Paul Harris and Rob Tully couldn't come from more different homes. Paul is wealthy, kept in fine suits and fast cars, his career in the family wine business assured. Rob has a more dangerous family line. He is a gifted boxer, struggling with his father's expectation that his talent will lift them out of poverty.

When Paul and Rob defy the paths mapped out for them, the results are extreme. Because both of them know that when a pair of fighters step into an illegal ring, sometimes only one walks out.

The Fighter is the electrifying story of one man trying to escape his fate and one man hurtling towards it. It captures the bleak, bloody world of underground boxing, the difficult relationships between fathers and their sons, the lengths to which these men are driven for self-knowledge, and the depths they will plumb in order to belong.

`Craig Davidson is a young author who already displays the sure-footedness of a seasoned pro' The Times

'Davidson writes with precision and power that's hard to ignore' Independent on Sunday