Shot At the Brothel

In Shot at a Brothel, Patrick Connor reveals the salacious story of how handsome, playful, heavyweight boxer Oscar “Ringo” Bonavena wound up murdered outside of an infamous Nevada brothel, and why.

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“Hookers. Murder. Boxing. Author Patrick Connor lays out the promise of all three right there in the title of his first book, ‘Shot at a Brothel’…delivering on the promise…Readers who want to see the Ali era from a less explored angle, with a story that stands on its own, are well served with this read.”—Boxing Scene

Oscar Bonavena remains a god in Argentina. Fighting as a heavyweight during the 1970s, the division’s greatest era, “Ringo” battled titans like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.

To resurrect his career, he moved to Reno, Nevada, and hooked up with a local pimp and gangster, Joe Conforte, who ran the infamous Mustang Ranch with his madam wife, Sally.

Bonavena had some of boxing’s best handlers, but none – from famous trainers to rich syndicates to the sport’s top minds—could tame him. And no one could get Conforte and his whorehouse and ex-con goons out of Reno. Ultimately, Ringo plunged into a maelstrom of sex and mayhem—and he wouldn’t get out alive.

In Shot at a Brothel, Patrick Connor examines in riveting detail Bonavena’s fast, turbulent life as well as Conforte’s sordid past. Long overdue, here’s the real story of how gangsterism, greed, and prostitution destroyed Argentina’s greatest heavyweight.



Shot at a Brothel: The Spectacular Demise of Oscar "Ringo" Bonavena is the sixth in the Hamilcar Noir True Crime series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels.