Product Description

Everybody in the unlicensed fight game knows that only one man has the honour of being titled 'Guv'nor' - and that man is Lew 'Wild Thing' Yates. Yates began boxing at the age of six, and as an adult he was ruthless in pursuit of his dream of becoming world heavyweight champion. But when his licence was revoked following an assault on a referee, he turned to unlicensed boxing. By day, Yates pounded punchbags and the streets in an effort to reach the peak of physical fitness as he prepared for his epic battle with Roy 'Pretty Boy' Shaw. At night, he pounded gangsters and drug dealers foolish enough to take him on in the nightclubs where he worked."Wild Thing" documents how Yates rose to the top of his bloody profession. Despite being immersed in the seedy world of unlicensed boxing and running security at some of Britain's toughest nightspots, he has never served a day in prison, taken or sold a drug. When it comes to his fighting ability, he doesn't need to boast, brag or exaggerate. With Lew Yates, what you see is what you hope you're never going to get. This is his remarkable story.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15423 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Lew Yates is a former unlicensed boxer who has also worked as a nightclub bouncer and civil engineer. He lives in Cambridgeshire. Bernard O'Mahoney is the author of several true-crime books, including the bestselling Essex Boys, Bonded by Blood and Hateland.

Customer Reviews

WILD THING
THE REVIEWER WHO STATED THAT LEW YATES NEVER FOUGHT ROY SHAW IS OH SO WRONG.....MY WIFE AND I WERE AT THE FIGHT AT THE ILFORD PALAIS, AS WAS LENNY MCLAINE AND SEVERAL OTHER CELEBS...SORRY...PETER AND PATRICIA GINGELL

A Must Buy
This is a Must Buy and has to be up there with the other 'Guvnor-type' books by Roy Shaw and Lenny McLean. I have just finished reading it, and it enthralled me to the end. And I really enjoyed the reviews about Lew by 'faces' who knew him. There's only one bad review I've read, by Jose Barrera, a pseudonym if ever there was one, and probably someone who does not like Lew, hence, the review. To comment on this bad review, is giving it the oxygen it needs to survive; but what a load of bollocks, I mean I can denigrate the ramblings of this reviewer by highlighting one simple fact - the pic of Lew squaring up to Roy Shaw, as Mr Barrera says that fight never happened! Lew was robbed of being the next Guvnor (No disrespect to Roy and Lenny, whose books are also fantastic reads).
I for one hope Lew brings out another book asap!

Excellent read
I purchased this book & read cover to cover in a day, its that good.

Exploring o lot of his issues at home as well as the work side of things makes it quite a refreshing read.

Theres plenty of punch ups & stories from his time on the door, plus info on his fight with Roy pretty boy shaw rifght back to his personal relationships & how they affected him & his kids.

Without spoiling too much of the book its a really good read & shows Lew to be very old school ( not a bad thing) with regards to fighting, preffering to use his fists/head rather than guns that are so often the case nowadays.

4/5