By Eric Bottjer
JAMES COOK, 66, London super-middleweight, died in June from bladder most cancers. Cook dinner, a local of Jamaica, was 25-10 (14 KOs) from 1982-1994, profitable English and European championships. Cook dinner had high quality home wins over Mark Kaylor, Errol Christie and Sam Storey, however fell quick towards world-class contenders Herol Graham and Graciano Rocchigiani. Cook dinner’s greatest win on paper is over Michael Watson, who was 7-0 when he met Cook dinner in 1986 and left the ring a choice loser by a half-point. In retirement, Cook dinner was a coach and labored most lately with light-heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde.
JOHN COONEY, 28, Irish super-featherweight, died in February from accidents suffered throughout a February 1 bout with Nathan Howells in Belfast. Cooney was stopped within the ninth spherical of a scheduled 10 and rushed to a hospital instantly after the match. Simply half-hour after arriving at a hospital, he underwent surgical procedure to alleviate stress on his mind, brought on by inner bleeding. Cooney handed one week later. Mark Dunlop, Cooney’s supervisor, when requested what sort of man Cooney was, responded, “When John stayed at my home, he would make the mattress within the morning earlier than coming to the health club.”
DANNY CORBETT, 67, Miami middleweight, died in November “peacefully” in North Carolina. Corbett was 4-2 (2 KOs) from 1977-1980. Corbett, born in Pittsburgh, lived in varied locations on the East Coast and made his residing as a painter. He coached beginner boxing at occasions.
RAFAEL CORREA, 78, New York coach, died in August. No explanation for dying was revealed, however Correa spent his final years in an Alabama nursing house. Correa was a longtime assistant to famed New York coach Jimmy Glenn, who operated the Instances Sq. Health club for many years. Correa, born in Puerto Rico, was a good professional welterweight, going 15-11-3 (8 KOs) from 1967-1974.
L.B. CROFFORD, 70, Virginia middleweight, died in February at a Harrisonburg, Virginia hospital. Crofford, who labored in building, had two fights in 1984, scoring stoppage wins over boxers with 1-3 data.
FLOYD “Jumbo” CUMMINGS, 75, heavyweight trial-horse, died in August. His dying was introduced on social media. No trigger was given, however Cummings had been ill his remaining years on account of respiration points. Cummings, a heavy-muscled 6-foot-2 specimen, didn’t start boxing till age 29 and was identified for 2 issues: serving a number of stints in jail (a complete of 29 years, together with 13 years for a homicide he dedicated at age 17), and “holding” a come-backing Joe Frazier to a draw, the parentheses listed right here as a result of Jumbo was robbed (Frazier by no means fought once more). Sadly, Jumbo robbed others and was despatched to jail for all times in 2002 beneath the “three strikes” regulation (third felony conviction brings a life sentence) for robbing a Subway sandwich shot. He was paroled in 2016. Cummings completed his profession in 1983 at 15-6-1 (13 KOs). He by no means gained a match after the Frazier battle. Cummings sued ESPN in 2008 for exhibiting the Frazier battle, claiming that he was due monetary compensation from the community. The go well with was tossed in 2009.
MIKE CUNNINGHAM, 76, Kentucky referee who officiated the Greg Web page-Dale Crowe matched that resulted in Web page’s life-changing accidents, died in November at a Louisville hospital. Cunningham was a police chief at Lynnview. He refereed professional matches often from 1987 to 2001, when on a March evening in Louisville, he counted out Web page within the remaining spherical of the Crowe battle. Web page suffered mind injury and was bed-ridden the remainder of his life. Cunningham was later appointed to the Kentucky Boxing Fee (claiming that had he been accountable for the fee on the time of Web page’s battle, that Web page wouldn’t have been allowed to battle that evening as a result of he had not handed a mind scan).
LOU DANIELS, 67, Trenton light-weight, died in April. Daniels turned professional after profitable the 1976 New Jersey featherweight Golden Gloves, going 6-1 (1 KO). Daniels went 6 rounds with a 1-0 Ray Mancini in 1979.
JEAN DANTAS, 90, French light-weight, handed in March. Dantas was 15-18-6 (1 KO) from 1958-1966, dropping his sole shot on the French light-weight title in 1964 by resolution.
STEVE DARNELL, 61, Michigan super-middleweight, died in October in Brighton. “Stevie D” was 26-5-2 (15 KOs) from 1984-1993, going unbeaten his first 22 fights. Darnell had a number of fights towards world-class opposition, arising quick towards Lindell Holmes, Antoine Byrd and Kevin Watts. No explanation for dying as acknowledged. His household requested for donations in Darnell’s title to be made to Boston College’s examine of CTE.
MARK DiGIOVANNI, 55, New Jersey welterweight, died in March. DiGiovanni, who fought out of Kearny, gained the 1989 New Jersey Golden Gloves and turned professional in 1990, going 5-3-1 (2 KO’s) over six years. Mark labored as an beginner coach after his personal ring profession ended.
