti-feminist behavior spawned by such books as "Fifty Shades of Gray. The way you crafted your prose eloquently showed how hyperbole and hyper-erotic imagery can be used to Oh Katy Evens, you made me laugh so hard today. The way you crafted your prose eloquently showed how hyperbole and hyper-erotic imagery can be used to destroy the innate sensuality of a character.
Bravo for such a smart, funny, poignant work of art. This ISN'T a joke? No way, are you serious? This is for real? No, I don't believe you. There is no way she meant some of these lines non-ironically. You think so, do you? Well, let me see what other people thought. Holy crap, people like this book?! They liked this slut-shaming, stereotype-reinforcing, panty-soaking, womb-clenching drivel?
Well, a round of applause for those of you who made it through this book. All I know is that I'm significantly dumber than I was when I woke up this morning. View all 90 comments. I liked this book but didn't love it. Real intrigued me, captivated me, overwhelmed me, baffled me, and annoyed me. It has to be the single most repetitive and overly sexualized book I have ever read. And that says something! Still, I couldn't put it down, so I guess that says something, too. Overall, my biggest issues with this book—other than Booke's excessive babbling about how she looses control over her nether regions the girl's a dripping faucet and is all agog whenever she sees or is around Remington—is the fact that I never felt like I truly knew who Remington was as a character.
I know this sounds strange but I loved him without knowing why I loved him. It was an odd feeling and one that left me somewhat discombobulated by the end of the book. While this particular story didn't fully work for me—I found the heroine annoying and somewhat one-dimensional—I can see why others loved this book. It's an addictive read with an elusive hero that impossible not to love or swoon over. Mar 18, Jamie rated it it was amazing Shelves: This book is so much more than 5 stars..
It needs more stars!!! The Chemistry Between Remy and Brooke was crazy, intense, hot, mouth watering, scorching , sheet burning, panty melting, eye's rolling back of your head total fucking hotness!!! Once I got past almost dieing of sexual frustration.. The Story was so good..
Remy is underground boxer with some deep emotional issues that have made him bipolar. He can go dark and turn violent but he lets it all loose in the ring which has helped him make it to the top of his sport.. When he spots Brooke in the crowd one night it was instant chemistry! The connection was immediate.
- Tracks.
- Real (Real, #1) by Katy Evans.
- The Perfect Girl Drinks Root Beer;
- Expat Sam Horsfield keeping his expectations in check.
- Recompositions Roman (French Edition)!
- Tony Bellew defeats David Haye in huge heavyweight upset – as it happened | Sport | The Guardian.
Brooke is into sports rehab and Remy uses this as an excuse to hire her to take on the road with him to help mend his muscles and joints after strenious work outs and fights.. Brooke learns Remy's dark secrets but she falls so far in love with him that she'd do anything to be his anchor in the storm and be there for him.. This book so so soooooo good!!
The Berlin Boxing Club
I ate this book up like a bowl of chunky monkey ice cream!! I could not put this thing down!!!! I Love love love love Remy and Brooke! And what even more amazing is that there is going to be another book for them!!! This one did not end in a cliffhanger.. It ended with them kinda riding off into the sunset--left me knowing I know their happiness will conitinue! Definitly one of my all time favorites..
Remy has managed to push all my other book boyfriends back one spot so that I could place him firmly in my number one spot. Jul 12, Jaime Arkin rated it did not like it Shelves: Approximately 3 page in: I'm in the minority in my feelings about this apparently: In fact, the majority of the time I spent like this: And at one point, The first lemon had me doing this: The writing itself was so ridiculous to me.
I will be leaving all these quotes below for everyone to enjoy. And TBH this is all the time I'm going to put into a review for this thing. I just can't take anymore time away from quality stories and writing to put much more effort into it. I appreciate you taking one for the team!! And thanks to Bri for compiling them! Every time I see it it any kind of clothes I drool about a small ocean.
I can roll to my side and drape myself all over him like a warmed gummy worm. View all 43 comments. Mar 25, Debra rated it really liked it Shelves: Can't wait for more Remy!!! View all 70 comments. Aug 27, Karla rated it did not like it Shelves: I'm not gonna lie: Since I'm a bastard person at heart, I think you can guess what the inevitable result usually is.
There ain't no subjective about it. Objectively, it was bad. Objectively, it was one of More later. Objectively, it was one of the absolute worst entries in the New Adult genre that has met to wide acclaim. It gets its own little trophy. I know that this is the author's first book and it's bound to be of iffy quality. I know that it's a labor of love and the author loves her characters and loves everything they say and do and the manuscript was probably never seen by anyone willing or able to give it a good going-over. But that still doesn't mean that this saga of Brooke Dumas and Remington Tate didn't suck huge, hairy donkey balls.
Yeah, I should work on that One recurring excuse comment I see regarding self-pubbed romances like this is that even if the writing "needs work," at least there's "a good story. Excuse me, was there a plot here? OK, here was the plot: Brooke Dumas sees Remington Tate at an "underground" fighting match and he sees her and he gets hard and she gets wet.
He offers her a job as his "stretcher" and she takes it. He's hard; she's wet. Brooke finds out her little sister Nora is the druggie ho of Remy's archnemesis of the ring and wants to help her escape. Brooke also discovers Remy's bipolar and doesn't take meds but has a routine where he goes manic and gets jabbed in the neck with sedatives like he's a rampaging rhino or something. Remy goes real manic over dumb shit. Hardness and wetness ensue. I'm not simplifying things and leaving out details. That really is it. Because you want to know what the majority of the book is? Brooke fapping to every single inch of Remy.
Every little body part. There is not a single Remy-centric noun that isn't attached to at least one adjective, usually with an absolute modifier attached to it namely: He's got the perfectest gravity-defying flufferbuttle EVER. Arms, legs, thighs, hands, fingers, eyelashes, and cock. Hard, long, thick, slender, tanned. Nothing goes unremarked upon more times than you can count. It became such a blur in extremely short order. And then there's the pages upon pages upon pages of Brooke commenting on how wet and clenchy she is.
I've seen several reviews peg the "clench and its variations" around I don't believe it. It's got to be waaaaaaay more. When they share the same air, her clit swells to the size of Cleveland. When they actually start fucking, it gets even worse. The writing is such an endless wallow in teenager-in-love-with-high-school-jock that I ping-ponged between and IDK.
I'm sure the author was trying to make her readers see Remy as the preeminent rock star of the ring and, given the copious fangasmy 5-star squee picspooge poor Tom Hardy among a certain segment of the romance-reading demographic, she succeeded. But it was too Too Much. It jumped that adjective shark into Redonkuland.
There's really no place to go but up, and someone of her age who wants to sell fiction should learn that the basics of storytelling do not begin and end with how hot your hero is. Having your heroine say it over and over don't make it so. And it certainly doesn't constitute a plot.
I read the original edition and a glance at the "professional" product shows some of the worst grammatical mistakes still intact so I can't believe they're charging nearly 10 bucks for what is basically the author's self-insert wish fulfillment fantasy porn from the darkest recesses of her laptop, written by her inner year old who has confused porn with good smut. Stuffing semen back in? That's hot in what fucking universe?? Maybe Larry Flynt wouldn't give you the side eye for that.
Apart from the embarrassingly awful writing, the use of manic depression as a cheap dwama ploy is understandably offensive. I don't have much to say on the specifics since there are others who have first-hand experience with more of substance to say about it. I'm not bipolar and I don't know anyone intimately that suffers from it that I know of, anyway so it's not in the realm of my expertise.
I get moody, have a good cry, and get over myself. He needs a lithium drip. The author trotting out the whole issue solely to make Remy a woobie and Brooke want to kiss and cuddle him back into his real eye color is When Brooke opines that Remy's refusal to take meds is understandable because the cure can be worse than the disease, and what can help his bipolarity is teh healing sexxors with the One True Vagina, I called BULLSHIT and gave this book the salute it deserves: Even though I feel like I've been going on forever, I've only skimmed the surface of what I hated about it.
The fault lies in the fact that rarely did a page go by where I didn't groan, facepalm, shake my head, roll my eyes, etc. Go wish him into the cornfield, Brooke. He's a very bad man! It took no time at all for her to be his wet, clenching avenger, unquestioning practically everything about him and engaging in bar fights with his foes simply because he's so hot and he makes her wet. Love for all time? I so didn't see it. All I could see was wall-to-wall physical reaction and body obsessing. For a book that spent nearly its entirety in Brooke's brain, the actual substance wouldn't fill a thimble.
And what was up with her sexual experience? She goes from losing her virginity at the Olympic tryouts athletes get horny before showtime, yo and swearing off men after her life-destroying injury at said tryouts what one has to do with the other is anybody's guess , to being able to deep throat Remy's massive, one of a kind, world record-breaking cock in one go.
It was almost as if Brooke was some changeable stand-in for whatever fantasy was at hand. These placeholder heroines are the fucking pits , y'all. And the author's going to redo this story from Remy's POV? And that's all the insight we'll get. I just saved you 10 bucks. I've read worse books "worse" in that there weren't nearly as many lulz as what Evans unintentionally dished out and being bored is a mortal sin IMO , but I have never read a more embarrassingly puerile piece of tripe by someone old enough to know better.
This was a Buddy Read with Rachel, whose excellent review can be found here. You won't want to miss her "Ode to the New Alpha," an ongoing project to serenade the most knuckle-dragging lamebrains among New Adult heroes. Music plays a very important part in this book, most especially to Remy and Brooke and it does have its very own playlist but I want to dedicate this song to Remy for what he did in New York and what it meant - The Last Fight by Velvet Revolver.
Damn you Remy, you made me ugly cry! I want you to give yourself to me—not Riptide! THIS is that book. Nothing is forgotten — this book will stay with me forever. Brooke first sees Remy at an underground boxing fight. At this point, just a few pages in, I knew I was going to love this book. I knew it was special and even told my friend who I was sitting next to at the time. After just two pages? I knew instinctively this book was going to be exceptional.
Remy is a fallen boxer now competing in an underground circuit. The people who should have been there for him and loved him have turned their back on him when he needed them most. Now, he has a small entourage of people close to him, those that he trusts and he is fiercely protective of them and is incredibly slow to trust.
Experience has taught him to observe, to hold back and to say very little but that steely blue gaze is incredibly expressive and conveys more than he could ever put into words. I loved how Katy Evans did this, how carefully she chose her songs and, as the book progressed, the songs they chose for each other made my eyes shimmer with unshed tears. I was losing it and fast. Slowly, still breathing me in, he drags his nose along the length of mine. Then he withdraws, breathing hard, and looks at me with heavy-lidded eyes.
