Boxing seemed to spring up in Detroit as early as 1900: heavyweight champ Jim Jeffries and future heavyweight champ Tommy Burns fought that year. With the emergence of Joe Louis in the 1930s and Thomas Mearns in the late 1970s, Motown enjoyed surges of interest in the sport. At the dawn of a new millenium, the presence of three casinos has given the sport another revival of interest in the city.

Metro Detroit Boxing showcases over 180 photographs that reveal not only the personalities who have enlivened the sport in the Detroit area, but also the places in which boxers, trainers, managers, and promoters fought, trained, lived, worked, and recreated. Photographs include where Joe Louis went to school, trained, and fought. Various boxing celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, are caught for the camera, socializing with eminent politicians and other figures of the day.