Punching from the Shadows - by Glen Sharp (Paperback)

About the Book

"Glen Sharp's boxing career was a rise-and-fall story without so much rise in it. A sparring partner for heavyweight Hall of Famer Yaqui Lâopez, he "retired" with a record of one victory and two defeats. A decade later, having come to understand how and why he failed as a younger fighter, he attempted a comeback"--

Book Synopsis

Glen Sharp's boxing career was a rise-and-fall story without so much rise in it. A sparring partner for light-heavyweight Hall of Famer Yaqui Lopez, he "retired" with a record of one victory and two defeats. A decade later, having come to understand how and why he failed as a younger fighter, he attempted a comeback.

Told with heart and wit, his memoir is a treatise on boxing as both profession and purpose. Sharp uses economic theory to describe the sweet science as a case study in resource management while recounting his own struggle to win fistic glory and his father's admiration.

Review Quotes

"a particularly good book...an engaging primer on boxing fundamentals. Sharp is better than a pretty good storyteller. He's first rate."-The Sweet Science

"[Sharp's] analysis of how fighters move, punch, and defend is some of the keenest and clearest ever written. Yet thanks to Sharp's elegant and conversational style, and his ability to tell the main story in tandem with a searching examination of his own character and experiences, the scope of his book extends far beyond rings and gyms... A humble and candid narrator whose wry wit lightens a serious tale, Sharp probes for insight on every page. Time and again, he surprises the reader by following seemingly mundane observations to a deeper core...Punching from the Shadows...deserves to take its place as a classic of boxing literature" -The American Conservative.

"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

About the Author

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