Tragic Boxing Stories

[joseph5620]

Robert Quiroga and Kid Akeem Afinwashe fought an epic fight at 115 in the early 90's. Quiroga decisioned Akeem in 1991 Ring magazines fight of the year, but Afinwashe slippede into a coma from a bleed on the brain. He came out of it, but would die 3 years later. Quiroga defended his title two more times before losing it, and then his next fight before retiring. Quiroga was stabbed to death in 2004. He hadn't even turned 35 yet.

This is one of my favorite fights to watch. But its hard to believe that both warriors from this fight are dead by 26 and 34 years old respectvely. THAT is tragic.

Wow. I didn't even know Quiroga passed on too, Jab. That IS tragic.

[Nick Fury]

What happened to Billy Collins in the fight? Whats the story behind Resto going to jail?

[JAB5239]

What happened to Billy Collins in the fight? Whats the story behind Resto going to jail?

Panama Lewis removed the padding from behind the knuckes of Resto's gloves before his fight with Collins. Resto at first said he didn't know it, which would have been next to impossible, but has since admitted it. I forget exactly how much time he did or what the exact charges were. Something like felonious assault and tampring with a sporting event, but the injuries Collins suffered in that fight were permenent and forced him from boxing. I take a little pity on Resto since he lives in the back of a gym in poverty and had nothing to gain by admitting what he did but honest contrition. Panama Lewis on the other hand can rot in hell. It wasn't the first time he cheated in boxing and probably wouldn't have been the last if he wasn't banned.

[JAB5239]

Young Stribling. dead at age 28 from a motorcycle accident. Was 257-15-15(128) only second to Archie Moore for most career ko's. fought such notable fighters as Mike McTigue, Jimmy Delaney, Max Schmeling, Primo Carnera, Tommy Loughran, King Levinski, Johnny Risko, Jimmy Slattery, Paul Berlanbach and Joey Maxim in his last fight before dying. Fought most of these great names more than once.

[COOP407]

What happened to Dick Tiger? I heard that he died penniless, but he wasn't that far removed from his fighting career.

Another example of a tragic boxing death is that of Randy Turpin. He never was able to recapture the glory of that first fight with Ray Robinson. Sad.

[Kid McCoy]

Panama Lewis removed the padding from behind the knuckes of Resto's gloves before his fight with Collins. Resto at first said he didn't know it, which would have been next to impossible, but has since admitted it. I forget exactly how much time he did or what the exact charges were. Something like felonious assault and tampring with a sporting event, but the injuries Collins suffered in that fight were permenent and forced him from boxing. I take a little pity on Resto since he lives in the back of a gym in poverty and had nothing to gain by admitting what he did but honest contrition. Panama Lewis on the other hand can rot in hell. It wasn't the first time he cheated in boxing and probably wouldn't have been the last if he wasn't banned.

Collins' life went into a tailspin after the Resto fight. He became an alcoholic and a drug addict, and died in a car accident a few years later.

Resto and Lewis were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, and spent two and a half years apiece in prison.

Wilfred Benitez - the youngest ever world champion, and a three division world champion by the age of 23. He's now penniless, living on a state pension in Puerto Rico and suffering from dementia pugilistica.

[zelley]

Tragic Boxing Stories

Walt Ingram - (1934 - 1959) West Virginia

Turned pro in 1956 with a victory over one Tony Christy.

1959 was not a good year for Ingram. He had four bouts (losing three) before
travelling to Mexico to face Joe Becerra in October 1959. He was stopped in nine round
and died two days later.

[Nemisis]

Edwin Rosario

[zelley]

GEORGIE SMALL vs LAVERN ROACH

One of the tragic stories thas has interested me is the case of the
Georgie Small vs Lavern Roach. We all know what happened to Lavern Roach.
Prior to the Small fight, he had lost a one-sided bout against Marcel Cerdan.
In 1950 at the St. Nicholas Arena in New York, Roach was stopped by Small and died.

But little is known about Georgie Small following the tragedy. Like many one time boxers involved in tragic bouts, the boxer becomes lost and in some cases
drifts from bout to bout without the fire-power or desire. They end up walking
down the road of oblivion and obscurity.

From ring records, we know Georgie Small continued to fight until 1955 including a series of losses to some such as Kid Gavilan and Joey Giardello. The Giardello bout took place in 1952, eleven years before Giardello won the middleweight title from Dick Tiger in 1963.

We do know that Georgie Small died in 1999. So, the missing story is the lost years between 1955 and 1999. For Georgie Small, his ring contribution may just be a footnote in the records of former champions like Gavilan and Giardello, and a story about
a fighter that is part of the tragic side of boxing.

[COOP407]

Collins' life went into a tailspin after the Resto fight. He became an alcoholic and a drug addict, and died in a car accident a few years later.

Resto and Lewis were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon, and spent two and a half years apiece in prison.

Wilfred Benitez - the youngest ever world champion, and a three division world champion by the age of 23. He's now penniless, living on a state pension in Puerto Rico and suffering from dementia pugilistica.

It's believed by many, including Collin's family, that the car accident that killed him was actually a suicide. Collins went into a deep depression following his forced retirement.