When a pair of fighters step into an illegal ring, sometimes only one walks out. This is the story of two men from radically different backgrounds, but with one thing in common. For Rob, it’s a question of talent and duty. For Paul, it’s one of fear. In the bloody world of bare-knuckle boxing the stakes are mercilessly high. Testing the difficult relationships between fathers and their sons, The Fighter explores the lengths to which these men are driven for self-knowledge, and the depths they will plumb in order to belong.

‘This gripping novel sees two men dive perilously into a violent underworld — a world that very quickly threatens to rip them both apart’Maxim

‘Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh all rave about Davidson, with good reason. The Fighter is a brutally honest and explosively powerful novel. Examining masculinity in a startling way with visceral prose, it’s truly remarkable writing’Big Issue