The Ghost Of Johnny Tapia

"If I wake up, I know I'm a success. The day I don't wake up, I know I'll be home. I have one foot on this earth and one foot has crossed over. I didn’t just die, I lived.”—Johnny Tapia ...the ghost of Johnny Tapia lives on. “Mi Vida Loca” (My Crazy Life) was Johnny Tapia’s nickname and his reason for being. Haunted by the brutal murder of his beloved mother when he was a child, fighting and drugs gave him the escape he craved—and he did both with gusto. In The Ghost Of Johnny Tapia, Paul Zanon, with the help of Tapia’s widow Teresa, tells the harrowing and unforgettable story of a boxing genius who couldn’t, in the end, defeat his demons. The Ghost of Johnny Tapia is the second in the Hamilcar Noir series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels. From the Foreword: "Johnny had incredible heart, was such a sweet man, but was also tormented. He had two sides to him. The sweetest, nicest guy, but then the other side which could probably kill you. He was tortured with his addictions, but Johnny was always pure emotion in that ring."—Sammy ‘The Red Rocker’ Hagar, Musician

There is only one winner in boxing. Fighting against your opponent and fighting against your own inner demons become one in the same. Those who survive both in and out of the ring are beloved worldwide. Those who do not spiral downward into drugs, prison, and even murder. "[My] life's been pretty tragic," remarks Johnny. "But in the ring, it's been a blessing." Mi Vida Loca is not just a nickname for Johnny, but a legendary tale of a life lived over the edge and back.

Lost in Boxing is a free companion ebook to Donald McRae's classic, award-winning Dark Trade: Lost in Boxing. The essays contained in this ebook were previously published on the Hannibal Boxing website, along with a new introduction by Carlos Acevedo, the author of Sporting Blood: Tales From The Dark Side Of Boxing. The essays in this works are: Introduction by Carlos Acevedo Them Bones: The Night James Toney Won His First World Title, Carlos Acevedo The Edge of Derision: On Prince Naseem Hamed, Oliver Goldstein The Hotstepper: Oscar De La Hoya, Nearing Stardom, Carlos Acevedo Idyllic Masquerading: The Night Chris Eubank Beat Michael Watson, Oliver Goldstein The Savage Within: Mike Tyson on the Rise, Carlos Acevedo Vendetta: Oscar De La Hoya and Fernando Vargas Settle Their Blood Feud, Carlos Acevedo The Future Now: Roy Jones Breaks Through, Oliver Goldstein Earn It: Evander Holyfield and Michael Dokes Go to War, Oliver Goldstein Episodes in the American Berserk: Mike Tyson vs. Razor Ruddock I, Oliver Goldstein This Is the Future: James Toney Batters Vassiliy Jirov for His Third World Title, Jimmy Tobin

“Stradley [has]...a clipped, hard-hitting narrative style that makes no excuses and offers no apologies. Boxing fans interested in this...tragic figure should be captivated. A gritty, absorbing account of a boxer who couldn’t defeat his own inner demons.”—Kirkus Reviews From the pages of Berserk: The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero... "There’s no telling what went on during the next few hours, or where his paranoia took him, but in that room something terrible happened. At 5:30 a.m. Valero appeared in the lobby. As calmly as one might order something from room service, he told the staff that he had just killed his wife." Within the dark pages of Berserk: The Shocking Life and Death of Edwin Valero, author Don Stradley uncovers the gritty details of the undefeated (27-0, 27 KO), troubled, boxer Edwin Valero. Edwin Valero’s life was like a rocket shot into a wall. With a perfect knockout record in twenty-seven fights, the demonic Venezuelan boxer, known as “El Inca” and “El Dinamita,” seemed destined for a clash with all-time great Manny Pacquiao. But the Fates had other ideas. Fueled by cocaine and booze and paranoia, Valero blazed into a mania that derailed his career in the ring and resulted in the brutal death of his young wife Jennifer–and soon afterward, his own. In chilling detail, Don Stradley captures one of the darkest and most sensational boxing stories in recent memory, which, until now, has never been fully told. Filled with firsthand accounts from the men who trained Valero and the reporters who covered him, as well as insights from psychologists and forensic experts, Berserk is a hell-ride of a book. Berserk is the first in the Hamilcar Noir series, from Hamilcar Publications. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels.

In Slaughter in the Streets, Don Stradley masterfully unfolds the story of how Boston became "boxing's murder capital." From the early days of Boston's Mafia, to the era of Whitey Bulger, Stradley tells the fascinating stories of men who were drawn to the dual shady worlds of boxing and the mob.

Filled with firsthand accounts from the men who trained Valero and the reporters who covered him, as well as insights from psychologists and forensic experts, Berserk is a hell-ride of a book.

Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi had the boxing world at his feet in 1997 after vanquishing David Tua in a battle for the ages in Sacramento. The Nigerian heavyweight's subsequent descent into a vortex of mental illness and crime and punishment was as shocking as it was tragic. Was Ibeabuchi a vulnerable man exploited by a ruthless sport and a dysfunctional criminal justice system, or was he guilty-as-charged for his deeds and rightly punished? Somewhere amid a colorful cast of characters including Republican politicians, crooked promoters, and demons hiding in air-conditioning units, lies the uncomfortable truth. In President of Pandemonium, Luke G. Williams vividly recreates Ibeabuchi's life in and out of the ring. Combining exclusive interviews with those who guided his career and observed him closely, as well as firsthand testimony from "The President" himself, this is a story of brilliance destroyed by dark forces, both real and imagined.

"...Tobin astutely looks at the varying possibilities that would have led to Gatti’s death. Such an approach intelligently and respectfully piques interest in a real-life mystery that has left Gatti’s fans and family in need of both solace and satisfactory answers."—Kirkus Reviews "[Tobin is] an intelligent writer and a thoughtful person, tender even, who writes with authority...I know he’s invited me to a place I’d not have accessed without him."—Bart Barry, 15rounds.com Arturo "Thunder" Gatti hung up his gloves in 2007, closing the book on a boxing career that bordered on the mythical. At long last, he seemed ready to leave the business of blood behind for a long, happy life outside the ring. His retirement was celebrated—boxing’s modern gladiator had earned his freedom. Two years later, he was gone—found dead in a hotel in Brazil under mysterious circumstances. He was only thirty-seven years old. Did he commit suicide? Or was he killed by his new wife? In Killed in Brazil?, Jimmy Tobin recounts the dramatic events surrounding Gatti's tragic demise and shines a light on what may have happened on that fateful night. Killed in Brazil is the fourth in the Hamilcar Noir series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels.