Last week saw the successful House of Commons launch of Christopher Evans MP's Fearless Freddie: The Life and Times of Freddie Mills.

An excellent turnout at the Terrace Dining Room enjoyed drinks and canapés, and were then treated to a speech by legendary sports promoter Barry Hearn. Chris then read a passage from the book, explaining his long obsession with the great Welsh boxer and 50s media figure who suffered a tragic and mysterious death.

Barry Hearns paid tribute to Freddie Mills and threw some light on the enduring attraction of the man as a fighter, as an early media celebrity and ultimately as a great enigma. "I'm not going to spoil the end of the story," he said finally. "But I would thoroughly recommend reading it. Enjoy the life and times, the tears, the happiness, the laughter, the success and the failure of one of Britain's great sportsmen."

Author Chris Evans explained how the book was borne out of many visits made by his cockney great auntie Joyce - who grew up on the same East End street as the Kray twins - to his grandmother's house in the Rhondda.

"She told us Freddie Mills was the greatest fighter in the land who got in with some right wrong 'uns up west, who did him in. Researching this book I learned this was one of the tamer stories about how Freddie met his demise..."

As Britain’s first true sporting superstar, few figures have been subject to more rumours and gossip than Freddie Mills, ever since his mysterious death in 1965. Was Mills killed by the Krays or the Chinese Triads? Was he a serial killer responsible for the deaths of six prostitutes in the Hammersmith area? Fearless Freddie cuts through the myth to reveal:

• The true, inspirational story of Mills’s rise from the backstreets of Bournemouth to the top of the boxing world
• His start in the boxing booths of the South West, and the fear that one day he would return there
• The truth about his mysterious disappearance after one of his biggest fights
• How he won the world title with a broken neck – just one punch away from paralysis, or worse...
• Mills's bizarre relationship with his wife, Chrissie, and her first husband, who accompanied the couple on their honeymoon
• How the death of his friend, Michael Holliday, set off a chain of events which resulted in Freddie’s own death
• The true nature of his relationship with gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray
• Finally, what really happened in the early hours of 25th July 1965, when Freddie was found shot in the back of his car at Goslett Yard...

Click here for more information, or to read a sample from Fearless Freddie.