When she does eventually discover his secret, she chose to stand by her man through thick and thin whatever the future may bring and I loved her for it. Remy may be the epitome of a hard, tough masculine physique but the emotional strength and fortitude lies with Brooke. Remy needs her and will never be able to let her go. When they do finally come together it was everything and more that I hoped it would be. The sex is very hot and the scenes beautifully erotic but what makes this extra special is the emotion in those scenes is powerfully palpable and leaps right off the page.
As the events of the final few chapters unfolded and I realised what Remy had done and why, my eyes once again started to fill with tears and by the time we got to the last few pages, I was all out sobbing, ugly crying. The writing is sublime — I was right there with the characters in every single scene, I could see everything, especially the pulsating energy of the fight scenes and the raucous crowds. I open the glass shower door, and step inside with his beautiful slick skin and big hard muscles, pressing my naked breasts to his back as I wrap my arms around his waist.
He groans and tugs my arms tighter around him, and the words I love you are there inside me. I've never loved anyone in my life and I never imagined it could be like this. The anticipation of them finally getting together was frying my brain and I could not put this book down and I read deep into the wee small hours to finish it with a pair of headphones on and sobbing away! As I look back on my reading experience with this book and think about how it made me feel, I know that I have been in the presence of greatness.
View all 41 comments. Mar 16, A. This book was about a girl named Brooke who obviously has some sort of clenching condition. I can't count the times or list parts of her that clenched in many, many ways. Every time Remy was near she was panting like a dog in heat and I just wanted to pull her out of my Kindle and hit her.
I totally got that she thought he was so hot she was burning up with clenching and needing and what the eff ever it was. At one point, I was one-hundred-and-one percent sure that the author was making a joke out of it. Not only does she clench at the sight of him, at touching him, at whatevering him, but she actually clenches at remembering the sight of him, touching him, whatevering him.
I kept waiting for her to clench at remembering clenching at remembering the sight of him, touching him, whatevering him. Et cetera, et cetera. By the end I was almost positive that she actually did have a clenching condition. I kept imagining her spasming because she was clenching so much. But mostly she clenches. And not only that - but it's contagious because, yeah, you got it right, Remy clenches and so do his friends, and I think I really lost count of all the people that clench in this book.
Oh, and there's also this sweet subplot love story with crazy chemistry between Ms. The word clench, people, is used seventy times throughout the book in all its forms. I see a red flag go up. HOW did nobody catch this. I do wish the author didn't force her tastes on me while reading the book, though. She also sort of explains to you what VERY popular songs and movies are about. Make of that what you will. There are a couple of graphic sex scenes. I wouldn't not recommend this book. I wouldn't recommend it either. I'd just sort of shrug.
I originally gave this book 2 stars. I've just changed my mind. But that's all I'm saying. I just couldn't leave it be. I feel like I owe it to the author to say what exactly I didn't like about this book other than the fact it had me clenching my teeth. It really wasn't my intention to trash the book, and I don't wanna come off as a reviewer that just hated on it for the sake of hating.
I didn't hate this book, I just didn't love it either. There is nothing worse than wasted potential. I can definitely see the allure of smut without substance who am I kidding? I can't, not really , but it could have been so much deeper than it was. Instead of reading a book about Remy and Brooke healing each other and being what the other needs, it was trivialized by turning this into a juvenile "why won't he eff me?
It's not really all the clenching, that was me actually trying to find some humor in reading this book, otherwise I wouldn't have gone through it all the way. TWO The writing is amateurish at best. Written in first person POV present tense - which I can tolerate, but it keeps switching tenses throughout. It's an aneurysm waiting to happen.
Someone obviously proof-read this as it was really low on typos, considering, and I'd even say it was a fairly well edited book. But there were sentences that made no sense. There were misused words. I admire the author's efforts because I really thought she might have had a good story here if it weren't for the fact that being in Brooke's head was worse than being in Bella Swan's head and I hated, hated Bella.
The heroine overshares to the point of being disgusting. Her ovaries cramp, her womb clenches, her nipples harden and it's a constant state of unbearable arousal that is so unrealistic I had to fight not to roll my eyes every time she would say anything about it. She literally views Remy as a piece of meat, he's all man, he's huge, his muscles this, his jaw that, his spiky hair, his this, his that, oh, the obligatory pants jeans, whatever that hang on his hips It's objectifying and superficial at its worst.
Not to mention swamped with cliches. By the time she started showing Brooke maybe falling for Remy's personality it was already too late for me. I still believe Remy was the highlight of this book. That's a good character, if only she gave him a touch more personality. I'm not the one to go for silent and broody, but I can see why it's attractive, however, Remy just grunts and groans and grumbles and growles throughout this book. Just when I was okay and accepted the fact that he's simply not a man of many words, he spills his heart out in a long-winded speech that is basically a recap of the book in his POV.
The ending was rushed and a bit of a "it was all a dream" solution. I was kind of bored with all the muscle names and nutritional information, but I loved the fighting aspect of the story. I would have enjoyed it so much more if it weren't for the cop-out in the end. But, the depiction of Remy's view spoiler [bipolar disorder hide spoiler ] was mostly off mark. And I beg you, authors, don't use mental disorders and illnesses, rape and near rape, eating disorders, domestic abuse NOT all of these are in this book, this is more of a general thing or anything similar just as a plot device.
