The Opponent
Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His next book – Staredown: Another Year Inside Boxing – will be published by the University of Arkansas Press this autumn. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honoured Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. He will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020.
EARLY on the evening of February 16, 2006, Anthony Ottah took the subway from his home in Brooklyn to 34th Street in Manhattan.
Ottah was a large muscular man, 40 years old, with a dignified presence and honest face. He came to the United States from Nigeria in 1982 and had been married for 18 years. He and his wife had a 15-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter.
Ottah was wearing black work-pants and a blue denim jacket over a green sweatshirt. He had shaved earlier in the day. His face and scalp were smooth. At 250 pounds, there was a little extra weight on his 6ft 1in frame, but he was in good shape.
Ottah had fought as an amateur from 1988 until 1990 and returned to the ring a decade later. His first professional bout was a four-round loss in 2001 to a fighter who was also making his pro debut. On February 16, as he rode the subway, his record stood at one win, four losses, and one draw with no knockouts either way. He trained
