The Harder They Fall by Budd Schulberg

Budd Schulberg's celebrated novel of the prize ring has lost none of its power since its first publication more than fifty years ago. Crowded with unforgettable characters, it is a relentless expose of the fight racket. A modern Samson in the form of a simple Argentine peasant is ballyhooed by an unscrupulous fight promoter and his press agent and then betrayed and destroyed by connivers.