James McNicholas is a comedy writer, performer and sports journalist. His first book is a heart-warming, hilarious true story about family and fighting based on his critically acclaimed Edinburgh show The Boxer.

 

In The Champ & The Chump, he compares his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy to that of his grandfather, Terry Downes, a charismatic cockney known as The Paddington Express who was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and later a film star and businessman.

 

When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two tales of the fighter and the writer collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far greater significance.