Mike Tyson was born Michael Gerard Tyson on June 30, 1966 in Brooklyn, New York. He started boxing under the guidance of Cus D’Amato as an amateur and turned professional in March of 1985. He quickly ran through his early competition and by the end of 1985, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He […]

Gerry Cooney agreed to fight the WBC, heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, on June 11, 1982 at the Outdoor Arena at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. For me, it meant just a 3 mile drive to the Coliseum in Voorhees, New Jersey to watch the bout on closed-circuit, a real treat for it to be so

Gerald Arthur Cooney was born on August 24, 1956 in Long Island, New York. Encouraged by his abusive father to box, Gerry became a successful amateur, including winning two New York Golden Gloves titles. His final record was 55-3, before he turned professional on February 15, 1977, where Cooney knocked out a guy named Billy

After winning the WBC middleweight title from Iran Barkley in February of 1989, Roberto Duran signed to fight Sugar Ray Leonard on December 7th. This would make the third time the two men met, and it would be the first bout at the new Mirage Hotel and Casino on the strip in Las Vegas. That

After losing to Robbie Sims on June 23, 1986, Roberto Duran took eleven months off. He returned in May of 1987 in Miami Beach, Florida with a ten round decision over a guy named Victor Claudio. Four months later he notched another ten round decision win over Juan Gimenez back in Miami. The ‘Hands of

After his defeat of Davey Moore on June 16, 1983 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Roberto Duran looked for the biggest payday possible. He found it with Marvin Hagler, $1.5 million to challenge the undisputed middleweight champ on November 10 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. For me personally, it meant a

Roberto Duran was the walk out bout on November 12, 1982 at the Orange Bowl in MIami, Florida. He closed the show vs. Jimmy Batten, and won a 10-round decision after Alexis Arguello and Aaron Pryor fought their epic battle on HBO that Friday night. Immediately after, Duran signed with promoter Bob Arum to revive

After quitting against Sugar Ray Leonard on November 25, 1980 in New Orleans, Roberto went home to Panama as a disgrace to his country. His macho image had been shattered, and he withdrew to himself for months, without a word being heard from him. By the summer of 1981, he talked of a comeback at

‘The Brawl in Montreal’ was set for June 20, 1980 at Olympic Stadium in Canada, and it would be the first time I saw a closed-circuit fight live. I was in Dallas, Texas for the month of June 1980 for residence airline training for a new job, and took a bus transfer to the Tarrant

Roberto Duran was born on June 16, 1951 in Guarare, Panama. He was raised in the slums of Panama City, and began a boxing career in February of 1965. His record as an amateur was 29-3, with all three of his losses coming in his first three bouts. He made his professional debut at age