By Paul Upham: From very early on in "Boxing's Greatest Workouts", it is easy to see that author Gary Todd is exactly what he describes himself as - a "boxaholic". One man's lifelong love of boxing training has been condensed into this 144 page glossy colour book, a guide to the training secrets of some of the world's greatest boxers.
The marketing line for the book - "A behind-the-scenes, fly-on-the-wall look at a training day-in-the-life of the world's best boxers" - fits well.
Todd details his early childhood years living in Dundee, Scotland, where he first stumbled upon his love for boxing and the beginnings of a lifetime search for the very best training, boxing has to offer. The author has travelled around the world meeting and training with some of the sports best and an impressive range of names such as Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jr, Jeff Fenech, Kostya Tszyu and Aaron Pryor can be seen amongst the twenty-seven world champions featured
Readers can compare the differences in daily preparations and training routines as the great modern day fighters prepared for battle. Do you know what time Terry Norris got up to run, what Nigel Benn had for breakfast or how much sparring Ken Norton did? It's all in this book in an easy to read format which allows for quick comparisons between each fighter.
After having tried all the workouts of those featured himself, Todd then provides his own unique boxing training routines that can be modified to suit people of all fitness levels. The author then takes the reader through the finer aspects of each boxing training exercise, with a generous helping of photos throughout.
Published by ABC Books, "Boxing's Greatest Workouts" has just been released and is available at bookshops in Australia for $29.95.
The book can also be purchased on-line .
So often, boxing books cover the same well-worn path of topics, but it is hard to remember a new offering which is so fresh and unique. Todd's enthusiasm for boxing training literally jumps off the pages, knocking you out!
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor
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