1. โHurricaneโ by Bob Dylan
Inspired by the imprisonment of Rubin โHurricaneโ Carter, a middleweight contender from New Jersey, this sprawling and angry 1976 song from Dylanโs โDesireโ album runs for eight and a half minutes and sees him telling the entire story from start.
2. โThe Boxerโ by Simon and Garfunkel
Recorded for their 1970 album โBridge Over Troubled Waterโ, โThe Boxerโ discusses in first-person the poverty and loneliness of living in New York City before switching to a third-person perspective to compare the struggle to that of a worn-down old boxer.
3. โDuk Koo Kimโ by Sun Kil Moon
This 14-and-a-half-minute epic, the centerpiece of Mark Kozelekโs 2003 album โGhosts of the Great Highwayโ, references Kimโs tragic 1982 fight against Ray โBoom Boomโ Mancini and uses the incident to explore love and loss.
4. โBoom Boom Manciniโ by Warren Zevon
This 1987 track from Warren Zevon puts into words his excitement at the prospect of watching Ray Mancini and Bobby Chacon, two of the most exciting fighters of the Eighties, go toe-to-toe in the ring.
5. โRight Offโ by Miles Davis
This 27-minute cut is the first on Davisโ 1971 record โJack Johnsonโ, an album inspired by the former heavyweight champion and the political and racial subtext of his reign.
6. โBoxingโ by Ben Folds Five
Taken from the Ben Folds Fiveโs self-titled 1995 debut album, this is a ballad written in the voice of Muhammad Ali, addressing Howard Cosell, and ends with the poignant and powerful line: โHas boxing been good to you?โ
7. โThe Warriorโs Codeโ by Dropkick Murphys
An ode to Massachusetts hero โIrishโ Micky Ward, this 2005 song by the Dropkick Murphys, a high-octane band from Boston, was conceived years after their song about John L. Sullivan and became a fan favourite from their album of the same name.
8. โBoxersโ by Morrissey
Though speaking from imagination rather than experience, Morriseyโs 1994 song โBoxersโ deals with the crushing disappointment of losing a fight in front of oneโs own fans in their hometown.
9. โThe Hitterโ by Bruce Springsteen
This song, from Springsteenโs 2005 album โDevils & Dustโ, tells the tale of a man who had to fight all his life, in the ring and on the streets, legally and illegally, but now fights most of all for the love of the mother who abandoned him.
10. โRoad to Gloryโ by Tupac
Written for Mike Tyson by Tupac in order for him to use it during the ringwalk of his 1996 rematch with Frank Bruno, โRoad to Gloryโ includes the opening line, โMy road to gloryโs filled with thorns,โ and then warns Bruno that โBig Mike Tyson is about to brutalize that ass tonightโ.