{"product_id":"the-main-event-richard-o-davies-9780874179286","title":"The Main Event: Boxing in Nevada from the Mining Camps to the Las Vegas Strip","description":"Richard O. Davies won \u003ci\u003eForeword Reviews'\u003c\/i\u003e INDIEFAB Book of the Year Bronze Medal in Sports for \u003ci\u003eThe Main Event: Boxing in Nevada from the Mining Camps to the Las Vegas Strip\u003c\/i\u003e. Davies' book was chosen as one of the best indie books of 2014. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As the twentieth century dawned, bare-knuckle prizefighting was transforming into the popular sport of boxing, yet simultaneously it was banned as immoral in many locales. Nevada was the first state to legalize it, in 1897, solely to stage the Corbett-Fitzsimmons world heavyweight championship in Carson City. Davies shows that the history of boxing in Nevada is integral to the growth of the sport in America. Promoters such as Tex Rickard brought in fighters like Jack Dempsey to the mining towns of Goldfield and Tonopah and presented the Johnson-Jeffries \"Fight of the Century\" in Reno in 1910. Prizefights sold tickets, hotel rooms, drinks, meals, and bets on the outcomes. It was boxing\\--before gambling, prostitution, and easy divorce\\--that first got Nevada called \"America's Disgrace\" and the \"Sin State.\" \u003ci\u003eThe Main Event\u003c\/i\u003e explores how boxing's growth in Nevada relates to the state's role as a social and cultural outlier. Starting in the Rat Pack era, organized gambling's moguls built arenas outside the Vegas casinos to stage championships\\--more than two hundred from 1960 to the present. Tourists and players came to see and bet on historic bouts featuring Sonny Liston, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, and other legends of the ring. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the celebrated referee Mills Lane to the challenge posed by mixed martial arts in contemporary Las Vegas, the story of boxing in Nevada is a prism for viewing the sport. Davies utilizes primary and secondary sources to analyze how boxing in the Silver State intersects with its tourist economy and libertarian values, paying special attention to issues of race, class, and gender. Written in an engaging style that shifts easily between narrative and analysis, \u003ci\u003eThe Main Event\u003c\/i\u003e will be essential reading for sports fans and historians everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Richard O. Davies\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0874179289\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780874179286\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Nevada Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/21\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.29lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.23h x 6.41w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e IndieFab awards - Bronze Medal Winner","brand":"Richard O. Davies","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065222213887,"sku":"9780874179286","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7d937e2f-6bb1-4864-b493-285121fba034.jpg?v=1768673785","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-main-event-richard-o-davies-9780874179286","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}