From the magazine

The sickness at the heart of boxing

After 30 years as a boxing correspondent, Donald McRae has seen enough, angered by the lies, dope, inadequate safety protocols and lure of Saudi sponsorship

Mike Jakeman
Patrick Day (left) lands a punch on Charles Conwell in the first round of the fatal bout in Chicago, October 2019. Getty Images
EXPLORE THE ISSUE 22 March 2025
issue 22 March 2025

There is a lot of death in the latest, and potentially last, book on boxing by the South African journalist Donald McRae. In less than two years he loses his sister, both his parents and his mother-in-law. To cope with the trauma he returns to the sport that has sustained his life and work for 30 years.

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