Moreover, don't be irresponsible about using these sensitive subjects. Suggesting that mood-stabilizers and anti-depressants are no good is not a responsible action. You hold the power of a written word in your hands that, maybe, hundreds, thousands will read. Please don't suggest people they are better off not medicating something as serious as Remy's condition. Remy is sedated by Pete and Riley on a regular basis and I just don't know how that is more okay than just seeking proper kind of help. They bring him hookers while he's out of it and it seriously rubbed me the wrong way.
Okay, now I've calmed down from the high that was this book, I guess my thoughts sound a lot more coherent. I hate writing negative reviews without actually adding something substantial to them. And for the love of everything you cherish, if anyone wants to comment with a "don't take it so seriously, it's just a book", just please refrain from doing it. When I want to read a book that is not serious, I read a comedy. After giving it A LOT of thought I literally can't stop thinking about it , today I've decided the book pissed me off.
How irresponsible do you have to be to write something like this?! Relying on tranquilizers to control his behavior when he's having an episode is probably the most irresponsible thing I have ever heard. I really hope the author will get Remy some proper, medical help in the next book. They were freaking treating him like he's crazy when this illness is treated like any other illness today. I just can't fathom this. It is so obvious it was in there just for drama's sake. I live in a freaking stone age country compared to the States and even here people are treated for what they have, and not kept in a psych ward just because they're depressed unless they're a threat to themselves which, let's be honest, Remy maybe even was.
I just can't get over this whole thing. I make it a point to stay away from books about these heavy issues because of all the REAL books out there that treat these things with so little respect it makes me want to gag. And I have read some pretty horrible books. View all 50 comments. Don't be fooled by all the 5 star reviews on this book! I'm sure there's an okay story in there somewhere if you don't have any problem with digging through a bunch of nonsensical crap to find it.
I don't want to spend my time trying to figure out what the author means, I just want to get lost in the story and characters. For me this book was close to unreadable. It is riddled with bad grammar, long run-on sentences some entire paragraphs are one long sentence misused words galore, incorrect t Don't be fooled by all the 5 star reviews on this book! It is riddled with bad grammar, long run-on sentences some entire paragraphs are one long sentence misused words galore, incorrect tenses, improper sentence structure and most of the sentences make little to no sense at all even if you rearranged them.
It was poorly written with almost no character development and the h's inner monologue is juvenile and extremely repetitive and drags on for pages at a time. And I scent him. Or else they're peeing on each other? These are not single instances. They run rampant through the entire book and the same mistakes are made often, sometimes several on a single page, so it obviously wasn't an editing or typo issue. Just the authors lack of knowledge.
The sex scenes had this same issue with wording that caused them to just be ridiculous. Now this one's just personal but calling the bad guys "goonies". Every time she said that all I could think of was Sloth with Chunk and little Data standing behind him throwing gang symbols and trying to look tough. Goonies never say die! I'm not even going to go into what little storyline there was. It's pretty much just the h's immature lusting over the H's muscles and jawline and sweatpants hanging off his hips just so, repeated over and over and over. She actually gushes a few times when he sips off her drink because their lips touched the same thing.
Most of it was unbelievably boring. I will say there were some aspects i. But that didn't happen. The way the mental illness was handled was particularly off putting. He shouldn't put that poison in his body. Bottom line is, if you actually care about a story being well written and not just a bunch of barely legible nonsense with a semi-hot guy that hardly talks and an immature rambling heroine, then you should pass on this one.
Honestly, I wish I had. View all 52 comments.
Tony Bellew stops hobbling David Haye in extraordinary boxing upset
Mar 15, Jenny - TotallybookedBlog rated it really liked it. We can never get enough of MMA book with a tortured hero can we Gitte? But what I found with this one was that there was a twist with regard to the MC which I found quite different and, as sad as that was, I enjoyed that this delved a little further than being a romance. Remy was at the heart of this story and I found him such troubled and interesting character. A competition… Remington Tate. We know him by many names, but knowing th Jenny: We know him by many names, but knowing the man.
Where does his anger, confusion and uncertainty stem from? Why was he so tortured and could Brooke be his salvation? Was she going to be the woman who sees so much more than the angry, manic fighter the fans see? Remy finds it hard to communicate, finding it hard to express himself and is most definitely a man of few words, and this again was something I really wanted to further explore. His lips curl and he meets my gaze. Brooke knocks Remy for a six when he first locks eyes with her and continues to be confused by the intense feelings he has for her.
I know there is one song in particular I will listen to from now on and always think of Brooke and Remy. I loved this story Jenny, for so many reasons, not just for the obvious ones like the fact that we have a gorgeous tortured hero in Remy, but the fact that this one absolutely put a different spin to the typical MMA stories out there. Remy is a complete force of nature. Like the dangerous quiet before the devastating storm. There is something so utterly raw and intense about Remy that just traps the reader…he exudes this power that is unrivalled.
He makes you miss a breath. He is like no other. He left me speechless! What I loved most about him though is the way he communicates through music. Remy is a man after my own heart. He reduced me to a puddle on the floor by his feet in complete captivation and desire. His immediate and intense attraction to Brooke, an attraction he is unable to communicate, gave me chills.
Remy was complex and his story broke my heart…made me cry! This Author had me gripped and on the edge of my seat through the whole story, oh and the music…spot on! He steps forward, and his damp hand slides into the nape of my neck. My pulse skitters as he lowers his dark head to set a small, dry kiss on my lips. That could both change and ruin my life. In a way, you do read this with some measure of dread in your heart because you feel so much for this tormented man.
