[When boxing writer Doveed Linder tried to make contact with HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant in hopes of securing an interview, his attempts failed. But one morning, Linder was at a gym wearing a boxing related t-shirt. Someone walked past him who was also wearing a boxing t-shirt. They started talking and it turned out to be Larry Merchant's son-in-law, who offered to set up the interview with Merchant over lunch. Linder did the interview with Merchant, eventually finding himself writing Ringside: Interviews with 24 Fighters and Boxing Insiders, a collection of in depth interviews with various boxers, trainers, promoters, officials, and other boxing figures, who tell their story. Ringside: Interviews with 24 Fighters and Boxing Insiders is an exploration of the sport from top to bottom, as it profiles well accomplished champions and Hall of Fame inductees, as well as those who have labored behind the scenes. A number of synchronistic occurrences similar to the meeting of Larry Merchant's son-in-law led to some of the interviews in this book, notably the interview with Exum Speight, a retired boxer with a record of 9-39-2, who was arrested for a 1987 murder one year after his interview was conducted.].