By David Martinez / dmboxing.com

I am excited to announce that author Gene Aguilera’s newest publication “Lost Stories Of West Coast Latino Boxing” is now available. This edition is his third book and is simply a center piece in any boxing collection.

Upon receiving my complimentary copy directly from Arcadia Publishing at Gene’s request, the first thing that captured my attention was how masterfully all of the photos are displayed in black and white format. This wonderfully adds to the 1940 through 1970 flavor of the golden age of boxing covered in this book.

The Life and Crimes of John Morrissey: Bare-Knuckle Boxing Champion, New York Gangster, Irish American Politician Paperback – Author: Kenneth Bridgham (Illustrated, August 19, 2020)

In 1855, New York City was scandalized by one of the most infamous murders in its history, that of gang leader Bill “the Butcher” Poole, the feared knife-fighter who later would inspire Daniel Day-Lewis’s character in Martin Scorsese’s film The Gangs of New York. The acknowledged mastermind in the Butcher’s undoing was John Morrissey, a two-fisted Irish immigrant who, more than any other man of the age, represented the nefarious links between organized crime, politics, sports, and high finance in America. The loose inspiration behind Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in The Gangs of New York, he was an undefeated bareknuckle prize-fighter, widely recognized as the national champion, as well as a feared gangster and mob boss before either term was coined, rumored leader of the Dead Rabbits street gang, and eventually U.S. Congressman and member of the New York state senate.  He became the millionaire operator of some of the world’s most opulent gambling halls, and was the founder of the Saratoga thoroughbred racecourse. Equally comfortable hobnobbing with pimps, cut-throats, and thieves as he was with Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant, or railroad tycoons like Cornelius Vanderbilt, the once impoverished street kid rose to a level of wealth and power unprecedented for Irish Americans to that point in the nation’s history.