Hard to Heart: How Boxer Tim Bradley Won Championships and Respect

by Bill Dwyre

Overview

The inspiring story of boxer Tim Bradley, who rose from a difficult childhood to become a champion boxer, husband, father and role model. Written for middle-grade readers and up, it shows how someone with a self-described "thug mentality" can rise to greatness and be a credit to his community, family and the sport he loves.

Follow Tim on his path from childhood, to discovering the sport of boxing and his long road to becoming a world champion in the Super Lightweight and Welterweight divisions, to his three epic bouts with the legendary Manny Pacquiao. All that while becoming a loving husband and father.

Hard to Heart was written with style by Bill Dwyre, the award-winning, 25-year sports editor of the Los Angeles Times, and winner of the career achievement award from the Boxing Writers Association of America. An easy, drama-filled read in 118 pages, the book includes a timeline of Bradley's life, a list of his professional fights and a glossary of boxing terms to make the sport accessible to all readers.

The book includes photographs from the Bradley family archive. Both paperback and e-Book editions will be available. Learn more at www.BackStoryPublishing.com.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999396711
Publisher:	Perelman, Pioneer & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/06/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	118
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

One of the nation's premier sports editors and boxing journalists, Bill Dwyre authored Back Story Publishing's first title, "Hard to Heart: How Tim Bradley won championships and respect." Dwyre served as the award-winning sports editor of the Los Angeles Times for 25 years, and then as a columnist at the paper for another nine years before his retirement in 2015. He was cited for special excellence with the coveted Nat Fleisher Award by the Boxing Writers Association of America in March 2017. In addition to his book on Bradley, Dwyre serves as the chief executive of Back Story Publishing, whose goal is to engage young readers through sports and the written word.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Neat lawns and lots of dirt

2. A little monster

3. Finding heaven

4. Living on trophies

5. The luck of love

6. Champion of the world

7. The little fish

8. Lunch pail Tim

9. Did you really win the fight?

10. The dark days

11. They want blood

12. His kind of fight

13. The fight to right a wrong

14. The value of life

15. The long ride home

Afterword

Tim Bradley Timeline

Tim Bradley's pro boxing career

Glossary of boxing terms, organizations and notable people

Editorial Reviews

“You have heard the story of ‘The Little Engine That Could.’ I now read HARD TO HEART and learned how a little boy who couldn’t control his anger learned that he could — and grew up to be champion of the world.”

~ Teddy Atlas, boxing trainer, ESPN fight commentator and member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

“Timothy Bradley was never the most talented fighter in the world, but his ability to maximize his talent and reach the pinnacle of his sport gained him widespread admiration. Bill Dwyre's wonderful writing touch brings Bradley's inspirational story to life.”

~ Dylan Hernandez, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

“Bill Dwyre takes us step by step through the life of world boxing champion Tim Bradley from early childhood school suspensions to fame and fortune. Much of the credit belongs to Tim's tough-loving parents whose firm discipline set their fist-fighting son on the path to success.”

~ Bill Caplan, veteran boxing publicist, and member of the Boxing Hall of Fame

“This is a story about a brilliant athlete who never gave up, written by a master story teller!”

~ Jerry Izenberg, columnist emeritus of the The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey).

“Timothy Bradley’s story is an inspiration. Tim just happened to be a little boy who was a very talented fighter. He used this talent to defend himself as a kid … and perhaps to fight a bit more than necessary just because he was so good at it. Ultimately, he grew into a mature, disciplined athlete who demonstrated that professional fighting is a true commitment. He is an example of a tenacious person who triumphs not only over opponents in the ring, but also over injustice and sometimes defeats. He is an example of how a person can retain a positive attitude by finding his passion and striving to be the best. Also, he shows that a good fighter knows when it’s time to fight and when it’s time to stand up for his beliefs without using fighting words. Tim works to make himself better, his sport better, and his community better. As a kid, he overcame bullying by being a great fighter, and as an adult he became a better fighter by being a great human being.”

~ Tascha Folsoi, teacher at the New Open World Academy and the Los Angeles Unified School District; a teacher and librarian for more than 20 years in Los Angeles schools.

From the Publisher