By Eric Bottjer
TOMMY KACZMAREK, 96, longtime New Jersey choose, handed in April. Kaczmarek was a first-class choose from 1981-2009, working such fights as Leonard-Hearns 2, Duran-Barkley and Holyfield-Foreman. In lower than one 12 months, Kaczmarek was judging fights involving Leon Spinks, Roger Mayweather, Azumah Nelson, Michael Dokes and Howard Davis Jr. Tommy had a two-year professional profession as a featherweight, going 11-5-3 (1 KO) earlier than retiring in 1949. He did two years within the Military in the course of the Korean Struggle and was within the youngsters’s shoe enterprise till retiring in 1976. He additionally was a life-long native authorities servant, together with stints of Mayor of Clark, New Jersey, a metropolis councilman in the identical metropolis and a governor appointee to a state board reviewing violent crimes compensation.
SEMISI KALU, 40, Tongan heavyweight, drowned in Tonga in November whereas on a household trip. Kalu jumped into the ocean to avoid wasting two sons, who had been snared by riptides. The eldest son made it to shore; the youthful son was trapped for minutes by sturdy currents. Kalu held his youngest son above the water for so long as doable, earlier than he slipped into the ocean. Kalu’s son survived and informed authorities of his father’s effort to avoid wasting he and his brother. Kalu was 4-0-2 (1 KO) from 2018-2020, all of his bouts in New Zealand.
MICHAEL KATZ, 85, premier boxing author from the late twentieth century, died in January at a Brooklyn nursing residence. Katz was one of many “Massive 4” in New York within the Eighties and Nineties, when every of the town’s 4 newspapers had a fulltime boxing author. Katz began his boxing profession on the New York Instances and later moved to the Every day Information, the place his column was required studying. He was colourful and combative. When provoked, Katz would barrel into Thunderdome with anybody. A bodily struggle with Boston Globe columnist Ron Borges resulted with Bob Arum as collateral injury, the promoter being knocked from a chair. Unrelated, Arum sued Katz for defamation after Mike pounced on Bob in print for selling a present on Yom Kippur. Fightnews.com editor Scott Pope (aka “Flattop”) threatened Katz’s life after a colourful cellphone dialog. Katz swung his trusty cane at a fellow author as soon as in Vegas. At that time, in 2001, Katz was writing for an internet site. His 15-year run on the Every day Information ended the earlier 12 months, the final of the Massive 4 to grace the New York papers with boxing information. Katz moved to Vegas within the early 2000s and he principally retired, the game – and print journalism – passing him by. He returned to New York a number of years in the past.
MARK KAYLOR, 64, British light-middleweight contender, died in November in his sleep. Kaylor was 40-7-1 (34 KOs) from 1980-1991. Whereas he by no means received a British or European professional title, Kaylor was all the time a participant in British Boxing within the Eighties. His grudge match with Errol Christie in 1985 (received by Kaylor) remains to be probably the most talked-about matches in UK boxing historical past. Kaylor received loads of beginner crowns and he represented England within the 1980 Moscow Olympics (he misplaced within the quarterfinals). No explanation for demise was revealed, though a number of sources wrote that Kaylor had “well being” issues throughout his closing years. Kaylor moved to California after his boxing profession completed and labored as a coach for white-collar people searching for genuine boxing exercises.
ROYT KEMPF, 77, Kentucky beginner boxer and professional choose, handed “peacefully” in October. Keppf was an beginner boxing whereas within the Military within the Nineteen Sixties and later labored as a choose for Kentucky professional exhibits within the Eighties.
AUSTIN KILLEEN, 82, New England professional boxer and later New Mexico boxing author, died “peacefully” at his Albuquerque residence in Might. Killeen, a college trainer, liked boxing since watching Ezzard Charles-Joe Louis at age 8 and had sporadic beginner matches as a youth. As an grownup, Killeen educated at a boxing fitness center in Massachusetts and infrequently sparred with execs. At age 34, when promoter Sam Silverman provided Killeen a professional struggle on lower than every week’s discover in Fitchburg, Austin stepped in, scoring a first-round KO. He received 5 of six fights over the subsequent two years, ending a KO winner in 1979. Killeen moved to Albuquerque in 2011, endearing himself to the native boxing scene with scores of struggle experiences on professional and beginner playing cards.
