F.X. Toole is the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of boxing trainer Jerry Boyd (1930 – September 2, 2002). Toole is most noted for writing the 2000 collection of short stories '' Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner'', which were adapted into the

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

-winning movie ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. It is based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' in 2004. F.X. Toole's posthumous novel ''Pound for Pound'' was released in 2006 to rave reviews. ''Cutman'', a one-hour dramatic series set in the world of boxing, drawn from short stories by F.X. Toole, is in development by AMC Television. ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner'' is dedicated to Dub Huntley, the man who introduced Boyd to boxing, and many of the characters and events related in the book are from Dub Huntley's life and experience. Huntley trained Boyd to box when Boyd was in his 40s and the two became friends during that time. Huntley was the trainer for world champions

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's ...

, Hector Lopez, and many others, including comedian/writer Chris Strait when he was an amateur boxer. Immediately before his death, Boyd was acting as a

cutman A cutman is a person responsible for preventing and treating physical damage to a fighter during the breaks between rounds of a Contact sport#Full-contact, full contact match such as a boxing, kickboxing or a mixed martial arts bout. Cutmen typic ...

and assistant trainer to Huntley with female professional boxer Juli Crockett, who Huntley told ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' in an interview was the basis for the characterization of Maggie Fitzgerald in ''

''. Boyd was born and raised in Long Beach, California, and died in Torrance, CA of a heart attack at age 71.

References

External links

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US News article: Million Dollar Maybe, A real-life version of Maggie Fitzgerald

Rotten Tomatoes' summary of more than 170 reviews
American boxing trainers 1930 births 2002 deaths American male boxers American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-boxing-bio-stub