The combat sports world lost a respected figure on Wednesday as Thomas Gerbasi passed away at the age of 57. Gerbasi, a long-time resident of Staten Island, New York, was a writer for a number of boxing publications, including BoxingScene, beginning in 2004 until earlier this year, while also serving as the editorial director for UFC.com. In addition to his reporting for digital outlets, Gerbasi was also a prolific author, penning books like the UFC Encyclopedia, and, most recently "Boxing: The 100 Greatest Fighters."
Below is a collection of tributes from BoxingScene writers, many of whom crossed paths with him at various outlets and publications.
David Greisman: Tom was one of the best of us — not just one of the best combat writers, but a wonderful person whose kindness and generosity reached so many. I have so many fond memories of Tom and received so many opportunities because of him. He was a mentor, a colleague and a friend whose advice, compliments and support meant the world. And he was a prolific writer and talented storyteller who did it all and did it well, whether it was boxing or MMA or music or roller derby. But beyond that, he was a proud husband, father and grandfather. It’s said that the legacy of a person is the world they leave behind. So many had their worlds made better because of the person Thomas Gerbasi was. Now it is our role to further Tom’s legacy, to not only be the people that he encouraged us to be, but also to be the kind of person that Tom was.
Declan Warrington: A big part of me is reluctant to share the following on account of how self-indulgent it risks sounding, but it, by some distance, is the most accurate reflection of him that comes to mind.
To do him the justice I hope to I wish I still had the relevant messages – I don’t, so I’m instead going to hope that memory serves in the way that he deserves.
For a period of my career I was privileged to be asked by Boxing News to produce their Boxing News Presents bookazines. Frank Bruno happened to be the subject of one and, on one otherwise routine Saturday evening, I unexpectedly received a message from Thomas. “Great job on the Bruno bookazine, mate. Just downloaded it and have been reading.”
Those bookazines were also a labour of love for Boxing News’ then-editor Matt Christie, so it only seemed right to forward the same message to him and share where it came from. “Thanks for sharing, mate,” he replied. “That made my day.”
It’s because Thomas was the one who sent the original message – and that he did so with such warmth and authenticity and without any kind of agenda – that it meant so much to the two of us, if I can risk speaking on Matt’s behalf. It was a Saturday evening, and Thomas, based in the US, was reading a lengthy publication about a British heavyweight who by then had not only not fought for nearly 30 years, but whose abilities meant that he wasn’t even considered a great fighter in the UK, let alone on the other side of the world. On reflection, his being such a terrific fighter really is little surprise.
Lance Pugmire: There’s nothing good about this day that the outstanding person and writer Thomas Gerbasi has left us. Instead of dwelling on his passing, I’d like to turn to the comfort of knowing he was able to feel the love of his life’s investment into the coverage of combat sports. Earlier this year, Tom received the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in journalism from the Boxing Writers Association of America. He attended the ceremony with his family and was accompanied on stage by his granddaughter – a loving scene that I’m sure filled his heart with a deep sense of accomplishment and appreciation. Tom truly deserved that moment after decades of providing caring and selfless detail to his work, and I am among the many whom he endeared himself to. Back in 2006, when the Los Angeles Times started covering the UFC, publicist Jen Wenk thankfully sat me next to Tom on press row, and as all of the various finishes were applied – alligator choke, rear naked chokehold – Tom would tell me, and provide so much more invaluable insight, including story ideas he knew would be best served in the L.A. Times. I’ll forever hold that close to my heart, and strive to be as considerate and helpful to my colleagues as the great Tom Gerbasi was. You’ll be missed, my friend.
Eric Raskin: I can’t claim to have known Tom on a deep level, but we did work together for about three years some two decades ago when I was writing weekly columns for Maxboxing and he was my primary editor, and again much more recently when we overlapped at BoxingScene. We were seated next to each other ringside a handful of times and chatted a bit about life, kids, and the guys in front of us winging punches at each other’s heads.
To me, Tom stood out as a steadying presence. He was a true pro. I particularly recall how when a couple of his younger colleagues at Maxboxing got into a war of words over email that exposed varying degrees of ego and immaturity (yes, I was one of them), Tom stayed above the fray. He was about doing the work. He was about the substance. And his writing consistently revealed his obvious respect for the fighters. His presence, his professionalism, and his dignity will be missed.
Matt Christie: I had the pleasure of working with Tom for many years. During my time at Boxing News he was a wonderful ally. Not only was his copy always a joy to read, he clearly took great pleasure in his work. Every month I’d compile a ‘hit list’ of fighters that I wanted him to track down - some still world famous, plenty forgotten - for the kind of long-form features he was so skilled at crafting. Though he regularly delivered interviews with legends like Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Mike Tyson, my personal favorite was him eventually finding 1980s heavyweight Jerry “Wimpy” Halstead. “Told you I’d get him in the end,” Tom said upon delivery of a typically outstanding feature. I will miss him.
Lucas Ketelle: I never met him, but my memories and thoughts are similar to those who did. His name preceded him, and as I got to know him, it was apparent he was one of the best writers of his generation, but beyond that, it was his kindness. Gerbasi always knew how to reach out to people when they needed to hear something kind. It was a superpower he had. He always knew how to lift people’s spirits. He certainly did it for me a few times. His work reflected his appreciation of the fighters he covered whether they were the biggest names in the sport or undercard fighter. He was everything you could ever hope to be when covering combat sports.
What a rotten week. First Ricky Hatton, now Thomas Gerbasi. What gives?
Tris Dixon: I’m going to miss my friend, TG. When Sonia – Tom’s wife – messaged me earlier with the news, I kept reading hoping it wasn’t true. Sadly, it was true.
