NEW YORK – Phil Berger, a sports writer, screenwriter and author who specialized in boxing, died Monday of cancer. He was 59.

Berger authored more than a dozen books on sports and entertainment, including collaborating with heavyweight champions Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes on their autobiographies. His other books include "Forever Showtime -- The Checkered Life of Pistol Pete Maravich" and "Miracle on 33rd Street," the New York Knicks' championship season of 1969-70.

He was the boxing writer for the New York Times from 1985-92, and also wrote for Esquire, Playboy, Sport and the Village Voice.

Berger authored the screenplay for the movie "Price of Glory," which was released last year. It told of an ex-boxer who channels his disappointment in a single-minded quest for boxing championships for his three sons.

Born in Brooklyn, Berger grew up in Stamford, Conn. He is survived by his daughter, Julie, of New York; his mother, Fanny, of Delray Beach, Fla.; a sister, Cynthia Darling of Laurel, Md.; and a companion, Veronica Vera.