1893 first edition The Science of Boxing by Prof. Mike Donovan Fitzgerald Publishing

The sport of boxing came to the United States from England in the late 1700s and took root in the 1800s, mainly in large urban areas such as Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and New Orleans. Boxing was illegal in the United States until the early 1900s, but matches and championship bouts continued under the threat of police raids and arrests.

Professor Mike Donovan
Many Irish and Irish Americans found themselves taking up the sport.  Sadly, many of them ended up being exploited for their skill, often dying from injuries sustained in the ring.  A few went on to gain celebrity status and were able to utilize their skills to train others.  Such was the case with ‘Professor’ Mike Donovan.

Donovan was born Michael J. O’Donovan in Chicago, Illinois on September 28, 1847, to Irish-born parents. He attended school in Chicago until the outbreak of the Civil War.  In 1862, at the age of 15, Michael quit school and enlisted in the Union infantry. He served under General Ulysses S. Grant and later served in Georgia under General William T. Sherman where he participated in Sherman’s “March to the Sea.”

After the war, Michael began a boxing career that would associate him with some of the best-known people of his age.  He adopted the ring-name of Mike Donovan, dropping the O’ from his name. He was nicknamed the “Professor” due to his great boxing knowledge and his ability to figure out the opponent’s style, then exploit their weaknesses.

Mike Donovan fought as a middle-weight, although the weight categories were not always strictly followed in the early days and he often fought heavy-weight opponents. Donovan fought both in bare-knuckle fights and in gloved bouts. He fought only gloved bouts starting in 1871.

Donovan lost his first professional bout on January 3, 1866 against Crowley Davis in St. Louis, but he went on to win an impressive number of fights. On July 4, 1869, Donovan fought John Shanssey at 
Cheyenne, Wyoming in front of 3,000 spectators.  Mike defeated Shanssey in 10 rounds.  The referee for that bout was 21-year-old Wyatt Earp.

This is a ring style binder book and it is original . It is in good vintage condition the biggest  condition problem is that the pages have been torn away from rings which could be fixed by applying Hole Reinforcement rings. Pages very good other then that.  exx
Very rare book.