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Shake Hands With a Bum
order this bookPhil McGrath Price £30.00  An autobiography of a boy who grew up in very harsh circumstances with the ambition to be a boxer. The book contains a wealth of vivid and earthy detail, which follows the author through his childhood in Halifax, then into the army, through his experiences on military service in Hong Kong, including a stay in military prison. A major part of the book covers his life as a professional boxer, culminating in a major UK title fight. His subsequent decline through drink is chronicled in painfully honest detail. An unforgettable, raw and vital account of a hard working class life.There is a six page introduction by the well known television producer John Willis. "There was no doubt the extra confidence I felt was derived from the fear of my insecure nature outside the ring. I must dedicate myself to boxing; I felt sure that I could make it. One so young can feel these sensations of conceit, but it was Woolshops where I felt so trapped. The terrible dread that I would never get out. Some small thing would stop me from fighting my way out - the unknown evils that haunted my thoughts. I knew that God had bestowed on me the gift to box, yet what if I should abuse this gift. What then? No I could not stand to be a nobody. "I moved into the centre of the ring. All the time I was ducking and weaving, but going forward, cocky bugger was pecking me in the face with lefts, therefore adding up the points, but I continued on my forward march. I hooked him a left to the body and tried to follow up with a right cross, but cocky bugger was not there. There was no doubt about it, he moved round the ring well. So the round ended up with me punching air in a neutral corner. I walked back to the corner where Mr. Green was waiting with the sponge. He doused my face, the water splashing over both of us. He was chattering excitedly, but I was looking down at dad. Our eyes met. I could see the scorn in his face." |