Tony Bellew defeats David Haye in huge heavyweight upset – as it happened
Brooke is a tough cookie and tries to deny her feelings for the intensely closed off Remy, who fights as a way of dealing with his aggression. This man brings out such a need in Brooke she is unsure of how to proceed with Remy but knows she has to proceed with caution. The man who had been called the Brown Bomber was finished.
Louis's amateur performances attracted the interest of professional promoters, and he was soon represented by a black Detroit-area bookmaker named John Roxborough. As Louis explained in his autobiography, Roxborough convinced the young fighter that white managers would have no real interest in seeing a black boxer work his way up to title contention:.
The white managers were not interested in the men they were handling but in the money they could make from them. They didn't take the proper time to see that their fighters had a proper training, that they lived comfortably, or ate well, or had some pocket change. Roxborough was talking about Black Power before it became popular. Roxborough knew a Chicago area boxing promoter named Julian Black who already had a stable of mediocre boxers against which Louis could hone his craft, this time in the heavyweight division.
After becoming part of the management team, Black hired fellow Chicago native Jack "Chappy" Blackburn as Louis's trainer. Louis' initial professional fights were all in the Chicago area, his professional debut coming on July 4, , against Jack Kracken in the Bacon Casino on Chicago's south side. Louis won all 12 of his professional fights that year, 10 by knockout. In September , while promoting a Detroit-area "coming home" bout for Louis against Canadian Alex Borchuk, Roxborough was pressured by members of the Michigan State Boxing Commission to have Louis sign with white management.
Roxborough refused and continued advancing Louis's career with bouts against heavyweight contenders Art Sykes and Stanley Poreda. When training for a fight against Lee Ramage, Louis noticed a young female secretary for the black newspaper at the gym. After Ramage was defeated, the secretary, Marva Trotter, was invited to the celebration party at Chicago's Grand Hotel.
Trotter later became Louis's first wife in During this time, Louis also met Truman Gibson , the man who would become his personal lawyer. As a young associate at a law firm hired by Julian Black, Gibson was charged with personally entertaining Louis during the pendency of business deals. Although Louis' management was finding him bouts against legitimate heavyweight contenders, no path to the title was forthcoming. While professional boxing was not officially segregated, many white Americans had become wary of the prospect of another black champion in the wake of Jack Johnson 's highly unpopular among whites "reign" atop the heavyweight division.
Black boxers were denied championship bouts, and there were few heavyweight black contenders at the time, though there were African Americans who fought for titles in other weight divisions, and a few notable black champions, such as Tiger Flowers. Louis and his handlers would counter the legacy of Johnson by emphasizing the Brown Bomber's modesty and sportsmanship. If Louis were to rise to national prominence among such cultural attitudes, a change in management would be necessary. In , boxing promoter Mike Jacobs sought out Louis' handlers. After Louis' narrow defeat of Natie Brown on March 29, , Jacobs and the Louis team met at the Frog Club, a black nightclub, and negotiated a three-year exclusive boxing promotion deal.
Black and Roxborough continued to carefully and deliberately shape Louis' media image. Mindful of the tremendous public backlash Johnson had suffered for his unapologetic attitude and flamboyant lifestyle, they drafted "Seven Commandments" for Louis' personal conduct. As a result, Louis was generally portrayed in the white media as a modest, clean-living person, which facilitated his burgeoning celebrity status.
With the backing of major promotion, Louis fought thirteen times in The bout that helped put him in the media spotlight occurred on June 25, when Louis knocked out 6'6", pound former world heavyweight champion Primo Carnera in six rounds. Foreshadowing the Louis—Schmeling rivalry to come, the Carnera bout featured a political dimension. Louis' victory over Carnera, who symbolized Benito Mussolini 's regime in the popular eye, was seen as a victory for the international community, particularly among African Americans, who were sympathetic to Ethiopia , which was attempting to maintain its independence by fending off an invasion by fascist Italy.
Helping the white press to overcome its reluctance to feature a black contender was the fact that in the mids boxing desperately needed a marketable hero. Since the retirement of Jack Dempsey in , the sport had devolved into a sordid mixture of poor athletes, gambling, fixed fights, thrown matches, and control of the sport by organized crime. Just as Dempsey led the sport out of the doldrums While the mainstream press was beginning to embrace Louis, many still opposed the prospect of another black heavyweight champion.
In September , on the eve of Louis' fight with former titleholder Max Baer , Washington Post sportswriter Shirley Povich wrote about some Americans' hopes for the white contender, "They say Baer will surpass himself in the knowledge that he is the lone white hope for the defense of Nordic superiority in the prize ring. Although Baer had been knocked down only once before in his professional career by Frankie Campbell , Louis dominated the former champion, knocking him out in the fourth round.
Unknowingly, Baer suffered from a unique disadvantage in the fight; earlier that evening, Louis had married Marva Trotter at a friend's apartment and was eager to end the fight in order to consummate the relationship. By this time, Louis was ranked as the No. Although a former world heavyweight champion, Schmeling was not considered a threat to Louis, then with a professional record of 27—0. Schmeling was also 30 years old at the time of the Louis bout and allegedly past his prime.
Conversely, Schmeling prepared intently for the bout. He had thoroughly studied Louis's style and believed he had found a weakness. After defeating Louis, Schmeling expected a title shot against James J. Braddock , who had unexpectedly defeated Max Baer for the heavyweight title the previous June. Schmeling's victory gave Gould tremendous leverage, however.
