A member of the USA's stellar 1984 Olympic boxing team, Paul Banke then scaled the heights as a professional to become world champion in 1990. Unfortunately, throughout his career, he was at the mercy of his secret mistress—drugs. As part of the celebrity slipstream, Banke often had free access to heroin, crystal meth, and cocaine. Best remembered for his epic trilogy with Daniel Zaragoza, drugs overtook him and Banke soon became a forgotten champion. Shortly after retiring in 1993, he was homeless and destitute. Having not eaten for three days, Banke found himself lying in a dumpster in Vegas, ecstatic at finding a partially consumed cheeseburger. Arrested for grand theft auto in 1995, he was urged in jail to take an HIV test, due to sharing needles. He had contracted full-blown AIDS. Miraculously, after three decades of drug abuse, Banke turned his life around in September 2014 and became clean and sober. Now once again warmly embraced by the boxing fraternity, he shares his story to inspire and deter those on a similar path. Paul Zanon is the author of six books, including The Loonliness of a Deep Sea Diver and The Yorkshire Hunter . Paul is a regular contributor to Boxing Monthly magazine, has covered the fight game for the Daily Sport, and has appeared as a boxing pundit on talkSPORT radio, London Live, and BoxNation. Ray Mancini held the WBA lightweight title from 1982 to 1984. He lives near Youngstown, Ohio.