A Social History of Sheffield Boxing, Volume II

Combining urban ethnography and anthropology, sociological theory and place and life histories to explore the global phenomenon of boxing, A Social History of Sheffield Boxing explores the history of boxing in Sheffield and the sport’s impact on the cultural, political and economic development of the city since the 18th century. In Volume II, Bell and Armstrong examine the revival of Sheffield boxing after the decline of the 1950s and 1960s outlined in Volume I. Instigated by two men from outside the city—Brendan Ingle and Herol Graham—this renaissance became known as the ‘Ingle style,’ which between 1995 and 2014 produced four world champions: Naseem Hamed, Johnny Nelson, Junior Witter and Kell Brook. These successes inspired others and raised Sheffield’s profile as a boxing city, which in the 1990s and 2000s produced two more world champions in Paul ‘Silky’ Jones and Clinton Woods. In this second volume, Bell and Armstrong track the resurgence of boxing to thepresent day and consider how the game and its players have changed over time.
Matthew Bell has served as editor of the Sheffield United FC magazine Flashing Blade since 1989, and, amongst other books, he is co-author of Steel and Grace: Sheffield’s Olympic Track and Field Medallists (2014), with Gary Armstrong.

Gary Armstrong is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at City University of London, UK. Amongst several projects on sport, criminology, and surveillance, he co-authored Mixed Occupancy Housing in London: A Living Tapestry? with James Rosbrook Thompson.