Tony Petrovic is a boxer, an old boxer. Now 80, what he has left is memories of times gone past and “Off the Canvas” is author Rusty Rubin attempt to show the changes of America over the past 70 years through the eyes of Tony Petrovic.
This book is written on two levels. The first is the story of two boxers, who struggle through the Great Depression and whose careers peaks during World War II. They succeeded in their goals of becoming world champions. The second level is Rusty Rubin’s vision of American then and now as an old fighter tells us the stories of racism, hunger, and the impact on mobsters upon his life.
Rubin is a boxing writer, who has followed the sweet science for the past five decades. He is the editor of Ringsport.com and this is his first novel. Petrovic’s mother is a single mom who raised Tony and his brother Bill. Tony’s father abandons the youth when they are young and the major male in their lives was Uncle Johnny, who was their father’s brother.
Tony Petrovic tells of the major events that shaped his life and that of America. When he was born in 1923, America was just five years removed from the “War to End All Wars” and prohibition was the law of the land. As Tony wryly noted, Prohibition never stopped any one from drinking. It was Prohibition that gave the mob their first big source of revenues and allowed the gangsters opportunities to operate on a nationwide basis. Boxing would soon be a target of the mob as the 30’s open; the mob gained a foothold in the sport. Many boxers would find that unless they dealt with the mob, they could be left out in the cold when it came to championship fights.
Our two brothers as they became closer to their title shot found themselves sold to a mob-controlled manager, George Grabowski when their manager was given an offer that he could not refuse. Intervention of the feds saved our two brothers but later, Paulie’s gambling would once again threaten their career. As Tony Petrovic was readied for a rematch against a tough fighter, he noted that Paulie was behaving differently. It was as if Paulie was doing everything to ensure Tony’s lost and Tony immediately suspected that his manager was selling both he and his brother down the river. Tony not only won the fight but he used the purse to pay off Paulie’s debt. This act saved Paulie’s life.
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