In the Inner Sanctum

Behind the Scenes at Big Fights

Thomas Hauser

• Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781682262146
• eBook ISBN: 9781610757836

When Thomas Hauser was selected for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2019, his relationship with Muhammad Ali was widely cited. But Ali was just one of the many fighters who have shared momentous times with Hauser. For decades, elite fighters like Evander Holyfield, Manny Pacquiao, Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Sergio Martínez, Jermain Taylor, Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, and Canelo Álvarez have welcomed him into their dressing rooms to record their journeys on fight night.

Gathering and updating more than thirty essays from Hauser's critically acclaimed yearly collections, In the Inner Sanctum celebrates these most dramatic hours in boxers' lives. In each account, Hauser chronicles the very moment when a fighter's physical well-being and financial future are on the line—when the fighter is most at risk and most alive.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Shannon Briggs, the Judges, and George Foreman’s Last Fight: George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs—November 22, 1997
• The Night Lennox Lewis Vanquished the Heir Apparent: Lennox Lewis vs. Michael Grant—April 29, 2000
• Roy Jones: “Y’all Musta Forgot”: Roy Jones vs. John Ruiz—March 1, 2003
• The Night You Knew It Was Over for Evander: Evander Holyfield vs. James Toney—October 4, 2003
• From Invincible to Vulnerable: Roy Jones vs. Antonio Tarver—May 15, 2004
• The Changing of the Guard: Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor—July 16, 2005
• The Road Back for Wladimir Klitschko: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Samuel Peter—September 24, 2005
• The Opponent: Anthony Ottah vs. Kevin Burnett—February 16, 2006
• James Toney and What Almost Was: James Toney vs. Hasim Rahman—March 18, 2006
• Ricky Hatton Stakes His Claim in America: Ricky Hatton vs. Luis Collazo—May 13, 2006
• The Night John Duddy was Great: John Duddy vs. Yori Boy Campas—September 29, 2006
• Nikolai Valuev’s Quest for Acceptance: Nikolai Valuev vs. Monte Barrett—October 7, 2006
• First Bout at 3:05 p.m.: Hector Beltran vs. Ernest Johnson—May 5, 2007
• The Executioner: Bernard Hopkins vs. Winky Wright—July 21, 2007
• The Night Kelly Pavlik Became King: Kelly Pavlik vs. Jermain Taylor—September 29, 2007
• A Look Back at Ground Zero for Mayweather–Hatton: Floyd Mayweather vs. Ricky Hatton—December 8, 2007
• Boxing Is a Cruel Teacher: Kelly Pavlik vs. Bernard Hopkins—October 18, 2008
• The Legend Grows Old: Roy Jones vs. Joe Calzaghe—November 8, 2008
• The End of a Dream: Paulie Malignaggi vs. Ricky Hatton—November 22, 2008
• Manny Pacquiao at the Summit: Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton—May 2, 2009
• The Appalling End to Foreman–Cotto: Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto—June 5, 2010
• John Duddy: A Fighting Heart Isn’t Enough: John Duddy vs. Julio César Chávez Jr.—June 26, 2010
• Manny Pacquiao in Texas: Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito—November 13, 2010
• Chad Dawson’s Revenge: Chad Dawson vs. Bernard Hopkins—April 28, 2012
• High Drama in Las Vegas: Sergio Martínez vs. Julio César Chávez Jr.—September 15, 2012
• Seanie Monaghan Loved to Fight: Seanie Monaghan vs. Rex Stanley—April 13, 2013
• Gennady Golovkin’s Kingdom: Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens—November 2, 2013
• Behind the Scenes with Tim Bradley: Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley—April 12, 2014
• Two Good Men, One Would Lose: Sergio Martínez vs. Miguel Cotto—June 7, 2014
• In Celebration of Miguel Cotto: Miguel Cotto vs. Daniel Geale—June 6, 2015
• Miguel Cotto’s Last Fight: Miguel Cotto vs. Sadam Ali—December 2, 2017
• Katie Taylor Can Fight: Katie Taylor vs. Victoria Noelia Bustos—April 28, 2018
• The Validation of Canelo Álvarez: Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin—September 15, 2018
• Sergiy Derevyanchenko and the Harsh Reality of Boxing: Gennady Golovkin vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko—October 5, 2019
• History in the Making: Canelo Álvarez vs. Sergey Kovalev—November 2, 2019
• Epilogue