The Lion and the Eagle, by Iain Manson

Just after 7am on 17 April 1860 in a field outside Farnborough, Tom Sayers from Brighton and the New Yorker John Heenan shook hands, then stripped to the waist.

Boxing's first world title fight was about to begin. Thirty-seven bloody bare-knuckle rounds later, the bout ended in chaos as Sayers' corner collapsed the ring, claiming their man, five inches shorter and 40lb lighter than his opponent, was being strangled on the ropes. The outcome was officially a draw.

Iain Manson's account of the build-up, fight and aftermath bubbles and fizzes with vitality, providing a history of prizefighting along the way and setting this epochal contest firmly in its social context.

Ten years later in New Orleans, Gypsy Jem Mace of Norfolk became the first world heavyweight champion before dying in obscurity back in England. Jeremy Poolman, his great-grandson, has retraced his footsteps to produce a deeply personal family memoir that packs a powerful emotional punch.

Published in large-format paperback by SportsBooks, £14.99

'Gypsy Jem Mace' is published in hardback by Andre Deutsch, £18.99

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