RICHARD KONDRACKI, 85, Florida welterweight, died in November. Koindracki, who ran a service station in Sanford, was zero for 5 in his professional fights, which he had from 1968-1974 in Florida.
SHIGETOSHI KOTARI, 28, Japanese jr. light-weight, died in August from accidents suffered in his 12-round draw with Yamata Hata in Tokyo. The pair have been contesting the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation championship. Kotari, who was forward on factors after eight rounds, however noticeably drained late, collapsed shortly after the match and was rushed to a hospital, the place he underwent surgical procedure to alleviate strain on his mind. He handed six days later. His document was 8-1-2 (5 KOs) heading into that match. On the identical present, one other boxer additionally suffered deadly accidents – the primary time in boxing historical past this has occurred. The Japanese Boxing Fee introduced it could shorten regional title fights to 10 rounds.
WLADIMIR LAPTEV, 79, Russian WBC supervisor, died in October after a protracted sickness. Leptev was a longtime boxing official for the Baltic and Slavic international locations.
CECILIO LASTRA, 74, former WBA featherweight belt-holder from Spain, handed in September in his hometown of Santander. Lastra had been sick throughout his closing years and underwent the amputation of his left leg throughout that point. Lastra turned professional on the finish of 1975 and went 30-13-2 (24 Kos) in simply 6-and-a-half years. A southpaw who punched in quantity, Lastra received his title in 1977 in his residence nation by outpointing Rafael Ortega. He misplaced the belt 4 months later when future Panamanian legend Eusebio Pedroza stopped him in 13 rounds. The Pedroza match was solely one in all thrice that Lastra fought outdoors of Spain.
JORGE LEO, 72, Dominican bantamweight, died in Might. Leo had two fights within the early Seventies (each losses).
ARTURO LEON, age unknown, Mexican bantamweight, died in October. Leon was 23-10-1 (20 KOs) from 1969-1974, combating out of Tabasco.
GREG LESCHISHIN, 69, Massachusetts beginner referee and choose, handed in Might. Leschishin officiated quite a few U.S. nationwide beginner tournaments within the Masters division from 2022-2024. Leschishin was out for a routine Friday night stroll when a carjacking suspect hit him and left the scene. The 30-year-old suspect was later arrested, however Leschishin died three days after the hit-and-run from his accidents.
TONY LICCIONE, 76, founding father of the Rochester Boxing Corridor of Fame, handed in February. Liccione based the native group in 1990.
MICHAEL LOEWE, 56, Romanian welterweight, died in July from colon most cancers. Loewe was 28-0 as a professional and received numerous WBO regional titles, however needed to retire in 1988 attributable to a hand damage. After boxing, Loewe turned a profitable race automobile driver.
BOB LOGIST, 82, Belgian boxing choose, died in June. Logist was head of the European Boxing Union from 2006 to 2022. Logist was a wonderful choose, tabbed for main title fights in his lengthy profession, together with the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson mega-fight. His one “controversy” was tabbing Felix Trinidad a one-point winner over Oscar De La Hoya.
CALIXTO LUNA, 65, Mexican middleweight, died in March after he was struck by a prepare in Navojoa. Luna was well-known on the town as a road one that would shadowbox for cash. He received two professional fights in 1980, each in Tijuana and each in opposition to opponents who had not received a struggle. Luna blamed medicine for curbing no matter potential he had as a boxer.
PASCAL LUSTENBERGER, 57, French welterweight, died in February of a coronary heart assault. Pascal was 20-15-2 (11 KOs) in a 10-year profession that started in 1987.
VALERY LVOV, 72, former Soviet beginner, died in Might. Lvov fought (and misplaced to) Ray Leonard and Aaron Pryor within the Seventies as a light-weight. He did rating a win over Cuban star Andres Aldama in 1978 on his option to successful the world beginner championship as a light-welter.
