Punching from the Shadows

Glen Sharp is an analyst and editor at the California Energy Commission and lives in West Sacramento.

“A fast paced book that gives the reader much insight into what it takes to become a fighter. Sharp gives us an honest telling of his life in boxing...a terrific chronicle of what boxing was and should be. I can’t think of another boxing book out there that gives such an inside look at what it was like to pursue the dream of boxing n the way Glen Sharp did. It is a great read on so many levels. Most of all, it is a very human story. I doubt there are many who will not be able to relate to some portions of Sharp’s book. I know I did”—Boxing Over Broadway

• Table of ContentsPreface1. Athletics, My Father and Me—A Love Triangle2. The Growing Dream3. Capitol Gym4. The Golden Gloves5. Training at the PAL—Spring 19796. Becoming a Good Student7. Discovered by Bobo Olson8. Boxing Is Economics Theory Expressed in the Flesh9. Throwing a Punch and Hitting a Ball10. George Benton’s Shoulder Shell11. Meeting Yaqui López12. Yaqui López, Ernest Hemingway and José Ortega y Gasset13. Boxing as a Martial Art14. Last Sparring Before First Professional Fight15. Locker Room Preparation for First Professional Fight16. An Undefeated Contender17. Back in the Gym18. Losing My Second Fight19. A Broken Nose and a Breaking Dream20. Training with Yaqui at Lake Tahoe21. Sylvester Stallone, Lee Canalito and Vinnie Curto22. Jessie Burnett’s Version of the Shoulder Shell23. Learning Why I Was Not a ­World-Ranked Contender24. Training at Tahoe Again25. Another Loss26. Leaving Boxing27. A Lost Soul Tries to Find Where He Failed28. Boxing, Zen in the Art of Archery and an Introduction to Literature29. Don Conley and the Washington Neighborhood Center30. Marriage and Healing Some of My Gaps31. Becoming a “Smart Slugger”32. Requiem for a ­Light-Heavyweight: The End of a DreamIndex