If he were to offer Schmeling the title chance instead of Louis, there was a very real possibility that Nazi authorities would never allow Louis a shot at the title. Each of the parties involved worked to facilitate the controversial Braddock—Louis matchup. Louis did his part by knocking out former champion Jack Sharkey on August 18, A federal court in Newark, New Jersey , eventually ruled that Braddock's contractual obligation to stage his title defense at MSG was unenforceable for lack of mutual consideration.
The stage was set for Louis's title shot. On the night of the fight, June 22, , Braddock was able to knock Louis down in round one, but afterward could accomplish little. After inflicting constant punishment, Louis defeated Braddock in round eight, knocking him out cold with a strong right hand that busted James' teeth through his gum shield and lip and sent him to the ground for a few minutes. It was the first and only time that Braddock was knocked out the one other stoppage of Braddock's career was a TKO due to a cut.
Louis's ascent to the world heavyweight championship was complete. Louis's victory was a seminal moment in African American history. Thousands of African Americans stayed up all night across the country in celebration. Each time Joe Louis won a fight in those depression years, even before he became champion, thousands of black Americans on relief or W. No one else in the United States has ever had such an effect on Negro emotions—or on mine. I marched and cheered and yelled and cried, too. Despite his championship, Louis was haunted by the earlier defeat to Schmeling.
Shortly after winning the title, he was quoted as saying, "I don't want to be called champ until I whip Max Schmeling. The offer was too lucrative for Farr to turn down. On August 30, , after a postponement of four days due to rain, Louis and Farr finally touched gloves at New York's Yankee Stadium before a crowd of approximately 32, The bout was closely contested and went the entire 15 rounds, with Louis being unable to knock Farr down. Referee Arthur Donovan was even seen shaking Farr's hand after the bout, in apparent congratulation.
The crowd of 50, It seems the crowd believed that referee Arthur Donovan, Sr. Seven years later, in his published account of the fight, Donovan spoke of the "mistake" that may have led to this confusion. As Tommy walked back to his corner after shaking Louis' hand, I followed him and seized his glove. Then I dropped his hand like a red-hot coal! He had started to raise his arm. He thought I had given him the fight and the world championship!
I literally ran away, shaking my head and shouting. That's the last time my emotions will get the better of me in a prize fight! There was much booing at the announced result, but, as I say it, it was all emotional. I gave Tommy two rounds and one even—and both his winning rounds were close. Speaking over the radio after the fight, Louis admitted that he had been hurt twice.
In preparation for the inevitable rematch with Schmeling, Louis tuned up with bouts against Nathan Mann and Harry Thomas. The rematch between Louis and Schmeling would become one of the most famous boxing matches of all time and is remembered as one of the major sports events of the 20th century. Schmeling's victory over an African American was touted by Nazi officials as proof of their doctrine of Aryan superiority.
When the rematch was scheduled, Louis retreated to his boxing camp in New Jersey and trained incessantly for the fight. Roosevelt told him, "Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany. I had my own personal reasons and the whole damned country was depending on me. When Schmeling arrived in New York City in June for the rematch, he was accompanied by a Nazi party publicist who issued statements that a black man could not defeat Schmeling and that when Schmeling won, his prize money would be used to build tanks in Germany.
Schmeling's hotel was picketed by anti-Nazi protesters in the days before the fight. On the night of June 22, , Louis and Schmeling met for the second time in the boxing ring. The fight was held in Yankee Stadium before a crowd of 70, It was broadcast by radio to millions of listeners throughout the world, with radio announcers reporting on the fight in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. The fight lasted two minutes and four seconds.
Schmeling was knocked down three times and only managed to throw two punches in the entire bout. On the third knockdown, Schmeling's trainer threw in the towel and referee Arthur Donovan stopped the fight. In the 29 months from January through May , Louis defended his title thirteen times, a frequency unmatched by any heavyweight champion since the end of the bare-knuckle era. The pace of his title defenses, combined with his convincing wins, earned Louis' opponents from this era the collective nickname "Bum of the Month Club".
Despite its derogatory nickname, most of the group were top-ten heavyweights. Of the 12 fighters Louis faced during this period, five were rated by The Ring as top heavyweights in the year they fought Louis: Galento overall 2 heavyweight in , Bob Pastor 3, , Godoy 3, , Simon 6, and Baer 8, ; four others Musto, Dorazio, Burman and Johnny Paychek were ranked in the top 10 in a different year. Louis' string of lightly regarded competition ended with his bout against Billy Conn , the light heavyweight champion and a highly regarded contender.
Conn would not gain weight for the challenge against Louis, saying instead that he would rely on a "hit and run" strategy. I made a mistake going into that fight. Chappie was as mad as hell. But Conn was a clever fighter, he was like a mosquito, he'd sting and move.
Conn had the better of the fight through 12 rounds, although Louis was able to stun Conn with a left hook in the fifth, cutting his eye and nose. By the eighth round, Louis began suffering from dehydration. By the twelfth round, Louis was exhausted, with Conn ahead on two of three boxing scorecards. But against the advice of his corner, Conn continued to closely engage Louis in the later stages of the fight. Louis made the most of the opportunity, knocking Conn out with two seconds left in the thirteenth round.
