The Biography of a Mental Muscle: Turning a Negative to a Postive

By Cornell F. Evans Jr.

The Biography of a Mental Muscle is true story of the pathway and experiences of a man who grew up in the streets of Washington, DC, although he was surrounded by a positive family. This book depicts a young man who somehow became wayward in his conduct and behavior and landed in some form of serious detention more than one time during his youth.
Before turning his life around, Cornell Evans Jr. was a boxer, hustler, a father, a husband, a military man, an inmate, and a barber. Evans took all of those things and filled the book to showcase loyalty, honor, integrity, respect, betrayal, pain, deceit, and triumph.
The Biography of a Mental Muscle is truly about how important using your brain is in making decisions that not only affect you but those around you, as Cornell learned through his stint in jail, in which he left behind his wife and kids. While there, he sought a higher power and found one that turned his life around.
Throughout the book, you can feel his ups and downs and read what made him continue on and to continue to grow as a man today. The biggest down was his wife’s illness while he was in jail. His biggest high was writing this book.
His story is not unlike many hard-knock stories, but the significance of Evans’s life is about being strong enough to use your mental muscle to fight to make the right decisions in your life so that you can get back up when knocked down—like he did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664175501

Cornell F. Evans Jr.

Biography Cornell Evans, Jr. Cornell Evans, Jr. grew up in Southeast and Northwest D.C. Raised by his parents, he was taught about the important of respect, to hold true to his principles and to always have morals. Although Cornell was an avid boxer, peer pressure forced him into the drug game. After a stint in jail, he changed his life around by focusing on family, self and keeping a positive attitude. The Biography of Mental Muscle was written because of his past circumstances. Cornell Evans is a graduate of Friendly High School. He still lives in D.C. with his wife and seven kids.

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Copyright © 2021 by Cornell F. Evans Jr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/17/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank God for giving me the strength to endure my feelings when writing this book. I had to resurrect a lot of pain and sorrow; expose a lot of deceit, betrayal, confusion, love, and lust to do a lot of writing! Boy! Did I write! I thank God for the experiences that allowed me to dig deep into my soul to share my story. Digging out what I wanted to write about took a long time, and it was not easy for me, but thanks be to God for his grace and mercy and for also giving me a once unknown force inside of me, my mental muscle.

I would like to thank all who supported me in the process of making this book happen.

God, without you, I am nothing.

My wife, Angela, who hung in there with me when I needed her the most. I love you.

My momma, who has supported me from birth. I love you, Mom!

My father and stepmother. Thank you for your support.

My brothers: Chris, Cedric, and Kenny.

My little sister, Chontae.

My beautiful daughters: Brandii, Deonna, Angel, Kia, Sharde’, Ceshelle, and Cherie.

My lawyer, Mr. John Mercer, Esq.

My man Chee’ from the film crew and entertainment company Circle Entertainment—good looking out!

My sweetest aunts: Theola, Caroline, Janet, Etoy, and Evonne.

My uncles: Charley, Mike, Carlton, Donald, and Ronald. Thank you. I love you!

These significant people: Mr. Abbey, Rev. Shirley Clanton, Stoney, and Toney.

My cousins: if I name them all, you would so not want to read the book.

Producer and filmmaker: Randell Lawrence

Editor: Chantel J. Bivins

A slew of other relatives and friends that I forgot about, but I love you all, and thank you again. Enjoy.

If there is anyone that I forgot to thank, please forgive me, because I have you in my heart. I love you still.

PREFACE

LEFT HOOK

Reality—I can’t help but continue to elaborate on Iron Mike Tyson. I truly feel what my mentor and true friend Mr. Abbey said to me one day when discussing Iron Mike. He said, Corn, Mike is exempt from prayer. I was in dismay from that comment. That comment enlightened me on something. That firstly, some people on this earth are truly messed up in the head, lacking direction because there is no one to guide them. Others do not even care about anyone but their own well-being. Truly it is a sad case. It lets me know how important prayer really is. Without prayer, you are exempt from reality.

EVERLAST

In the mid-’80s, Sugar Ray Leonard wanted to compete in the ring with thumbless boxing gloves and would not compete against with those who did not wear them. People in the industry could not understand. Some agreed to compete in anything Leonard wanted, others thought he should not be in boxing. The thumbless boxing glove actually resurrected Sugar Ray’s career. Since then, commissions have been an advocate for it because it helps to prevent injuries like the one Sugar Ray endured—a detached retina.

BOXING CAPSULE

I have a lot of respect for throwback fighters. They used to sail on ships for thirty days to fight an opponent. I have and cannot imagine the weather that was endured, but that is what you call a true champion. Fighters are not born and bred like the ones who paved the way for fighters now. Back then it was about passion. Now it is about the cash. Money doesn’t buy happiness or make you better at what you do. All money does is cause greed and envy.

RECIPROCAL TOURNAMENT

Felix Tito Trinidad had a serious and very crafty opponent ahead of him—Winky Wright—a now former undisputed World Light Middleweight Champion. I believed that if Winky could withstand Tito’s thunder, he had a boxer’s chance. In 2005, Wright was the underdog, but defeated Felix Trinidad. This may have been the greatest achievement of Wright’s career. Trinidad was far from a fighter. He kept a fighter’s stance, knew when to jab, and understood the importance of every punch. Watch the Executioners, and you will get the picture.

WEATHERING THE STORM

Diego Corrales finally got his just do. He prepared for a title fight with Jose Luis Castillo, was he ready? Yes, and in 2005, he won. Diego had not missed a beat ever since being released from prison. He had two great fights with Joel Casamayor in which he won one and lost one. Corrales boxed the Brazilian Acelino Freitas, who was also trying to get his just do. My concern at that time was if Diego could handle a rematch with the little monster, who oozed blood. RIP, Diego Corrales.

SOMETHING FOR THE DOME

Trivia for the day: Did you know that in 1810, a coal porter turned boxer named Tom Cribb fought a former slave and became a world champion? His belt was made of tiger skin and had tiger teeth, and the trimmings of the belt were dipped in silver. He retired in 1812 at the age of thirty-one and became a coal merchant and part-time trainer. In 1839, he passed away at the age of sixty-six.

CHAPTER 1

T he story goes like this.

I was a happy-go-lucky kid with a big heart growing up in Southeast (SE), Washington, DC. Although family oriented, meaning my mother and father were at home, it had many challenges because it was known as hood. There are many different definitions of the word hood; it is sometimes interchangeable with ghetto—a place where minorities are known to live. Where I grew up was no different. It was also one of those blocks where a family member of another family would dig in your ass when you were out of order—remember those days?

One of my favorite memories was playing football in the street. There were these huge trees on Brandywine Street with tree branches that connected from the top of the overpass, and it looked like a tunnel. It kind of reminds me of Rock Creek Park. When we played football in the street, sometimes the quarterback would throw the football so high over the trees, the football would disappear. Where it ended up, we never knew.

My love of football, sports in general, came from my very educated family—three brothers and one sister who are also into discipline and love. I love them all dearly. Growing up as the oldest sibling had its perks and many responsibilities. I had to be the example my parents groomed me to be. My mother and father brought us up with principles