Joe Egan is one of the most beloved characters of the boxing community - everyone knows his story and is supportive of him.

Big Joe has an incredible story to tell of his career, that ended 12 years ago, and how he made his boxing comeback with the help of close friend Mike Tyson.

To celebrate the release of his long-awaited biography, with a foreword by Mike Tyson, 'The Toughest White Man on the Planet' will be attending a special book-signing session at Canary Wharf.

The event is on Thursday 17 November and takes place between midday and 2pm.

As a real bonus for sports fans, Tyson and other ex-boxers Barry McGuigan, Frank Bruno, Nigel Rafferty, Alan Minter, Steve Collins, Charlie Magri, Gary Mason and Paul 'Silky' Jones will also be in attendance on the day.

It is the first UK bookshop appearance by Tyson ever and is at Books Etc - telephone number 0207 7190688.

All the public are welcome to attend so pencil in the date for your diary.

The book is book entitled "Big Joe Egan: The Toughest White Man on the Planet".
A synopsis is available in the extended section of this post (click 'Read More' below).

Preview of Big Joe Egan: The Toughest White Man on the Planet from www.amazon.co.uk.

Ireland's best amateur boxing heavyweight is colourful Dubliner Big Joe Egan, who is a former Golden Gloves champion with a long illustrious career that includes fights against eventual World Champions of the calibre of greats like Lewis, Collins and Seldon. Big Joe, as he was affectionately known, never did bridge that gap from top ranked amateur to the pro ranks of boxing's cruel jungle. The reason why it never happened is the story of a big affable Irishman who never got the even rub of the green.

Synopsis:
The amazing story of Ireland's best amateur boxing heavyweight who never made it to pro. In a long and illustrious career that included fights against eventual World Champions of the calibre of Lewis, Collins and Seldon, Big Joe Egan never did bridge that gap from top-ranked amateur to professional.

A four-year spell in New York saw the promising teenager invited to train, spar and live at Mike Tyson's training camp in the Catskill Mountains with the late Cus d'Amato. Joe was dumped by his fiancee, Lisa Murphy, who became the long-term lover of River Dance multi-millionaire hoofer Michael Flatley. Their amorous rivalry came to a head in a showdown dubbed Lord of the Ring v Lord of the Dance by the press.

Then Egan took the opportunity to run a pub in Birmingham and was shot by men from an organised protection racket. Egan was charged with attempted murder. The charges were dropped, only for him to be later convicted for a luxury car ringing scam run from his pub.