By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com has received confirmation that veteran promoter Cedric Kushner has passed away after suffering what close friends describe as a "massive heart attack" early this morning. He was 66.
Fellow promoter Lou DiBella was close friends with Kushner and was very emotional when doctors informed him of the news.
"He was a great promoter, a great friend, a great man, and he will be dearly missed by a lot of people," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.
A native of South Africa, Kushner moved to the United States in 1974 and entered the boxing business a decade later after a successful run as a music promoter. Known for his work with world champions such as Shane Mosley, Hasim Rahman and Joel Casamayor, the gregarious Kushner may best be remembered as a true New York boxing character who was always quick with a story or a quote, and whose love for promoting heavyweights and for trying to innovate the promotional end of the sport made him notable throughout the boxing world.
Friend and promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events stated to BoxingScene: "Cedric was one of the greatest characters ever in a sport that is full of great characters. He was also one of my late husband's closest friends. There will never be another one like Cedric."
