You might remember a certain boxing match last fall between Craig Davidson, author of The Fighter, and poet Michael Knox. Well, Davidson’s book was just published in the U.S., and this week he fought again in New York City, battling American author Jonathan Ames, and is now the proud owner of an 0-2 record. Davidson’s account of his most recent match is prefaced by an odd and long-winded bout of soul-searching about the criticism he takes for these publicity efforts:

Nothing for me to get bent out of shape about, but I do sometimes. And not because I fared poorly—I didn’t win, I don’t think so, but I aquitted myself as well as my abilities, which are slim as far as they pertain to boxing I’ve discovered, are concerned—but … yeah, I guess just because some people tend to seek to trivialize and downgrade and castigate this particular endeavor, which, from my perspective, is not something I’ve wanted to do but something I’ve felt to have been necessary, strictly-speaking, both for the sake of the book, my publishers, and for the sake of myself 50 years down the road, wherever I may be, so that I can look back with the assurance I gave every shred of myself to this career when I could.

Well, we like it more than his last bout of soul-searching.

Update: Gawker has photos, and it looks like the fight was quite the side show.

Related posts:

1. » Get in the ring
2. » Preparing for the launch of Craig Davidson’s novel
3. » Penguin experiments with the sweet science
4. » Coach House’s fall launch
5. » The book Nancy Huston’s fighting to publish