One of the first things I did when I became the editor of Boxing News was reach out to TG (we always called one another TD and TG) and bring him in. We stayed in touch ever since, even when I left at the end of 2014, we remained colleagues here at BoxingScene and our WhatsApps are filled with food pictures, food recommendations and pictures of his grand-daughters, whom he cherished.
One of the reasons I flew out to NYC in April was to see him get his deserved flowers and to collect his Fleischer award. I had tremendous respect for his writing talents, but as a person I was always thrilled to see TG pop up in emails or my WhatsApp. He was always positive and encouraging. He would always joke about an assignment that I gave him to write about the birth of boxing on the internet and how he’d wound up with enough work from the interviews he did to write a small book. But make no mistake, he was one of the early renegades who made the jump and started to make sure boxing writing online was taken seriously.
His food recommendations were so good, by the way, that when my fiancee flew out to join me in NYC while I was working several years ago, I told her we were going to meet TG in the park in Brooklyn. He was my decoy, sending messages and asking where I was so I could throw Jo off the scent and make sure she did not expect anything. Then I dropped to one knee and the rest, as they say, is history. TG was right there with me on one of the best days of my life.
He messaged me on Sunday to check in on me after hearing of Ricky Hatton’s passing, knowing Ricky and I were close and, after I messaged him back, TG wrote, among other niceties, “You need anything you know where to find me.”
I always knew he was there. As did so many of my colleagues.
And I’m so pleased to see so many wonderful tributes for him. No one deserves them more. TG is a lovely, lovely man.
Ryan Songalia: This is just such a gut punch, because he was a constant presence throughout the years at boxing events in New York of all kind. The big fights, the smaller ones, even the Golden Gloves events. I guess I just assumed I’d always bump into him on press row, in his seat and typing away, until there were no more fights to write about.
I had known Gerbasi for almost 20 years, and was familiar with his work even before that as a teenager who did a lot of my boxing reading on MaxBoxing. One thing I had noticed even back then was that Tom truly cared for his subjects. They mattered to him, and as a result, they mattered to the reader. I always tried to embrace that approach to my writing as well, and there were few that embodied that trait as much as he did.
It’s not an accident that all of these writers have such kind things to say about Tom; he was that good of a man and professional. When my power went out one day, he messaged me with tips for how to get the power company to prioritize putting my electricity on, because he knew I had a young daughter at home. Whenever I’d mention a city I was traveling to, he’d reach out with the best pizza and fried chicken spots to hit up in town. He was a great guy who just so happened to be a great writer as well, and I’ll miss him.
Jake Donovan: Tom was one of the first established writers to take me under his wing when I began my own journey as a web-exclusive journalist more than 20 years ago. I will forever appreciate his always upbeat nature - as we all know, that takes A LOT, given this industry - and his first to respond with any food recommendations anytime he found out I was in a new city/state/country. I was honored that he actually turned to me (and Ivy Moon, perhaps among a few select others) when he caught the running bug. Was always motivated to see him stick with it - in fact, one of his final social media posts was how he preserved even through injury as he prepared for this year’s NYC marathon. His flair for telling someone’s story was and will remain unmatched - as will his effortless knack for making you immediately feel better by the end of an interaction with him, than before that moment. His family lost a beloved son, husband, father and grandfather. Combat sports lost an irreplaceable giant.
Owen Lewis: I didn’t know Tom well, even well enough to know I should call him Tom instead of Thomas. But I had enough contact with him to know that he was an incredibly kind and patient person, not to mention a first-rate boxing writer. Early in my time at BoxingScene, the longtime cruiserweight Ryad Merhy stepped up to fight Jared Anderson and barely threw a punch. He got roundly mocked for the effort, and being the newbie I was, I felt for him. Tom humored me as I tried to write a piece about it, telling me what it felt like to get punched in the head, and knocked out, over the phone. I’ve always had his description rattling around in my head — getting punched feels like having a basketball bounced hard off your head — when I’ve watched fights since. Tom and I didn’t talk much more after that, but I remembered the time he took to teach me a bit about the sport. If that’s what he was willing to give somebody he barely knew, he must have left an enormous impact on those close to him. I’m saddened at the news and thinking about those people.
Elliot Worsell: In 2008, Anthony Evans offered me the chance to work alongside Tom at UFC.com, a site Tom had made his baby. In this role we would before every UFC card split the card: Tom would interview half the fighters; I would interview the other half. We did that for the next four years. During those four years Tom helped me with any requests for phone numbers and showed me the art of the pre-fight interview piece. We corresponded daily via email and every now and again spent time together at a UFC show. A week in Sydney, a week in Abu Dhabi, a week in Frankfurt. Whenever I saw Tom, I would immediately relax and look forward to being in his company. If fight weeks were like weddings, full of people you either didn’t know or wished to avoid, he was your cool uncle. You saw him and couldn’t help but smile and rush towards him. He was humble and self-deprecating in a way a lot of the others were not. He never forced his opinion on you, nor wanted to prove how much he knew. He also had a boyish enthusiasm which never left him and which I often both admired and envied. To learn today that everybody else in the combat sports world had the same impression of and experiences with Tom perhaps says it all.
Tom Ivers: I unfortunately didn’t get the pleasure of meeting Tom, but from my short time working with him I was able to see just how kind a soul he was. I always enjoyed reading his work and it always made me realize just how far I have to go before I reach the level of such a decorated writer. Reading the tributes my colleagues have written shows me not only just how fantastic of a writer he was, but how good of a person he was too. I will continue to learn from Tom through reading his work, and if I turn out to be half as good of a journalist as he was I’ll be a very happy man.