An explosive history, from boxing’s cinematic origins to today’s global spectacle—and its uncertain future.

The noble art of boxing is the world’s oldest contact sport. Its Big Bang moment was the arrival of Thomas Alva Edison, whose pioneering feature film Men Boxing was produced in 1891. From that seed, boxing grew to become the first truly global sport. Taking Men Boxing as its starting point, 97 Fights is a thrilling, no-holds-barred account that considers all the greats—Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, Nicola Adams and Oleksandr Usyk among them. Modern boxing has weathered the storms of mob fixing, wayward fighters, and personal tragedy, in and out of the ring. With signature precision and humor, and the passion of a true fan, John Sutherland charts the sport’s precipitous climb, its golden era, and its uncertain future, from the “Thrilla in Manila” to the unedifying spectacle of Logan Paul’s “Bragging Rights.” Ultimately, the book asks: Where will boxing go? Or will it just go? These are the two questions to which Sutherland’s authoritative survey leads, and to which he supplies authoritative answers.