Table of Contents Preface 1 1. Athletics, My Father and Me--A Love Triangle 5 2. The Growing Dream 10 3. Capitol Gym 18 4. The Golden Gloves 28 5. Training at the PAL--Spring 1979 35 6. Becoming a Good Student 44 7. Discovered by Bobo Olson 54 8.

Boxing Is Economics Theory Expressed in the Flesh 60 9. Throwing a Punch and Hitting a Ball 68 10. George Benton's Shoulder Shell 78 11. Meeting Yaqui López 85 12. Yaqui López, Ernest Hemingway and José Ortega y Gasset 95 13. Boxing as a Martial Art 106 14. Last Sparring Before First Professional Fight 115 15. Locker Room Preparation for First Professional Fight 121 16.

An Undefeated Contender 126 17. Back in the Gym 136 18. Losing My Second Fight 147 19. A Broken Nose and a Breaking Dream 152 20. Training with Yaqui at Lake Tahoe 157 21. Sylvester Stallone, Lee Canalito and Vinnie Curto 164 22. Jessie Burnett's Version of the Shoulder Shell 173 23. Learning Why I Was Not a ­World-Ranked Contender 182 24.

Training at Tahoe Again 189 25. Another Loss 196 26. Leaving Boxing 203 27. A Lost Soul Tries to Find Where He Failed 211 28. Boxing, Zen in the Art of Archery and an Introduction to Literature 218 29. Don Conley and the Washington Neighborhood Center 229 30. Marriage and Healing Some of My Gaps 235 31. Becoming a "Smart Slugger" 242 32.

Requiem for a ­Light-Heavyweight: The End of a Dream 248 Index 255.