In anticipation for the upcoming release of “12 Rounds in Lo’s Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia,” we are checking in with some of the most accomplished and respected boxing figures from the state of West Virginia. These are road warriors, guys who fight anyone, anywhere, anytime — Appalachian underdogs of the squared circle. Their […]
working class studies
Interview with James “Buster” Douglas
He was a kid from the Linden neighborhood of Windsor Terrace in Columbus, Ohio. He was a standout basketball player at Linden McKinley High School, the son of a local amateur boxing hero who packed up and went off to college with dreams of making it to the NBA. But as sons often do, he […]
Interview with Ann Pancake
My upcoming book, “12 Rounds in Lo’s Gym: Boxing and Manhood in Appalachia,” is as much about Appalachian culture as it is the sport of boxing. From my first journal article, to my graduate school dissertation (“The Hillbilly Speaks of Rhetoric”), to my more recent publications, Appalachia continues to serve as my creative muse. I […]
Interview with Jack Loew
If you are a boxing fan from my neck of the woods, you know the story. It’s the one about a blue collar boxing trainer who spends his days paving and sealing driveways before heading to his gritty boxing gym located on Market Street in Youngstown, Ohio. And then one day in walks the right […]
Interview with James “Bonecrusher” Smith
He was born into a family of sharecroppers from rural North Carolina, born and raised in a small town of about one thousand residents. He was the first member of his family to graduate from college, the first college graduate to win a heavyweight championship. He was the first boxer to knockout England’s Frank Bruno, […]
Interview with Josh Stewart
He was born in Diana, West Virginia, the son of a elementary school teacher and a Baptist pastor. He was my cousin John’s best friend, both were four years older than me so I was always the tagalong. Even before he and John shipped off to West Virginia University, out into the world to become […]