RAYMUNDO DIAS, 84, Brazilian light-weight, died in October. Dias was 25-10-8 (15 KOs) from 1964-1972, profitable Brazil’s light-weight title in October 1970, however dropping three weeks later in his solely world title shot towards WBC Champion Bruno Arcari (KO by 3). A yr later, Dias stopped future champion Chango Carmona on a reduce, however misplaced a rematch seven months later. Dias dropped a choice to Esteban DeJesus in September 1972 (DeJesus can be Roberto Duran six weeks later) and went out a winner in 1973, profitable a choice in Colorado.
DANNY DILIBERTO, 85, Buffalo light-weight, handed in February. DiLiberto, who fought beneath the title Dan Toriani, went 12-0-2 from 1957-1959, retiring after a collection of hand accidents. DiLiberto spent his boxing profession in Miami, coaching on the fifth Road Health club. DiLiberto turned a famend billiards participant and was inducted into the Buffalo Sports activities Corridor of Fame in 2017.
JOHN DOTA, 94, Youngstown, Ohio heavyweight, died in July. Dota, a navy veteran, had one professional battle in 1951 in Las Vegas, dropping a 4-rounder.
FRANCISCO DURANGO, 75, Columbian featherweight, died in October. Durango was 23-7-2 (15 KOs) from 1972-1978, with all however three of his fights held in Columbia. He gained his nation’s super-featherweight title one battle earlier than retiring.
FRANK ECHEVARRIA, 96, Idaho collegiate boxing champion, died in December. Echevarria was the bantamweight alternate on the 1952 U.S. Olympic Crew, dropping to future world champion Davey Moore within the Trials championship match. Echevarria gained his collegiate title later that yr, regardless of lacking elements of fingers on his left hand from a farming accident. Echevarria was 32-5 as a university boxer, however took Tony Zale’s recommendation (“don’t flip professional – go house and marry your girlfriend and lift a household”), working in farming and staying married 73 years.
DON ELBAUM, 94, Runyonesque boxing character whose promotions and matchmaking spanned SEVEN a long time, died in Erie, Pennsylvania, in July after a quick sickness. Elbaum wore each skilled hat in boxing: promoter, matchmaker, publicist – even boxer. On 4 events, throughout his run of exhibits within the Nineteen Sixties, Elbaum stuffed in himself as a late substitute. He by no means gained, however was respectable, getting a draw one time and dropping a break up nod to a 14-15 Tommy Shaffer. In a kind of bouts, when Elbaum was harm by a punch, he grabbed his opponent and whispered, “Bear in mind who’s paying you.” But it surely was as a promoter that earned Elbaum his fame. He ran his first present at age 18 and have become the quintessential membership promoter, residing out a suitcase, spending most of his time in 2-star motels and creating among the East Coasts greatest membership exhibits. Don was a grasp of inventive story-telling and lived for gimmicks. And so they usually went comically flawed (one boxing man joked that if Don opened a funeral parlor, individuals would cease dying). When he trumpeted a principal occasion between the 2 “worst fighters on the planet,” the settlement was the loser needed to retire. They fought a draw. When Don promoted a heavyweight as a 7-footer, and a reporter met the boxer and instructed Don he wasn’t near that peak, Elbaum responded, “He’s quick for his peak.” Elbaum peaked within the Nineteen Eighties, working weekly exhibits on the Tropicana Resort and On line casino in Atlantic Metropolis and selling welterweight champion Simon Brown. However Don misplaced the Trop collection in 1986 and Brown left him in 1990 for Don King. He served 4 months in minimal safety facility for tax evasion (“I knew lots of of us in there,” he mentioned, this time with out exaggeration). He was rightfully inducted into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame. No one ever liked boxing greater than Don Elbaum.
EBO ELDER, 46, Georgia light-weight, died in December from mind most cancers. Elder turned identified whereas collaborating within the second Contender collection (dropping within the first spherical). An impressive beginner, Elder turned professional in 2000 and had mid-level success, profitable an NABO title in 2004 and defending it on Shobox by way of a Twelfth-round stoppage towards Courtney Burton in what announcer Steve Farhood referred to as probably the most thrilling battle he’d seen on that collection. The deeply-religions Elder retired instantly in 2006 at age 28 to change into a preacher. Elder completed at 22-3 (14 KOs).
ED ESPOSTI, AKA “Eddie Put up,” 78, New York boxing man, handed in June from most cancers. “Elegant Ed” was the face of Spartan, an gear and boxing attire firm. Put up developed a boxing program for New York inmates within the Nineteen Seventies. Put up turned well-known within the New York boxing scene as a prolific fundraiser.
LUIS ESTABA, 86, former world light-flyweight champion, died in February. Often called “Lumumba,” the Venezuelan was 37 when he gained the newly-created WBC light-flyweight title in 1975 and defended it 11 occasions earlier than dropping it three years later to Freddy Castillo (it was found later that the person Lumumba beat for the vacant title in 1975 – Rafael Lovera – was a professional debut. Lovera, who by no means boxed once more, handed a number of months previous to Estaba’s dying). Estaba challenged for the WBC belt once more 5 months after dropping it (to a Thia fighter who beat Castillo) and retired after he was KO’d in 5 rounds. The WBC introduced Estaba had been ill in recent times and had contributed cash for medical and residing bills since 2020.
