The undefeated boxer’s memoir, Duke Got Life: A Boxer’s Fight for Freedom and One Last Shot at Redemption, is the testimony behind his work in reentry, fatherhood, and second-chance leadership
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Before Charles “Duke” Tanner became a national advocate, an ETS ambassador, and a man walking into diplomatic rooms, he wrote the story down so nobody could shrink it.
Duke Got Life: A Boxer’s Fight for Freedom and One Last Shot at Redemption is Tanner’s account of a life that was supposed to end in a cell. It is not a tidy comeback book. It is the record of an undefeated fighter from Gary, Indiana, who went 19–0, lost the world on a first non-violent case, took two life sentences, served more than 16 years, and refused to let the system have the last word.
The book is out now and has been positioned by Tanner as both testimony and assignment. He has said the point was never to become a character in his own tragedy. The point was to put faith, discipline, and a second chance in print — then spend the rest of his life proving the pages were not the ending.
The Fight Inside the Book
Tanner grew up in Gary and put the gloves on at six. He won Junior Olympic bronze, turned pro, trained under Angelo Dundee, and fought on ESPN. The dream was a world title. The detour was sharper. Facing pressure to provide after injury and layoff, he made a choice that collapsed the future he had built in the ring.
In 2004 he was caught in a sting, convicted on a first offense, and sentenced to two life terms. What followed, the book argues, was not just punishment. It was a 16-year fight against disappearance. He wrote letters. He held onto faith. He watched his son grow up from inside. He decided defeat could be an experience. Failure would be a choice.
Clemency came in October 2020. A full presidential pardon followed on May 28, 2025. Duke Got Life was already in the world by then, carrying the first half of the story: the cell, the letters, the slim chance that a president might open a door the courts would not.
“From a double life sentence to a life of purpose — only God could write this story,” Tanner has said.
Why the Book Still Matters
The memoir is now doing work the man cannot do in every room at once. It is being used as the foundation for Round by Round, a 12-week prison-based fatherhood program built with the Jack Brewer Foundation. It is the text behind Tanner’s speeches. It is the proof of record when he walks into churches, policy rooms, and events like this week’s Spiritual Diplomat Peace Summit in Dallas.
The book’s argument is hard and simple:
- A second chance is unfinished if it stops at the gate
- Fathers coming home need more than release papers
- Redemption has to include work, family, and a public standard
Tanner did not write Duke Got Life to close the chapter. He wrote it so the chapter could travel — into prisons, into households, and into rooms that still talk about justice without naming the people living under it.
The Life After the Last Page
Today Tanner serves as Vice President of Community Affairs & Outreach and National Ambassador for Engineered Tax Services. He is Co-Founder of Legacy Impact Technologies and the Legacy Impact Foundation, and works with organizations including the Jack Brewer Foundation, REFORM Alliance, and the Aleph Institute. The book is the spine under all of it.
Readers can find Duke Got Life: A Boxer’s Fight for Freedom and One Last Shot at Redemption through Amazon and charlesduketanner.com. Tanner has framed the price and the timing around the anniversary of his arrest for a reason. The date that tried to end him became the date he put the story in the public’s hands.
The title is the whole thesis. They gave him life. He took it back. Now he is spending it.
About the Book
Duke Got Life: A Boxer’s Fight for Freedom and One Last Shot at Redemption is the memoir of Charles “Duke” Tanner, an undefeated professional boxer sentenced to two life terms on a first non-violent offense. The book follows his fight for freedom, faith under a life sentence, clemency, and the decision to turn survival into service. Available now at Amazon and www.charlesduketanner.com.
About Charles “Duke” Tanner
Charles “Duke” Tanner is Vice President of Community Affairs & Outreach and National Ambassador for Engineered Tax Services, author of Duke Got Life, and a national advocate for second chances, reentry, fatherhood, prison reform, and economic access.
Media Contact
www.charlesduketanner.com
Engineered Tax Services | West Palm Beach, Florida
Charles “Duke” Tanner | dtanner@engineeredtaxservices.com
Issued by The KR Media Group
Media Contact
Company: Engineered Tax Services
Contact Person: Charles “Duke” Tanner |
(E) mail: dtanner@engineeredtaxservices.com
Website: https://engineeredtaxservices.com
City: West Palm Beach
State: Florida
Country: USA
