Herbie Hide Book Review - Nothing But Trouble
Published June 22, 2009 by Boxing Capital
Article by Chris Akers
While he would not get onto anybody’s list of greatest heavyweights of all time, Herbie Hide’s life and career has arguably been more eventful that some of the Hall of Fame’s big men. Born in Nigeria and raised in Norwich, Hide was naturally lighter than the main players in the heavyweight division. Yet he was quick of hand & foot and despite his smaller stature, had enough power to worry most heavyweights. He achieved great success in winning the British title and then later on becoming WBO champion by stopping Michael Bentt in seven rounds in 1994.
His success took him to the apex of the sport. But the build up to some of his biggest fights and his lifestyle outside the ring contained a voracious mix of the seven deadly sins. To be fair to Hide, most of those sins were not initiated by him, but by people and events outside his locus of control.
While admittedly some of the things he was accused of were reported ad nauseam by the press, as well as been only guilty due to some form of dubious association with the people at the centre of those accusations, some of the stories were down to his own actions – which were not exactly salubrious to his own well being. These included confrontations at press conferences, opinions about other fighters he relayed to the media and having more than one meeting with the long arm of the law.
The book (published by John Blake Publishing, written in collaboration with Graham McClean) describes this in more detail, as well as separate the truth from the fiction. A true and unique character of the sport, in an age where original personalities in sport are rare, Hide explains very eloquently his career and the onerous route he took to the top, his association with gangsters, racism he encountered and much more. The chapter articulating the friendship between himself and his younger brother Alan, who died of leukaemia, is particularity poignant.
He is also one of the few boxers to have kept hold of and use his money wisely. How he spends his money shows his intelligence and does not just depicted him as a thug in general terms.
One thing that is striking about the story that is told, is that a lot of what people read and think about Herbie Hide is based on hearsay and rumour. The tale about a woman randomly approached him in a club and talking about a party that took place at his new house – when it had not even been built yet – sum it up perfectly.
A facet of the book is that its descriptive nature is very forthright. Like Hide with is physical skills inside the ring and his frank comments outside of it, it does not hold back. Sometimes this can lead to some almost hyperbolic statements. For example, his claim that he could have beaten Mike Tyson as Evander Holyfield beat him twice (and Hide subsequently thinks that he is better than Holyfield), while confidence his confidence and bravado, also shows an exaggeration at times of his chances against certain opponents.
Talking of his opponents, as stated earlier he got into all sorts of verbal and physical confrontations with potential rivals before, during and after fights. Yet this is not to portray the man as un-civilised. Indeed, there were occasions when he showed deference towards opponents after a fight. This was particularly the case with Bentt, especially after what happened to Bentt almost immediately after the fight was stopped.
Not everybody is happy about this book. Danny Williams has stated that he is still not on good terms despite the book stating otherwise. But for a fan of the sport, it is a good read. It can take a while to percolate the reader’s conscious, yet once it takes hold, you will struggle to put it down.
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