The King of White-Collar Boxing: A Memoir

“The life of David Lawrence reads like a Hollywood script: Gifted poet and English professor turns Wall Street tycoon, boxing pro, rapper – and ends up convicted of tax evasion and in jail. Lawrence is brilliant, amusing and finds his redemption and happiness at the most unlikely place – the legendary Gleason’s Gym. The King of White-Collar Boxing – a knock-out!”– Susanne Lingemann, ZDF German TV Network“David Lawrence’s memoir, The King of White-Collar Boxing, is a charged and urgent piece of writing filled with electric metaphors – picture Hearns and Hagler rushing to the middle of the ring and slugging it out incessantly – that kept me reading. The book moves at breakneck speed through the worlds of shady business and privilege, boxing and rapping, a year or so in prison and fears of brain damage as he desperately tries to make his mark following his own code of ethics. All along we witness the inside of a fantastically manic and narcissistic brain pinballing between deep seeded inadequacy and visions of grandeur and honor as he propels himself down the social/economic ladder on a redemptive mission to find the place where things make the most sense and he feels most at home: in the ring with the basic mantra of ‘kill or be killed’ and subsequently putting words to pages until I, a completely satisfied reader, end up rooting for him.”– Tony Gloeggler, author of The Last Lie and One Wish Left“I’ve known David for thirty years. He was one of the earliest businessmen boxers at Gleason’s Gym. At times I had to ban him from the gym because he was taking too many injuries. He had the first white-collar fight at Gleason’s against Doc Novick in 1990. David fought in more than fifty of those fights. At the height of his business career he turned pro and fought in Denver. He got knocked out but came back to win four of his six pro fights, winning four by knock out and losing two by being knocked out. I knew him when he was rich. I knew him when he was poor. He was always the same person.”– Bruce Silverglade, owner of world famous Gleason’s Gym Read more