Lebanon, PA -- Heavyweight boxer Jim Evans, 24, had an awe-inspiring record of 34 knockouts and just two losses in his first five years as a pro-fighter. He was known as the "Hammer Fist" for his ability to pound his opponents into submission. "All that changed once I fell in love with Kathy, the Quaker woman I eventually married," said Evans. The Quakers, or as they are also known, the Religious Society of Friends, believe very strongly in simplicity, inner revelation, and pacifism. They are anti-war, anti-violence, and anti-fighting.
Kathy made it crystal clear to Evans that if they were to marry, she would not
tolerate his striking another man. "That caused a big problem," recalled Evans. "I loved Kathy with all my heart and did not want to lose her. But boxing was the only profession I knew, the only thing I could do." After much thought, Evans decided to find a way to keep boxing without having to strike his opponents.
Evans came up with a unique and innovative approach to nonviolent boxing. "I developed my footwork and bobbing and weaving strategies so strongly that my opponents would exhaust themselves trying to hit me." When his opponents' energy levels became suitably depleted, Evans would preach Quaker pacifism to them until they couldn't take it any more and simply surrendered. In the two years since then, he has never lost a fight. Explains Evans, "I saved my marriage and returned the sport to what it used to be called -- The Gentlemanly Art of Boxing."