ANDY CLARKE enjoys a prominent place within the boxing media landscape, and deservedly so. His work as a broadcaster and commentator, covering the sport now for over 20 years, is infused with passion, intelligence and commendable insight. Those attributes he has brought to bear in the pages of his recently published book on the sport The Knockout.

Clarke: “The knockout started life as the ultimate means of conflict resolution, then over time became the ultimate expression of sporting victory and defeat and has remained so ever since. There is no other moment in sport that can rival it for its utter finality.”

The knockout, as Clarke argues above, is the most definitive event in the world of sports. It not only marks the inarguable victory of one human being over another in a sporting arena, it taps into something primordial when it comes to the human condition, something that many will no doubt find uncomfortable. Yet, even so, its enduring fascination cannot be denied.