Black, white and gold. Joe Gans and the longest fight

As Joe Gans slumped on to the canvas, his leg stretched behind him, right shoulder leaning into the tension of the middle rope, he felt the hands of his trusted trainers Jerry and Jack beneath his arms. A storm of pain thrashed through his midriff. Referee, George Stiler, stood over him engulfed by his own hesitation in the shadow of his wide brimmed hat and the significance of the moment.

Gans’ foe, Oscar ‘Battling’ Nelson, was pointed toward a corner, his reputation for fouling snarling beside him.

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September 2, 2026 0

Amir Khan: Silver, Shades and Tom Sayers

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new.”
Samuel Beckett (Murphy 1938)

Amir Khan is a frequent and willing interviewee. As a fighter in the modern communication age he’s fielded more questions, or perhaps half a dozen repeated infinitum, than a hundred of his predecessors, even those of greater luminosity than his.

None of those fighting forefathers shone so brightly they needed to wear sunglasses inside as Khan has a predisposition to, certainly not when the extent of their preceding exertion was a mere fall out with their spouse. One might presume Johnny Tapia or Jake LaMotta could make a case for an exception.

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