Dan Stuart's Fistic Carnival

At the turn of the century, boxing was illegal in most states. More brutal and less regulated than now, matches sometimes exceeded 80 rounds, and death in the ring was not uncommon. Fights were mostly held on the sly, but word of mouth made fighters into nationwide heros even as preachers denounced the game from their pulpits. In 1895, Dan Stuart, a shrewd gambling man from Dallas, had the idea of staging a world championship boxing match. In an entertaining and lively style, Miletich examines the madcap story of the early, impossible days of boxing promotion and the boxing rivalry of James ``Gentleman Jim'' Corbett, a dandy from San Francisco, and Bob Fitzsimmons, a lanky redhead from New Zealand. This is the story of Stuart's fight in the political ring against a wall of interference from politicians and evangelists all over the Southwest. Stuart's eventual success (the much ballyhooed title fight between Corbett and Fitzsimmons, held in Carson City, Nev., was the first to be captured on film) eventually changed federal and state laws. Miletich brings together a wealth of material about popular culture and sports in the days of the expanding Western frontier. A work of serious research, this is an engaging story of the infancy of a sport that from the start was one of devoted fans, horrified critics and self-interested promoters. (Dec.)