The Sweetest Thing / Mischa Merz
Australian national women’s champion Mischa Merz had reached the age of forty-five and was about to give up boxing altogether when she decided to give it one last go in the USA. In less than two years of training and fighting she found herself the American master’s champion. This is the story of that improbable late run — and success when she least expected it, and most wanted it. Merz brings her readers into the gym and the arena — starting with the iconic Gleason’s in New York, then other boxing meccas in Florida, California, and across America — to witness first-hand the surprising, frustrating, irresistible world of women’s boxing.
Australian national women’s champion Mischa Merz had reached the age of forty-five and was about to give up boxing altogether when she decided to give it one last go in the USA. In less than two years of training and fighting she found herself the American master’s champion. This is the story of that improbable late run — and success when she least expected it, and most wanted it. Merz brings her readers into the gym and the arena — starting with the iconic Gleason’s in New York, then other boxing meccas in Florida, California, and across America — to witness first-hand the surprising, frustrating, irresistible world of women’s boxing.
Australian national women’s champion Mischa Merz had reached the age of forty-five and was about to give up boxing altogether when she decided to give it one last go in the USA. In less than two years of training and fighting she found herself the American master’s champion. This is the story of that improbable late run — and success when she least expected it, and most wanted it. Merz brings her readers into the gym and the arena — starting with the iconic Gleason’s in New York, then other boxing meccas in Florida, California, and across America — to witness first-hand the surprising, frustrating, irresistible world of women’s boxing.
MISCHA MERZ is a journalist and author of fiction and creative non-fiction. She began training as an amateur boxer in 1995 and is the 2001 Australian Amateur Boxing League women's welterweight champion. Her book Bruising, about her experiences as a boxer, was published to critical acclaim by Picador in 2000 and was shortlisted for the Dobbie Award. Merz's short fiction has appeared in Meanjin, Island, Overland and the Cardigan Press Anthologies Normal Service Will Resume and Allnighter. Her journalism has appeared in numerous publications, including the Age, the Sunday Age and the Herald Sun.
“A beautiful journal-like book [that] documents the ins and outs of female boxing behind the scenes.”
“Mischa Merz’s chronicle of her journey into women’s boxing is a must-read for those interested in seeing just how women’s boxing became a sport on its own.”