The contest created an instant rivalry that Louis's career had lacked since the Schmeling era, and a rematch with Conn was planned for late The rematch had to be abruptly canceled, however, after Conn broke his hand in a much-publicized fight with his father-in-law, Major League ballplayer Jimmy "Greenfield" Smith. Slowly, the press began to eliminate its stereotypical racial references when covering Louis and instead treated him as an unqualified sports hero. For basic training, Louis was assigned to a segregated cavalry unit based in Fort Riley , Kansas.
The assignment was at the suggestion of his friend and lawyer Truman Gibson , who knew of Louis's love for horsemanship. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. He does not possess the Jewish qualities that the Nazi Germans make fun of, but his family does.
He starts to learn to box in order to defend himself against bullies that rag on him because he is Jewish. Karl starts to perceive the changes that Nazi Germany is going through and how the Jewish people are treated in his country because of who they are. Because of the various issues in society in this book, Karl is not allowed to be with his girlfriend, Greta, because of his background.
Because of the state that Germany is in, Karl starts boxing lessons with champion Max Schmeling and gradually grows into a man that his father always wanted him to be. He takes care of his sister, Hildy, who has Jewish facial features and is being made fun of because of it. He also helps his father in an illegal trade of art in order to help support his family. He keeps a positive outlook on life and tries to be the adult of the house when there is nobody there to guide him.
His beliefs change once he realizes that the Nazis are horribly unjust toward Jewish people. He is newly aware of this change in his country and his choices that are made from this point on are for the good of his family rather than selfish reasons. He even gives up tickets to the Olympics in order to earn some money for his family, even though he would much rather attend the Olympics.
Karl starts out in this book as a rather ignorant and weak boy who was unwilling to face society and its problems; however, he matures as the story progresses; as he learns about all of the social issues that he is forced to deal with, he grows into a man who is willing to make choices and sacrifices.
Expat Sam Horsfield keeping his expectations in check - Telegraph
I would recommend this book to people who are wishing to learn about social issues in Nazi Germany and have a good historical and fun read. Nazis, being Jewish, discrimination, etc Historical Fiction Elements: This book is based on a historical period but with fictional elements. Jan 03, Loni Colleen rated it really liked it. The Berlin Boxing Club was a book that combined two genres i am passionate about: Boxing and World War II.
Although the book is slightly juvenile and truly meant for a younger audience, i still enjoyed it. It was easy to read, flowed well, and held my interest throughout the entire story. I enjoyed all of the characters; each of them being very unique, and some unexpected. I enjoyed the balance of both topics The Berlin Boxing Club was a book that combined two genres i am passionate about: I enjoyed the balance of both topics and felt they went very well together, especially for the main character.
Overall it was a unique tale with a bit of historical facts and background to give it foundation. Mar 27, Jose rated it it was amazing. I picked these many stars because i really enjoyed the book, i enjoyed how it involved a real heavy weight boxer Max Schmeling. I enjoy reading books that were stationed with WW1 and WW!
The book was a just right book for me, it wasent too hard or too easy for me. Someone else should read this book because they could learn something new, on the back of the book it shows different dates and a description of what happen on that date. The book would be better if had a table of contents, theirs so I picked these many stars because i really enjoyed the book, i enjoyed how it involved a real heavy weight boxer Max Schmeling.
The book would be better if had a table of contents, theirs some really good quotes at the beginning of a chapter. A table of contents would be easier to find the quotes and the chapters. Feb 17, Alex not a dude Baugh rated it liked it Shelves: The Berlin Boxing Club is an historical fiction novel about a young secular Jewish teen coming of age in Nazi Germany between and Karl Stern has never considered himself a Jew and his Aryan looks have always helped him get away with that. After receiving a vicious beating by some former friends turned Hitler Youth bullies, Karl has the good fortune to meet boxing champion Max Schmeling, who knows immediately that he had been beaten up.
He offers to give Karl boxing le The Berlin Boxing Club is an historical fiction novel about a young secular Jewish teen coming of age in Nazi Germany between and While Karl becomes more and more proficient at boxing, life at home becomes more and more difficult. His father is always angry and critical of Karl, his younger sister is unhappy and afraid and his mother is severely depressed and distant. To make matters worse, he has started a relationship with an Aryan girl in his apartment building, something expressly forbidden in Nazi Germany. And things just get worse.
Eventually, the Sterns are evicted from their apartment for being Jews and forced to live in the closed art galley. When he finally does return, he discovers that the club has been sold and turned into place where blankets are made. Meanwhile, Max is in the US, preparing for a rematch with Joe Lewis, the famous African American boxer he had previously defeated in much to the joy of the Reich. But when Max loses the rematch, he also loses all his standing and creditability with the upper echelons of the Nazi regime. He returns to Germany, defeated and degraded, living in the Excelsior Hotel.
Now, Karl really needs help from Max. Sharenow effectively demonstrates the effects of the increasingly tightening noose that the Nazis put about the Jews in Germany in the s in The Berlin Boxing Club. I thought the characters were well drawn, both realistic and sympathetic.
Through them, Sharenow was able to show how strongly many secular Jews had considered themselves to be German first, Jewish second and why that thinking may have caused a great deal of confusion when the Nazis first took over. This is really apparent in Karl, who even wishes he could join the Hitler Youth along with the other boys in school, a not uncommon wish of may Jewish boys and girls in the early days.
I certainly would have felt the same way at that time. Unfortunately, there were two things that diminished this book for me. I felt overwhelmed by boxing descriptions and found myself glossing over them. I do think boxing is a nice metaphor for this coming of age story. My other problem was the language. It was just too modern. Sharenow writes that he was inspired to write The Berlin Boxing Club by the true story of Max Schmeling helping to save the lives of two Jewish boys by hiding them in his hotel room until he could secure passage for them to escape to the US.
