· OUT NOW — UPDATED EDITION COMING POST-PARDON ·

DUKE
GOT
LIFE.

A BOXER'S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
AND ONE LAST SHOT AT REDEMPTION.

ISBN 9798337769424 · 248 pp. · Aug 2024
FREE FIRST CHAPTER WITH NEWSLETTER →

A MEMOIR

DUKE
GOT
LIFE
CHARLES "DUKE" TANNER

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.8 / 5 — 472 RATINGS

· INSIDE THE BOOK ·

FIVE ROUNDS OF A LIFE

I
GARY

Gloves at 6. Murphy. Dundee. The bronze in 1996. The 19-0 nobody could touch.

II
THE FALL

A son. A layoff. A short-cut. A sting at 24. Two life sentences for a first offense.

III
INSIDE

Maximum security. A murder on day one. Faith. Discipline. The dream that wouldn’t leave.

IV
THE LETTERS

One a Sunday for two years. Alice Johnson. The call from the White House. Clemency.

V
FREEDOM

Foundation. HUD. Pulpits. The pardon in May 2025. The fight is now everybody else’s.

· PRAISE ·

"A powerful testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring quest for justice."

— AMAZON EDITORIAL REVIEW

"Tanner turns lived experience into actionable reform. This book belongs in every policymaker’s briefing folder."

— REFORM ALLIANCE

"From Gary, Indiana, to the White House: the most American story I’ve read this year."

— BLACK ENTERPRISE

"He got knocked all the way down and everybody thought he was knocked out. But he got up. And look what he’s doing now."

— WHAT HE WANTS KIDS TO HEAR

EXCERPT

R · III

Day one inside

I watched the guy walk out the unit, blood seeping out of his neck. He dropped on the floor and ended up dying later. It’s my new environment. I’ve got to survive. I’m not going to die in here. I’m not going to be him.

FROM CHAPTER 8 · DUKE GOT LIFE

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER →