From the squalor of Kliptown to the dusty streets of Soweto and commanding heights of the academic world – Jabulani Mtshali's autobiography details the epic journey of a boxer turned doctor.

Mtshali was involved in boxing during his early and later years in different capacities. He trained at the Dube Boys Club under Theo “Black Panther” Mthembu and later became a ring announcer.

Mtshali, 70, says his book targets the youth who are advised to make the right choices and decisions in life.

He talks about how to avoid and also handle peer pressure, and has dedicated a chapter to this touchy subject.

The book is called Living a Life of Purpose. Mtshali says the sole purpose of his book is to impact positively on the lives of the younger generation. The self-funded and self-published book, selling at R250, was launched in November last year.

Mtshali began boxing at the age of 12 as an amateur where he won the Johannesburg and District Non-European Amateur Association title in 1967 at 16. He did not turn pro.

“I went to the University of Zululand in 1971 and I wanted to be a medical doctor,” he says. “I did a BSc, only the first year. Of the four courses that I did I managed to pass two, which is equivalent to 50% pass.

“I then changed into a teaching degree, which was a BA. I got a merit bursary for outstanding academic performance in my second year and completed it in record time in 1974.”

In 1976 he got a lecturing post in the department of geography at the same university where he had studied.

“I also taught at Morris Isaacson High in Soweto, Illinge High School in Vosloorus and became a principal from 1988 to 1994. I got a lecturing post at the University of Johannesburg [then known as Vista] in Soweto.”

He says it is there that he observed many children making wrong choices in life due to peer pressure.

“I also noticed that in our schools sport has died; when growing up we used to do sport every Wednesday and that kept us busy,” he reminisced. “Kids today are idle and their sport is drugs and alcohol. I use my life experience as an example because I was engaged in the sport of boxing, which helped me to stay away from drugs.”

He says boxing teaches a strong work ethic. “These are the lessons I carried over. They made me sharp and eventually I got a PhD. In my book, I also tell the youth that failure is not the end of the world because sometimes you need to fail in order to succeed; you don’t give up and that is what we were taught at Dube Boys Club,” said Mtshali.

His book comes a year after two weight division world champion Lovemore Ndou published a book on his life – Tough Love – which is an amazing story of a world boxing champion turned lawyer.

The former IBF junior welterweight, IBO and WBF welterweight titlist tells the story of his life as a boy under apartheid and his road to winning world titles. He left for Australia where he made something of his life through a successful boxing career and hard work to study and obtain several university degrees. Today Ndou is a successful lawyer with a thriving legal business in Sydney, where he has lived since 1995.