Bootleg Boxing The Murder of Eddie 'The Hammer' Hammond

Eddie, a winner of three amateur Army titles as a Soldier, wanted to leap from amateur boxer to professional fighter. Throughout life, within the ring and outside of it, he's always been a fighter with a burning desire to become the most successful boxer of all time. He's always possessed extraordinary fighting prowess but discontinued his boxing career at his wife's insistence. After years away from boxing, Eddie makes a remarkable comeback. And then tragedy strikes, putting much more than his boxing career into question.

Like many others, Eddie's life is full of victories, challenges, and failures. People around him admire his strength and energetic personality, and often he's seen as heroic. His life is unpredictable and tumultuous, but he has the inner resilience to stay strong and determined in adversity.

Joe Baker is an Army veteran who served twenty-three years on active duty. He retired as a First Sergeant. Joe served in Afghanistan, Iraq (three deployments), Kuwait for Intrinsic Action, Egypt as a Multi-National Forces Observer, and in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with Joint Task Force 160th in support of Operational Sea Signal. He was awarded four Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman's Badge for his time overseas.

He is a graduate of Excelsior College, where he studied Business Management and obtained a bachelor's degree. He currently resides in Texas and has one son, Charles Baker.