BOOK REVIEW 

Tracy Callis

"The only thing I can do is to fight"
by
Mark T. Dunn

Mark Dunn has done it again, he has given us an extremely well-researched book. This time, he writes about the great bantamweight, Jimmy Barry, and three other boxers from years of the distant past - "Captain" James Dalton, Patrick J. "Reddy" Gallagher and Arthur Majesty. Mark's detailed account of the life of Barry with many new, documented fights is sure to spark interest in the two-fisted Chicago dynamo as well as his words about the  tug boat general Dalton, the athlete-fighter-ballplayer-businessman Gallagher and the little-known Majesty. Such a detailed and lengthy work on Barry, the man this author considers to be the very best bantamweight in ring history, is a goldmine of information. Many of his major bouts are described as well as interesting facts about Barry's life and surrounding events. The same is true for "Reddy" Gallagher. Not only was Gallagher a very skilled fighter, he was a man of many talents. During his life, he engaged intelligently in a number of business endeavors and ended up as the Sports Editor for the Denver, Colorado Post newspaper. James Dalton came from an earlier period of history and tangled with several men of legend such as John L. Sullivan, Jem Goode and Mike Cleary to name three and engaged in exhibition contests with many other famous men. Of the men covered in this book, Arthur Majesty is the least known. He was an energetic little fellow who associated with many popular boxers and fought some well-known men too - namely, Tommy Warren five times and Paddy Welch. His tragic encounter with David Seville is described in reasonable detail. The book contains four chapters - one for each of the main men - that span 254 pages plus a magnificent set of Endnotes consisting of 96 pages of wonderful references. It also has an index and is an informative research guide for the early days of ring activity. Tidbits of information are also provided about many other fighters as the book progresses. Mark Dunn usually provides detailed notes with his work. By examining the notes, one can gain considerable knowledge about the people mentioned in the book. Boxing historians - be informed ! Your interest in boxing history is rewarded, You must read this book. You will come away with a deep knowledge about one of the ring's very best scrappers and some other interesting men as well. The book is published by CreateSpace (an amazon company) and can be ordered from amazon 374 pages, $20.95, softcover Rare photos, sketches, Endnotes, index ISBN-10: 1466312203 ISBN-13: 978-146631220

"The only thing I can do is to fight"

Callis description -- Jimmy fought out of Chicago, Illinois and was one of the best bantamweights and flyweights ever; He was one of only nine men to retire unbeaten over his entire career; The others were Young Mitchell, Jack McAuliffe, Rocky Marciano, Laszlo Papp, Terry Marsh, Ji Won Kim, Ricardo Lopez, Sven Ottke and Joe Calzaghe   Barry utilized a fighting style similar to Billy Plimmer and was a clever ring general like the "Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey; Those who saw Barry in action called him a "Wonder"; Jimmy was also an excellent handball player; He was a brother of Bill Barry, who reportedly once fought the "Nonpareil" Jack Dempsey Following the 1897 knockout win over Walter Croot, in which Croot died, Barry was never the same fighter; He never knocked out another man; Seven of his last nine official bouts were draws Joe Choynski (1927) said, “Barry ... I consider the greatest fighter I ever saw. He had everything: speed, science, stamina, ring generalship, courage and uncanny punching power. There were many great bantams in that day, but Barry outclassed them all ...” Barry was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000