Shuler was trained by
Joe Frazier. Shuler was the 1979 and 1980 National Golden Gloves Light Middleweight Champion. He qualified at 156 pounds and was a member of the
1980 U.S. Olympic boxing team that perished in
an air crash in
Warsaw,
Poland, on March 14, 1980. Shuler was not with the team, however, as he had stayed in America due to injury. The team was en route to Warsaw, Poland for the USA vs. Poland Box-off as part of "USA vs. the World." event. Among the USA Boxing teammates who were killed in the plane crash were
Lemuel Steeples from St. Louis; Kelvin Anderson from Connecticut;
Paul Palomino - the brother of
Carlos Palomino;
George Pimentel, and Olympic Coach,
Sarge Johnson. Members of the team who were also not aboard included
Bobby Czyz and
Alex Ramos RBF. Shuler did not participate in the 1980 Olympics due to the
boycott. In 2007, he posthumously received one of 461
Congressional Gold Medals created especially for the spurned athletes.
Highlights National Golden Gloves (156 lbs),
Indianapolis, Indiana, March 1979: • 1/2: Defeated Alfred Mayes by decision • Finals: Defeated Randy Smith by decision Pan Am Trials (156 lbs),
Toledo, Ohio, May–June 1979: • 1/2: Defeated James Rayford by decision • Finals: Defeated Alfred Mayes by decision
Pan American Games (156 lbs),
San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 1979: • 1/4: Defeated
Luis Felipe Martínez (Cuba) by split decision, 3–2 • 1/2: Defeated
Jorge Amparo (Dominican Republic) by decision • Finals: Lost to
José Molina (Puerto Rico) RSC 2
World Cup (156 lbs),
New York City, October 1979: • 1/4: Defeated Jim Spencer (Australia) by unanimous decision, 5–0 • 1/2: Defeated Khamzat Dzhabrailov (Soviet Union) by unanimous decision, 5–0 • Finals: Defeated Park Il Chun (South Korea) by unanimous decision, 5–0 Frazier–Ali teams match-up (156 lbs)
Houston, Texas, February 1980: • Lost to
Jeff Stoudemire by decision
National Golden Gloves (156 lbs),
Hirsch Memorial Coliseum,
Shreveport, Louisiana, March 1980: • 1/8: Defeated Shane Hoose by decision • 1/4: Defeated Roy Sapp by decision • 1/2: Defeated Charles Garner RSC 2 • Finals: Defeated Donald Bowers by decision Olympic Trials (156 lbs),
Atlanta, Georgia, June 1980: • 1/4: Defeated Alfred Mayes by unanimous decision, 5–0 • 1/2: Defeated Donald Bowers by decision • Finals: Defeated Kenneth Styles RSC 2 USA–USSR Duals (156 lbs),
Showboat Hotel,
Las Vegas, Nevada, January 1977: • Lost to
Alexander Koshkin (Soviet Union) KO 1 Shuler finished his amateur career with a record of 165–8. ==Professional career==