This act of kindness and heroism had remained unknown until , when one of the boys, Werner Lewin, invited Schmeling to the US to thank him. Mar 07, Caroline added it. Sep 18, Emily N rated it it was amazing. This was a great book and it was super fun to read! It had exciting new action in every chapter. Apr 12, Manuel Ochoa rated it really liked it. In a way really, This could be the world war 2 version of the great rocky himself. Would of never really think of a setting where sports can still be held while men are off in the war risking their lives for their country.
But it not about them this around. The time is about in Berlin three years before ww2 started with the main character of the story is a fourteen-year Jewish boy Karl Stren. Learning from the all mighty Max Schmeling he struggles to compete in boxing but had to know that In a way really, This could be the world war 2 version of the great rocky himself. Learning from the all mighty Max Schmeling he struggles to compete in boxing but had to know that the holocaust is right behind him.
Mar 11, Chelsea rated it really liked it. Karl Stern lives in Berlin, Germany with his sister Hildegard and his parents. His father is owns an art store but makes very little income. Karl is sent on under the table jobs by his dad just so they can try and get by. Karl has never thought of himself as Jewish. When the war starts, that changes. His friends turn against him, his teachers turn against him, even his girlfriend eventually turns against him. When famous boxer, Max Schmeling, walks into Mr. After seeing that Karl had been beaten up by the Wolf Pack at school, Max decides to give Karl some boxing lessons.
He starts training everyday at home until he is finally ready to start training at the Berlin Boxing Club. He meets new people that push him to his limits like Neblig. Unfortunately Karl only gets to box in two matches before his identity is exposed. The two other characters in the book I could really see somewhat of a story out of is Mr. Stern and Max Schmeling. If the book were written in Mr. He tended to keep to himself a lot and is a very secretive and private man throughout the whole book. He gets invited to dinners with Hitler and Mayor Goebbles, but if this story were to be written in his perspective it would be more of a glory story than anything.
The perspective of the book changes quite a bit throughout this book. At first Karl is happy that no one has found out he was Jewish and everything was okay for him. He had acquired a girlfriend, he was doing well in school, and he had great friends. Karl had become afraid but brave at the same time. However, he was afraid of being taken by the Nazis. He also was confident enough to keep his identity from Neblig and the owner of the Berlin Boxing Club.
It is good that the perspective of Karl has changed throughout the book because as he brings the reader along with him through his journey the reader feels the emotion too. These changes tell me, as the reader, that the character, Karl, can have many personalities and emotions. It also tells me that the events in the book have affected him as a character.
If Karl had never met Max and started getting lessons, he might not have been confident and brave like he ended up being. When Karl had to beat up the Hitler Youth that were trying to attack his family, it changed my perspective.
I became more confident that Karl had learned how to use his skill as a boxer and take down anyone that came in his way. When his girlfriend broke up with him, I could also feel the pain that Karl was. When Karl boxed, I could feel the anger that was in him and I became to feel it too. The author did a very good job on making connections between the characters and the readers so that they would feel the same way throughout the book.
I recommend this book to seventh graders and above. I recommend this book to seventh graders and older because some of the words in this book are very complex. Another reason I would recommend this book to seventh graders and older is because some of the scenes in this book are very serious and emotional.
I found myself to cry at a few parts of the book. Apr 12, Brandon rated it it was amazing. I really enjoyed the book because you hear about stories of the jewish lifestyle circa WWII but actually seeing it in the eyes of a jewish boy is really different and intriguing than what you hear.
Karl goes through an interesting change from a teenager getting tossed around by bullies to a young man who stands up for his beliefs. Apr 11, Faith C rated it really liked it. When I read this book I really felt like I was a part of the journey with Karl who is the main character of this book. The time era is during World War 2 and the strugles he went to to stay alive. Along with his family. It included events from history but into a different perspective of a family who was directly affected by the Nazis who invaded Germany.
I will admit that the ending left me wanting to know more but I still really enjoyed this book. Highly recommended for any one who is intereste When I read this book I really felt like I was a part of the journey with Karl who is the main character of this book. Highly recommended for any one who is interested in the Jewish persective of the Holocaust.
Nov 02, Jennifer rated it it was amazing. I didn't want the book to end. I loved all the characters. Sep 07, Denise rated it really liked it Shelves: A well written historical fiction based very loosely on boxer Max Schnelling who save 2 Jewish boys during Kristallnacht. Well written, very interesting. Great recommendation for teens looking to read more about WW2 and adults too!
Feb 01, Yuko86 rated it really liked it Shelves: E il giovane ebreo prende alla lettera tutti i consigli del campione, diventando un buon pugile. Purtroppo i suoi guantoni non bastano per salvare la sua famiglia. Non bastano i sogni. Ma vediamo anche come molti ebrei, inizialmente, non si rendano conto della portata del problema: Che tutti abbiano chiuso gli occhi di fronte a quello che stava succedendo? I segnali erano ovunque, ma il mondo ha preferito far finta di niente.
Molto interessanti e ben costruiti i personaggi, mi ha colpito in particolar modo Hildi, la sorella di Karl: Anche i loro genitori sono personaggi ben curati e complessi: In conclusione, un libro che consiglio a tutti: Mar 01, Judah rated it liked it.