There's a kindness in beating a man badly, and that kindness is based on correctness,' Chris Eubank
March 2016: boxer Chris Eubank Jr punches his opponent, Nick Blackwell, into a coma. Blackwell dies momentarily, before being brought back to life. He remains in a coma for seven days. The boxing world is thrown into turmoil. In his corner, Junior's dad, Chris Sr., had been imploring his son to aim for the body. Was this a coach making a tactical change? Or was this a former boxer pleading with his son to show mercy? Twenty five years previously it had been Chris Sr. who had left his opponent Michael Watson with severe brain damage following a brutal encounter.
Elliot Worsell was ringside, reporting as part of Blackwell's camp with exclusive access to both dressing rooms. A lifelong boxing fan and experienced journalist, what Worsell saw left him questioning himself and his sport. Blackwell survived, but in Dog Rounds Worsell goes in search of the men who have killed in the ring. In spending time with these pariahs, as well as taking some of them back to the venue in which their tragedy occurred, Worsell uncovers a story that is raw, unflinching and extraordinary. Dog Rounds asks, should these men feel culpable when tragedy occurs in the ring? Should they carry the burden? Should they be apologetic? And it asks, what is our responsibility as spectators, cheerleaders and rubberneckers? Elliot Worsell has worked in the boxing and mixed martial arts industries for over a decade as a journalist and a publicist, and his writing has appeared in The Ring, Boxing News, Boxing Monthly, UFC 360, Fighters Only and the Huffington Post. His first book was Making Haye: The Authorised David Haye Story. He lives in London. A raw and unflinching exploration of boxing and death from one of the sport's top writers A William Hill Sports Book of the Year contender appealing to an intelligent, broadsheet-reading sports fan in the vein of Don McRae's In Black and White (17,000 TCM), or A Life Too Short, by Ronald Reng (33,000 TCM). The Eubanks story hit backpage headlines everywhere. Videos relating to the fight have been viewed over half a million times on YouTube Publishing in July 2017 - traditionally a packed month for boxing matches, providing strong PR hooks The fighters interviewed by Worsell are US as well as British opening up the possibility for strong rights sales. Hard-hitting and intelligently written. Dog Rounds goes to the heart of our oldest sport and examines universal themes like life, death, guilt and shame.
