“As I sit here with this remarkable man, I realise that sometimes it takes another person to articulate your own feelings before you can begin to understand them.”

Were I to pick one phrase that stands out from this book and exemplifies it for me, it would be this.

What have love and boxing got to do with each other? Very little, you might think, outside of a trashy romance, yet in ‘Dangerous’, author Ian Probert reveals an unexpectedly gentle facet of a hard-edged world. ‘Dangerous’ is a book about boxing that has little to do with sport and everything to do with being human.

I am not a fan of boxing. I began reading ‘Dangerous’ because I have enjoyed Probert’s writing, both in his children’s books and on his blog. I didn’t really expect this book to appeal to me…and was surprised to find I had read it cover to cover in a single day.

It is a compelling read.

Ian Probert gave up writing about boxing 25 years ago after witnessing the fight that left boxer Michael Watson fighting for his life. He walked away from boxing altogether until a chance comment by his therapist sent him back, during the depression that followed the death of his father. Why the two should be linked in his mind, Probert himself did not know, except that boxing had been the one part of life where he and his abusive father had seemed to share common ground. In returning to the world of boxing, perhaps he might find some kind of resolution.

As the premise for a book, it didn’t sound appealing. It could easily be little more than a maudlin and self-indulgent meander with a chance to drop a few famous names. That is very far from being the case.

In revisiting the people and relationships of his past, Probert’s self-deprecating humour takes the focus away from himself and places it firmly on the people he meets. Here too I was surprised…, I knew all their names and most of their public histories, showing just how much the sport is part of our culture. What I did not know was who these people were and what their own stories might be.

In a series of informal interviews with some of the great names of the ring, that lift the veil on the unseen face of boxing that the spotlights and flash bulbs ignore, we are given an intimate glimpse of the laughter, tragedy and camaraderie that exists within the sport. For anyone with any interest in boxing, for this alone it would be well worth the read. Yet there is another story running through the book that steps to one side and frequents the shadows cast by the lights of the ring…and that is the author’s own story.

There is a theme that develops as he meets people who care, both for and about each other. Unacknowledged guilt is offered a chance for a personal redemption when his daughter is taken seriously ill and a boxer is admitted to the hospital. And there is a dawning realisation of who he, himself, might be… and why. You are not told; Probert simply takes you with him and lets you feel it for yourself.

Written in a tight, yet conversational style, ‘Dangerous’ is a fascinating look into the closed world of boxing… and an intense and evocative glimpse into the heart of a man.

‘Dangerous’ featured on this blog when it was launched and you can read the first chapter of Dangerous here.

Dangerous is published by Pitch Publishing and is available in paperback and electronic formats, via Amazon and all good bookstores.

About the author:

Ian Probert has been scribbling down words ever since he learned to spell the phrase: ‘Once upon a time…’. He is the author of Internet Spy, Rope Burns and a bunch of other titles. Internet Spy was a bestseller in the US and made into a TV film. Rope Burns is a book about why books shouldn’t be written about boxing. Ian has also written things for a shed load of newspapers and magazines. When Ian was a student he used to write lots of letters to the bank manager.

Visit https://ianprobertbooks.wordpress.com for random thoughts about the universe and the price of tea.

Go to http://ianprobert.com to increase traffic to his website, which is apparently very important.

Follow him on Twitter @truth42 if you’ve got far too much time on your hands.

Follow him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/716683635030173/. Lord knows why you’d want to do that.

You can also find him on Goodreads and follow him on Amazon if you are so inclined.