The Boxing Kings tells the story of the heavyweight title in the times when it had been a defining institution in america. Author Paul Beston locations special focus on those champions who held a central place in American lifestyle beyond just in the boxing band, including John L. Sullivan, who made the title a commercial real estate; Jack port Johnson, who in 1908 became the first black man to state the title; Joe Louis, whose efforts to racial tolerance and public progress transcended even about The Boxing Kings: When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring his greatness in the ring; Rocky Marciano, who became an embodiment of the American Dream; Muhammad Ali, who had taken for the U.S. federal government and revolutionized professional sports with his showmanship; and Mike Tyson, a hard-punching college student of boxing history who exemplified the modern superstar. The gallery of champions also includes comics, dandies, bookworms, divas, ex-cons, workingmen, and a tough-guy-turned-preacher.

The Boxing Kings treats these and other champions as three-dimensional human beings, flawed but sympathetic men positioned on great public stages. As the name shifts in one claimant to another, their tales also open up a window into the larger history of the U.S.