Review: Inside The Ropes Of Boxing

Lucas Ketelle, podcast host, editor of ITRBoxing.com, and now author, recently caught up with MaxBoxing to chat about “Inside the Ropes of Boxing”, (with a foreword by Jill Diamond of WBC Cares). The 86-page book was a recent “#1 New Release in Two-Hour Sports and Outdoor Short Reads” (amazon.com). The book was also in the Top 20 in a recent Amazon.com sales ranking in the boxing book category. In short, this book is creating a buzz.  

Descriptors on the Amazon website, the exclusive sales site for the book, gave an excellent breakdown of what readers can expect from Ketelle and his extensive experience in the sport.

A vivid and detailed depiction of boxing from the ground up. What should you look for when you enter a gym? When should you turn professional? What is the role of a promoter? Why should you invest in yourself as a professional boxer or even as an amateur? What is the role of a manager? This book offers reflections, ramblings, and thoughts based on the sport of boxing to give advice to those currently in the sport and offer advice to future generations from an author who has been around some of the world’s best trainers, fighters, and gyms.

MaxBoxing grabbed a few minutes with Ketelle from his home in Sacramento, California to get his thoughts on his hot-off-the-presses release.

Bill Tibbs: Hey, Lucas, thank you for taking a few minutes to chat.

Lucas Ketelle: Thank you, great to finally connect.

BT: You’ve got a lot going on in boxing – website, podcast, author, working with different fighters. This book falls into that category as well with a lot going on. It covers a lot of very interesting aspects of the sport and asks a lot of interesting questions.

LK: Yeah, I’ve got my podcast, lots of things going on. I’ve been in boxing a long time now. I’ve worked with a lot of fighters, worked on shows in small markets, big shows. When I got into boxing I realized I had to work hard to get any notice, work my way into the sport and had to start with local stuff, local shows. Just grinding, working. I was really interested in all aspects of the sport, from all levels, from amateur to local, smaller shows to big shows.

BT: How did the book come about?

LK: A friend of mine, Frank Stea, who works for Top Rank Boxing, was telling me ‘You have to write a book, you know, you have to get some of your thoughts down on paper; do a book’. I sort of thought, ‘I don’t know’, you know so I put it off, got lazy. But I decided to do it and get it done and have no regrets that I should have done it, could have done it.

BT: You cover a lot of different topics in the book, that applies to amateurs and professionals – dreams, sparring, coaching, goals, realistic expectations vs. unrealistic expectations, coaching, family relationships, everything. In some ways, you touch on things that fighters might not want to face. Was the book a cautionary tale in some ways? And in that sense, was there any part of the book that was more difficult to write?

LK: I treated the book, everything about it, like a professional, everyone I hired to work on the book; everything. This is including how to approach the reality of the sport. I didn’t want boxing to just be glorified. I wanted to keep it real. I wanted people to understand that is where I was coming from. Probably the most difficult part was the part about parents in boxing. Often parents have their kid in boxing for years and they, along with the fighter, have dreams and goals and don’t want to know the reality that boxing often over-promises and under-delivers. Fighters, and their team, which can be their family, need to have a job, need to have a plan, those are the realistic life lessons of the book. Guys get signed by a promotional company with some money, or maybe they got some money to sign and then think, ‘I made it’. Don’t think you have made it until you make it. I mean, as harsh as it may sound, love doesn’t exist in boxing. It is a business and people need to understand that very clearly.

BT: It can be tough to listen to other people, especially as a parent and a coach rolled into one. To seek out other people is to, possibly, put yourself out of the job, and the dreams you and your fighter have been working towards their whole life.

LK: Yes, but there are other very good people, smart people, in boxing and if they say something there is a good chance you’d be well served to listen to them. I mean, if a guy like, say, a Bruce Trampler says something, you should probably listen. I guess that’s wisdom.

BT: You aren’t afraid to touch on things that are uncomfortable for people who love the sport, maybe a surprising take for readers, but certainly honest.

LK: I grew up facing a lot of adversity in my life, a single mother, distractions that could have led me down a much different path in life. I’m used to adversity in many ways so being in areas of great distress is a comfortable feeling to me. Maybe that was one of the things that attracted me to boxing?  

BT: How did you get into the sport? (Which ultimately led you to write your first boxing book).

LK: Graduated from college, I worked in video production, worked as a school counsellor, got a doctorate in Educational Leadership. But, you know sometimes the person I am isn’t always the person employers are looking for. You know, boxing was the only thing that was working in my life at that time. I have a good relationship with God and I was feeling like it was time for me to get a story out there. Get my story in boxing out there. I have a lot of different stories I am working on all the time. When I made the decision to do the book, I got right on it and wrote 70 pages in 2 days. I felt like I had stories in boxing to tell.

BT: I first heard about you through our mutual friend, Ireland’s best, James Clerkin.

LK: James and I did some great, (crazy, but great) boxing trips together. Driving 16 hours round trip or to hot spots like Fallon, Nevada. But, we loved it. I also have a passion for golf, and I’d love to do a golf trip with James, play some of the great courses over there. James is a great guy.

BT: I think the world of James. I’m lucky we met and are now friends. And, he knows boxing, he knows fights and he knows fighters; he shares a lot of great insight into fights and fighters with me.

LK: Yes, yes, he does.

BT: This is an interesting look at what can be a very complicated sport. Boxing is so simple in many ways, at its core, but it is also a very complicated game away from the ring. And, the simplicity of the sport at its core, and the complication of the other players in the game, make it a very unique sport. You have addressed some critical and important topics in your book. And, you did it with no agenda, no filter, complete honesty.

LK: At times I am overwhelmed by the reactions I’ve gotten, the unconditional support and love. Boxing can be difficult at times. I feel like it’s been a bad girlfriend at times but right now it’s a healthy relationship.

BT: Luke, thank you for your time, it was my pleasure to speak with you. Best of luck with the book.

LK: Thanks so much Bill.