When In Doubt, Stop the Bout: A Revolutionary Approach to Boxing Safety and Reform

"Since the inception of the Marquess of Queensberry rules boxing has understood the need to be safer. While there have been some rule changes through the years, many have been like applying an 'enswell' to reduce swelling. In his latest book, When in Doubt, Stop the Bout, Mike Silver asks the hard questions and offers serious and innovative solutions that will make the sport safer without diluting its primal appeal. Anyone who cares about boxing and the fighters who put themselves at risk should read this book."-Teddy Atlas, Hall of Fame trainer and boxing analyst

In When in Doubt, Stop the Bout, renowned boxing historian Mike Silver presents a shocking exposé of the sordid underbelly of professional boxing and uncovers the sport's criminally flawed infrastructure and those responsible for it.

From compromised referees to poorly trained ringside physicians to an insidious cartel of "sanctioning organizations" approving dangerous mismatches, Silver lays bare the corruption, the negligence, and the incompetence that has made a dangerous sport even more dangerous.

But aside from unmasking the chaotic mess that afflicts boxing, this book for the first time proposes groundbreaking practical solutions that will mitigate the danger and save lives. Penetrating and persuasive, When in Doubt, Stop the Bout will change forever how you see the sport of boxing.

Mike Silver is an internationally respected boxing historian and author. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Ring, Boxing Monthly, the International Boxing Research Organization Journal, and various boxing websites. A former inspector for the New York State Athletic Commission, he has served as a consultant and on-air commentator for nineteen boxing documentaries produced by PBS, HBO, ESPN, the History Channel, and Madison Square Garden Network. He is the author of three previous books, including The Arc of Boxing: The Rise and Decline of the Sweet Science, one of the most accurate, fact-based analyses of boxing and boxers ever written.