Earnie Shavers: Welcome To The Big Time

A Book Review By Rick Renald
(Doghouse Boxing)

05.08 - Certain things in life are pretty much guaranteed. By now, most of us realize everyone has a story to tell. In life, there will be shortcomings and downfalls laced like razor sharp thorn bushes on everyone's path. What you can't learn in books, is taught to you in the sometimes cruel game of life. However, taking pages out of someone else's life, sometimes can help you rip through those thorn bushes with the agility and speed of a Rabbit.

"Welcome to The Big Time," is the name given to the new book on the Autobiography of the Legendary Boxing Heavyweight, Earnie Shavers. Penned with the help of Mike Fitzgerald and Marshall Terrill, the Title given to Earnie's Biography is right on the money.

Welcome to the Big Time, is a must read not just for Boxing Enthusiast, but also for anyone who loves a great story of life's Ups and Downs. By all means, this is a story for everyone, not just boxing fans.

This is not the story of some Punch drunk Boxer looking for a few more rounds of fame. This isn't the story of a bitter person, or one who's story preaches at you. This is the story of a man who against all odds somehow made it. Earnie is a insightful man, who presents his thoughts with well seasoned humor and maturity.

Quickly you learn Earnie's odds. It would be the threatening swiftness of the Ku Klux Clan's hatred inflaming the south, that as a child would migrate Earnie and his family to Northern Ohio. The move would be the first sign of hope for Earnie.

From the opening till the finishing pages of the book, it's obvious Earnie Shavers has a story to tell, and what a story it is! To Earnie's credit, he is great at telling his story.

Earnie knew he wanted more than Factory life for himself and his family. When Earnie's brother was killed by an ex-lover and her new beau, and got away with it, Earnie found himself at a dark hour with no one to turn to. A beginning embraced with Gangster life, Earnie could've easily turned out a cold blooded killer, rather than the man with perhaps the most feared punch in the History of Boxing. So hard hit Shavers that Larry Holmes would be quoted as saying, "Earnie hit me harder than any other fighter, including Mike Tyson."

Anyone who has ever laced up the gloves will tell you, the odds are stacked heavily against you. Boxing in most cases is the easy part of the game. It is climbing your way to the top of the boxing heap that is damn near impossible for any mortal.

Earnie would have to dig deep, and thankfully with a supportive first Wife, Earnie pushed forward and made a huge splash in a time frame arguably the best and hardest in the Heavyweight division of boxing.

This is the kind of book that is hard to put down. Each paragraph sets up the next one, and heavily influences you by persuading you to read further. It's thought provoking and encourages the reader to think deeper than your average Biography.

You get to sit shotgun with Earnie as he takes you through the world of Boxing and how he saw it. His fights with Muhammad Ali, and Larry Holmes. His highs and lows with money and women. The emotions and frustrations are highly illustrated. As would be expected, the shady side of boxing is poured in the pages. Earnie speaks of beating Don King in a court of Law, and of a time he was offered money to throw a fight to George Foreman. Earnie holds back no punches as he tells a thrilling story of chasing his life, his challenges, and his dreams. Earnie tells you of the punches inside and outside of the ring.

I could go on and into deeper detail, but no one can tell you the story the way Earnie himself does. Therefore do yourself a little justice and sit back with this great book, and watch yourself fall in love with Uncle Earnie.

Out of the boxing books I've read this summer, this is the one I recommend the highest. This is the kind of book that a non-boxing Fan can truly enjoy and the kind a true boxing Fan will certainly cherish.

In the following weeks, Doghouse Boxing hopes to track down and interview Earnie Shavers.

The book sells for $22.95. And you can get more information on this book by logging onto http://www.sportspublishingllc.com/book.cfm?id=26