Glove Affair

My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing

Randy Gordon - Foreword by Tracy Morgan

Randy Gordon has spent over 40 years in the world of professional boxing, as a broadcaster, ring announcer, New York State’s athletic commissioner, editor of TheRing magazine, and host of SiriusXM Radio’s At the Fights. No one else has ever seen the sport from so many different angles and from such lofty seats.

In Glove Affair: My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing, Gordon recounts never-before-heard stories of the boxing industry and offers insights into some of its most famous figures, including Hall-of-Famers Bert Sugar, Alexis Arguello, Bob Arum, and Mike Tyson. With the perspective only an insider can offer, Gordon also reflects on his times with Muhammad Ali—including the champ’s mind-dazzling magic tricks and his thoughts on the “Thrilla’ in Manila”—and provides a glimpse into the boxing commissioner’s office with stories of a wild and fiery hearing and a commission employee’s betrayal of the agency.

From his days as a wheelchair bound, severely injured boy in 1959 to the most-widely-listened-to boxing talk show host on the radio, Gordon recalls his life story with passion, humor, and love. More than just another book on the Sweet Science, Glove Affair is a journey through the world of boxing through the eyes of a man who has seen it all.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-5381-2112-2 • Hardback • April 2019 • $37.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-2113-9 • eBook • April 2019 • $35.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / Boxing, Biography & Autobiography / Sports

Glove Affair

My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Randy Gordon has spent over 40 years in the world of professional boxing, as a broadcaster, ring announcer, New York State’s athletic commissioner, editor of TheRing magazine, and host of SiriusXM Radio’s At the Fights. No one else has ever seen the sport from so many different angles and from such lofty seats.

In Glove Affair: My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing, Gordon recounts never-before-heard stories of the boxing industry and offers insights into some of its most famous figures, including Hall-of-Famers Bert Sugar, Alexis Arguello, Bob Arum, and Mike Tyson. With the perspective only an insider can offer, Gordon also reflects on his times with Muhammad Ali—including the champ’s mind-dazzling magic tricks and his thoughts on the “Thrilla’ in Manila”—and provides a glimpse into the boxing commissioner’s office with stories of a wild and fiery hearing and a commission employee’s betrayal of the agency.

From his days as a wheelchair bound, severely injured boy in 1959 to the most-widely-listened-to boxing talk show host on the radio, Gordon recalls his life story with passion, humor, and love. More than just another book on the Sweet Science, Glove Affair is a journey through the world of boxing through the eyes of a man who has seen it all.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-5381-2112-2 • Hardback • April 2019 • $37.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-5381-2113-9 • eBook • April 2019 • $35.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Sports & Recreation / Boxing, Biography & Autobiography / Sports

Author

Randy Gordon has been involved with boxing for over 40 years, as a fighter, writer, reporter, referee, editor-in-chief of The Ring magazine—the biggest and oldest boxing magazine in the world—chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, and host of SiriusXM’s At the Fights. He is the author of Muhammad Ali (2001) and The Ultimate NBA Sticker Book (2002). Gordon was inducted into the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame in 2004 and the New York State Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016.

Table of Contents

Foreword Tracy Morgan
Acknowledgments
1: The Rock and Mr. Boxing
2: Glove Affair
3: El Flaco Explosivo
4: The Ring
5: A Choice to Make
6: Terrible Teddy, Wild Bill, and Unswerving Irving
7: “Murder, Plain and Simple”
8: Handball Jim and Dollar Bill
9: Catskill Thunder
10: Commissioner Gordon
11: It’s about Time
12: The Greatest of All Time
13: Truth or Trickeration
14: Two King-Sized White Envelopes
15: The Good Guy Award
16: Gentleman Gerry
Epilogue
Index
About the Author

Reviews

There’s a detailed account of Don King and WBC president Jose Sulaiman trying to bribe Gordon with a huge stack of hundred-dollar bills in the hope that Gordon would set aside Mike Tyson’s managerial contract with Bill Cayton. Readers will also find an intriguing and extremely unflattering portrait of longtime NYSAC staff member Marvin Kohn.
— The Sweet Science

A wonderful read…. Truly a “glove affair” with a great sport.
— Marc Ratner, IBHOF inductee and former executive director, Nevada State Athletic Commission

Glove Affair is a must read for every boxing fan . . . Gordon delivers a knockout!
— George Willis, sportswriter/columnist, New York Post

Glove Affair is a hard-hitting, no-punches-pulled look at the sweet science from a guy who has seen every side of the sport.
— Gerry Cooney, former heavyweight contender

Nobody has worn more hats than The Commish.… This book is superlative!
— Michael Woods, editor, NYFights.com and host, “Talk Box” podcast from Everlast

This book is riveting! It brought me back to the Golden Era of boxing.
— Alexis Arguello Jr., producer, CBS Sports

For a lot of us of a certain age, Randy Gordon was a part of our boxing childhood, our gateway drug to the sweet science. And when Randy got us in the door, his continued enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport kept us here. The beautiful thing about this book is that after two decades in the game, I thought I knew it all. Glove Affair reminds me that I don't. But Randy might.
— Thomas Gerbasi, senior editor, BoxingScene.com

From the Foreword: Randy holds nothing back. He didn’t as the editor of RingMagazine, he didn’t as the Commissioner of Commissioners, he doesn’t as a talk show host on SiriusXM Radio, and he certainly holds nothing back in the pages you are about to read. Both the sport and we, as fans, have been blessed by his presence.
— Tracy Morgan, actor and comedian

Features

5/24/19: Randy Gordon tells all on The Shadow League's podcast "Pritty Left Hook"

Link: https://theshadowleague.com/pritty-left-hook-randy-the-commish-gordon/

Glove Affair

My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing

Randy Gordon - Foreword by Tracy Morgan

Glove Affair

My Lifelong Journey in the World of Professional Boxing

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