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The Champ & The Chump: A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family
James McNicholas
Performing arts: comedy, Humour, Family history, tracing ancestors, History of sport, Boxing
The first book from award-winning comedian James McNicholas, based on his critically acclaimed Edinburgh show The Boxer
**WINNER OF BEST SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK AT THE BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2022**
'Hard-hitting and hilarious' - James Acaster
'Funny, moving and compelling' - Mike Costello
A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family, based on the acclaimed stage show. For fans of books by Dave Gorman, James Acaster and Danny Wallace, along with boxing tales from the likes of Tyson Fury and Ricky Hatton.
THE CHAMP
Terry Downes - the charismatic cockney known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and later a film star and businessman.
THE CHUMP
James McNicholas' PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23.
James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant stints as a car park caretaker and river cruise salesperson. After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing his story of underachievement against that of his world champ grandad. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey through post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Shoreditch, via Mayfair parties with the Krays.
Along the way, James begins to dig into his own story, confronting the dysfunctional elements of his childhood, describing his often hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempting to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal military boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two tales of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance altogether.
'A wonderfully funny and heartfelt story of what family and lineage means. Even made me like boxing' - Josh Widdicombe
'An extraordinary family history, told with warmth and wit. Two remarkable underdog stories - come for the cockney scrapper who conquered the world, stay for the grandson and the fight of his life' - Greg Jenner
'If you like comedy and boxing this is the perfect book. James McNicholas is a very funny man and a brilliant writer' - Rob Beckett
Praise for The Champ & The Chump: A heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family
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A heavyweight hour of stand-up and storytelling ... It's heart-in-mouth stuff. I was tempted to run on stage and hold aloft McNicholas's gloved fist. His show is a knockout.. - The Guardian
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His footwork as a storyteller is as impressive as his reach as a joke-teller - The Times
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Compelling and poignant. - The Scotsman
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An extraordinary family history, told with warmth and wit. Two remarkable underdog stories - come for the cockney scrapper who conquered the world, stay for the grandson and the fight of his life - Greg Jenner
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Funny, moving and compelling - Mike Costello
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I loved this book: poignant and funny - Suzi Ruffell
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Hard-hitting and hilarious - James Acaster
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A wonderfully funny and heartfelt story of what family and lineage means - Josh Widdicombe
James McNicholas
James McNicholas is a stand-up comedian, sketch show member, and actor, best known as one of the stars and writers on the BBC's BAFTA-winning Horrible Histories. He is also a sports journalist who has written about it for ESPN, CNN, The Mirror, FourFourTwo magazine, and he is currently a staff writer for The Athletic.
James is the grandson of Terry Downes, who became world middleweight champion in 1961. In August 2019, James took his one-man show 'The Boxer' to the Edinburgh Fringe. It was a dramatisation of his grandfather's story, interspersed with stand-up comedy. The run was a total sell-out and a critical success, and was named in The Guardian's Top 10 comedy shows of 2019.
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