Jimmy Wilde - The Greatest Fighter of All Time ?

If you ask any boxing fan who they believe the greatest boxer of all time to be, some will prove endlessly popular draws - Muhammad Ali, Jack Johnson, Mike Tyson. Everybody has their favourites, but if you're talking pound for pound, and probably the hardest puncher the world has ever seen, one name stands head and shoulders above the rest, Jimmy Wilde, the ghost with the hammer in his hand. There will never be another one quite like him, born in Quakers Yard, South Wales in 1892, Jimmy began scrapping as a boy, and before he turned professional had beaten hundreds of opponents, many nearly double his size.

This in itself wasn't hard, for Jimmy's fighting weight was just 6st 10lbs. Whenever he entered the ring men laughed or abused the promoters, scared that this scrawny waif would get battered beyond recognition, maimed or even killed. By the time the bag of bones had finished his boxing career he was champion of the world, for years the biggest boxing celebrity in Europe (and the highest paid), the full list of his victories will never be known, Jimmy guessed he beat 864 - it's a good a guess as any. He was only beaten 4 times. On both sides of the Atlantic he became a legend.



HITTING AND STOPPING, HOW I WON 100 FIGHTS by Jimmy Wilde
Authorised Official Edition by PeerlessPress

Last year I decided it was important that we remember some part of the Jimmy Wilde phenomenon and to this end, I sought permission from the family of Jimmy Wilde to republish his first book, in which Wilde writes of his thoughts on boxing and the techniques that ensured that he won his first hundred fights by way of knockout.

The result is 'Hitting and Stopping, How I Won 100 Fights' which contains the original text of the book and much additional material and rare photographs. The book is currently available from amazon.co.uk in limited numbers, although I am making a special offer for those that would like to purchase a book from within the UK, and am making it available for 12.99 directly to customers with FREE shipping to anywhere in the United Kingdom.

If you are interested in securing a copy of this classic boxing book by Jimmy Wilde, please emailme at :

peerlesspress@gmail.com .

The book is also available for sale to buyers outside the UK, although shipping must be paid for for all non-UK orders. Email for detailsand shipping costs to your location.

A review of the book courtesy of Tracy Callis, the US based boxing historian of the International Boxing Research Organisation (IBRO) is below :

BOOK REVIEW by Tracy Callis - International Boxing Research Organisation
HITTING AND STOPPING - HOW I WON 100 FIGHTS By Jimmy Wilde

This book, HITTING AND STOPPING- HOW I WON 100 FIGHTS, about the fabulous flyweight champion, Jimmy Wilde, is an interesting and informative read. It has chapters written by the champ himself revealing his views and secrets of fisticuffs in the roped square. There are two major parts. The first has a preface, a very descriptive (wonderfully informative) introduction by Lawrence Davies, who edited the work, and the four chapters by Jimmy Wilde that entail 98 pages. The chapters are entitled Get In And Get Away, On Hitting, On Stopping, On Damaged Hands And Back Hand Punches.

After this is an Addendum that contains two works written by Jimmy that are named The Secret Of My Success and My Greatest Battle. Also, there is an article, How Wilde Developed His Skill, by Jim Driscoll and a work named Tales Of The Tylorstown Terror by Charles Barnett, a Welsh referee who officiated over many of Wilde's contests. Then, there is a brief section with Expert Opinions on Jimmy Wilde as a fighter. The men expressing their views of Jimmy as a fighter are Harold Alderman, J.G.H. Lynch, Fred Dartnell, Ted Lewis, Trevor Wignall, A.F. Bettinson and B. Bettinson, Charlie Rose, Denzil Batchelor, Viscount Knebworth, Eugene Corri, James Butler, Gilbert Odd, Norman Clark and Reg Gutteridge. This is a most knowledgeable collection of historians and boxing men evaluating one fighting man, but what a fighting man ! Jimmy's physical measurements follow this and then the career ring record of the man most often ranked as the greatest flyweight in boxing history is included at the end.

The book is easy reading with conversations, fight talk, boxing philosophy, fighting tips and instruction along with illustrated fight positions in rare photos of Jimmy.

All boxing fans know about the hitting prowess of Wilde. The amazing thing is just how he mustered the blasting technique with such a thin and non-muscular body. Nat Fleischer called him the #1 Flyweight in boxing history. Mike Casey, that splendid boxing historian and writer also identified Jimmy as the greatest flyweight in history. Gene Tunney called him "the greatest fighter I ever saw" and The Ring rated him as the #3 greatest puncher of all time.

Lawrence Davies is a Welsh boxing historian and author of the book 'Mountain Fighters, Lost Tales of Welsh Boxing' (Peerless Press, 2011), which explores the history and origins of the bare knuckle prize ring in Wales.

Here is a preliminary blurb :

For the first time in over half a century, Hitting and Stopping, the first book written by Jimmy Wilde, Flyweight Champion of the World has been re-published as a new, updated and expanded official edition :

'Jimmy Wilde was one of the greatest fighters the world has ever seen. He fought hundreds of times on the fairground boxing booths while still in his teens, often battling opponents nearly twice his size. Wilde went on to win his first 100 professional fights, most by way of knockout and defeated much larger men throughout his professional career. By 1916, Jimmy Wilde was universally acknowledged as the Flyweight Champion of the World, and held the title until 1923.

Wildes devastating punching power was such that he is regarded by The Ring magazine as being the third greatest puncher of all time. Boxing historian Nat Fleischer rated him as the No. 1 Flyweight in boxing history.

Jimmy Wilde was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990 and is today celebrated as one of the most gifted fighters to have stepped into the boxing ring. First published in 1914, Hitting and Stopping reveals the combative insights of a true boxing master. Jimmy Wilde explains the unorthodox methods and strategies that enabled him to emerge victorious on hundreds of occasions. Illustrated by many rare instructional photographs of Wilde demonstrating his techniques, this book is a must for any sports historian or boxing student hoping to understand the life and career of a man who was called The Ghost with a Hammer in his Hand due to his devastating punch and his uncanny skills in evading his opponents.This new official edition of Hitting and Stopping How I Won 100 Fights contains further additional written material and commentary as well as numerous photographs of Jimmy Wilde that have not been included in any previous edition.

Hitting and Stopping, How I Won 100 Fights by Jimmy Wilde Peerless Press

160 pages, softcover

Numerous photos, expert opinions of Jimmy Wilde, career record of Jimmy Wilde

ISBN : 9780957034211

Price: 12.99

This is interesting, informative and worth reading. Boxing fans who read this book will not be disappointed!!!

HITTING AND STOPPING HOW I WON 100 FIGHTS By Jimmy Wilde Review courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization