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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And in this corner, November 6, 2007
Boxing trainer Angelo Dundee is on my list of people I would most love to sit in a saloon with so I could just listen to them talk. He always seemed like one of those guys who can tell a story, and then another story, and then another story each one better than the last until the bell rings for last call and you get up off your bar stool and make your way home. And that is the feeling I got reading Dundee's "My View from the Corner: A Life in Boxing." This is or has the feel of an `as told to' book with famed boxing writer (and great story teller in his own right) Bert Randolph Sugar. We have Angelo Dundee talking to Bert Sugar about boxing, the universe, and everything and the result is a book that makes you feel as is you really were sitting next to Dundee and Sugar in your local bar. The book is roughly divided into three parts. In the first, we hear about Dundee's youth and introduction (through his older brother Chris) into the world of boxing and his early stable of fighters, most notably light heavyweight Willie Pastrano. The second and biggest part takes us through Dundee's years with Muhammad Ali, from his days as Cassius Clay, through his last days as a fighter. The third and final part covers Dundee's post-Ali years with Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman (during his second stint as the lovable, heavy, old timer). Dundee's style is conversational and reads more like the transcript of his conversations with Sugar than it does a conventional piece of writing and I think this works perfectly. It isn't pretentious or smug; it is just Dundee being Dundee and that's pretty darn good. Dundee's discussion of his relationship with his fighters, particularly Ali, is the heart of "My View from the Corner". I don't think any reader will be disappointed. Dundee was extraordinarily loyal to the fighters under his care and it shows. However, he doesn't shy away from discussing the flaws of those same fighters, including Pastrano, Ali, and Leonard. He is one of life's realists who knows that even our sporting heroes can have feet of clay so when he talks about some of those flaws it doesn't come across as bitter or angry. It simply comes across as a glimpse of a real human being. Dundee, as you would expect, also gives a great account of his view of some of the great fights of the last 50 years including the two Ali-Liston fights, Ali-Frazier I and III, Ali-Foreman, and the two Duran-Leonard bouts amongst others. I've been watching fights since the days of the Gillette Friday Night Fights and just about all of the big fights that Dundee describes. For me, Dundee brings a view of his fighters' famous and not so famous bouts that I just never would have seen as just a fan even those I've watched time and time again. I think any boxing fan, even readers with just a passing interest in the sport, will love this book. L. Fleisig
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A KNOCKOUT COMBINATION!, November 5, 2007
As a longtime boxing fan and recreational boxer, my heart skipped a beat ... just like when you see that hard right hand quickly heading toward your nose ... when I saw this wonderful book on the bookstore shelf. And what great timing. I have long imagined what Dundee, along with the great boxing writer and historian Sugar, would put together ... and it's a book I read with utter fascination.
Dundee's years with Ali are the highlight of the memoir, but his beginnings in training and his life working with other fighters, famous and not so famous, are just as satisfying. Here's a man who devoted nearly his entire life to training the finest athletes in the world ... professional boxers ... and the result, knowing he's retired now, is a beautiful and bittersweet rendering of his life in the gym and in the corner ... and the lives of those who won a lot because of Angelo Dundee.
Hell, I personally know how hard it is just to land one solid punch in three rounds of sparring. Now here's a book that wins you over on every page. What a treat. What a boxing education. Thanks, Angelo and Bert. You both get your arms raised by me.
Reviewer Todd Sentell is the author of the wildly irreverent and hilarious social satire, TOONAMINT OF CHAMPIONS
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Knockout? Well, maybe a TKO, January 14, 2008
As as-told-to books go, this one was better than most simply because Angelo Dundee has led such an interesting life as a boxing trainer for some of the greatest boxers in the latter half of the 20th century. The writer, Burt Sugar, however, injects far too many modern cultural references that I just don't believe a man like Angelo would say, making the effort look contrived and phony. That aside, however, this is a fascinating read for those who even have a passing interest in boxing.
The book divides his life and career into three phases: pre-Ali, Ali, and post-Ali. While there is plenty of boxing in the storyline, it doesn't provide blow-by-blow accounts of every fight. Instead, the lead-up to the fight is discussed followed by a few key observations about the fight itself making the book flow at a quite snappy pace. In fact, you have to read closely in places as 2 or 3 years can elapse between paragraphs which you might otherwise pass right over.
The bulk of the narrative centers upon Angelo's long relationship with Muhammmed Ali, spanning the years when a young Cassius Clay meets Angelo through the last of his several retirements. By far, these pages are the most interesting of the book. They really help turn Ali into a likeable person who seems like he would be very entertaining to be around.
The first and third sections aren't so interesting. The first because he talks about his work with fighters of whom I have never heard. The last part, which really focuses upon Sugar Ray Leonard, was OK but he just didn't really depict Leonard as much beyond being a greater fighter.
All-in-all, this is a very readable book about an interesting person who was associated with interesting people. Except for the cultural references I mentioned before, this is a very good read.
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