Photographer Howard Schatz Releases New Knock-Out Boxing Book

One of the nation's premier photographers, Howard Schatz (www.howardschatz.com), tackles the sport of boxing in a way no one has with a new book born out of spending six years with more than 100 boxers and industry professionals. At The Fights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing (Sports Illustrated Books, Cloth; $75; 224 pages; 320 photos; ISBN: 978-1-61893-005-7), which has received praise from Time, Maxim, Chicago Tribune, and major media, features all of the people important to boxing today, depicting the culture of a sport and a business.

Schatz is a critically-acclaimed, award-winning photographer whose works appear in Vanity Fair and museums internationally and is one of the most prolific photographers of the past quarter-century. He has turned his eye to professional boxing, as his book captures pugilists and those who make up the sport with breath-taking images and revealing interviews that fascinate not only sports fans, but those who value original, cutting-edge photography. It ain't your dad's boxing book!

At The Fights represents the 19th book in two decades for Schatz, who has served as a photo-journalist for Ring Magazine, ESPN Magazine, and Sports Illustrated. His body of dynamic work reflects upon a variety of subjects: athletes, fashion models, naked pregnant women, underwater dancers, Hollywood celebrities, and the homeless. His newest visual triumph features:

- The insightful words and images of modern-day gladiators, including Manny Pacquiao, Bernard Hopkins, Tim Bradley, and Vladimir Klitschko.
- Never-before-seen images of 7 trainers, 4 judges, 5 referees, 9 promoters and managers, 5 physicians, 4 commissioners and presidents, and 14 prize-fighting writers and broadcasters.
- Unique photographs of Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson -- out of the ring.
- Dynamic ringside action shots from recent championship bouts.
- A six-foot long gatefold featuring scores of modern-day champions.

In what could be the largest gathering of living champions photographed in one book, At The Fights presents a collective voice coupled with fantastic art to shine a rare spotlight on those who live in and run the prized sport. Schatz has seen victory and defeat from vantage points few have witnessed. He brings us up close to the heart, soul and strength of boxing. This book redefines the genre of sports photography books.