My ranting had no effect at all. Corner men are still not required to prove they know anything to get a license. Looking back I can see that Zevedo’s helpers probably learned their lesson. If he ever fought again, they probably hired a cut man to work the corner. There’s a long history of trainers and corner men and managers learning at the expense of their fighters. The fighters come and go but the sidemen stay.
Louie Loy lost to Hector “Macho” Camacho, who went on to a famous career. All the other fighters mentioned here fought for a while, and then went on to other lives.
Francisco Roche fell off my radar after January of 1986 when he lost a decision in his last fight. His career record stands at 11 wins, 9 losses, and one draw, with 4 wins by knockout. Those numbers don’t begin to reflect the raw excitement of his every performance.
Both Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler have been enshrined in the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Sugar Ray Leonard’s final fight was in 1997. His career record was 36-3-1, 25 KO’s. Leonard became a professional boxing promoter and, as of this writing, is the host of the cable TV reality show, The Contender.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler never fought again after losing to Leonard. He took his 37 million dollar purse and moved to Italy where he starred in several feature films and does regular boxing commentary for British television. His career record stands at 62 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws, with 52 wins coming by KO.
Arguello stopped Pat Jefferson in the fifth round of their fight on October 25, 1985 in Anchorage. In February of 1986, Arguello stopped Bill Costello in the fourth round in Reno, Nevada. Arguello did not fight again until January of 1995 when he tried a comeback fight against Scott Walker and lost a decision. He fought no more, but returned to Nicaragua where he made his peace and hosted his own TV and radio shows. In 2004 he was elected vice-mayor of Managua. Alexis Arguello is an honored member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
Both Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas “Hit Man” Hearns went on to fight many more times, usually against impressive opposition, and often in hugely celebrated events.
Jacqui Frazier-Lyde went on to fight for and win two women’s light heavyweight world titles and ended her boxing career with a record of 13 wins, 1 loss, with 9 KO’s. As of this writing she is still a working lawyer.
Currently Laila Ali is still boxing, has won five world titles and has a record of 24 wins, no losses and 21 KO’s. In addition to her modeling and product endorsements, Ali came in third in the 2007 Dancing With The Stars television competition, and served as co-host with pro wrestling legend Hulk Hogan for the cable TV series, American Gladiator in 2008.
Ali divorced Johnny “Ya-Ya” McClain in 2005. In 2007 she married NFL player Curtis Conway, becoming step-mother to his three children.
As of December of 2007, when she turned forty years of age, Lucia Rijker never fought Christy Martin. The two were contracted to meet in July of 2005 for the largest purse ever paid to a woman, a million dollars, when Rijker ruptured an Achilles tendon in training and endured many months of rehabilitation. Rijker’s last fight was a win in Amsterdam in 2004. Her record stands at 17 wins, no losses, and 14 wins by KO. Since then she has made several appearances in television and movie productions. Katya Bankowsky’s prize winning documentary, Shadow Boxers, is focused on Rijker. She was also the boxing consultant for Million Dollar Baby, which won the 2005 Oscar for Best Picture. In that film, Rijker played the villain, Billy the Blue Bear.
Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran was named The Ring Magazine Comeback Fighter of the year in 1983, and again in 1989. His last fight was on July 4 of 2001, when he lost a unanimous decision to the also aging Hector Camacho. In a pro career that began when he was sixteen years old, Duran became world champion in four different weight divisions, Lightweight, Welterweight, Light Middleweight and Middleweight, from 135 to 160 pounds. Injuries suffered in an automobile accident in 2001 caused Duran to retire from the ring. He is still involved in boxing as a promoter, and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007.
Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes defended his heavyweight championship for three more years until losing to Michael Spinks in April of 1985. Holmes fought on, defeating many good contenders but failing in each of four more title challenges before his final bout, a unanimous decision victory over Eric “Butterbean” Esch in July of 2002. His career record comprised 69 wins, 6 losses, and 44 wins by KO. Holmes owns and runs several successful businesses in his hometown of Easton, Mass. Larry Holmes was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008.
“Gentleman” Gerry Cooney took two years off from boxing following his loss to Holmes. With other lay-offs of a year or more, he fought five more times before retiring, losing by technical knock out in two more title challenges against Michael Spinks and George Foreman. His last bout, the loss to Foreman, took place in January of 1990. His career record is 28-3-3, with 24 KO’s. Gerry Cooney is a businessman in his hometown on Long Island.
Andy Minsker’s last fight was in 1991, but he broke with manager Billy Baxter years before that. There was, as I recall, a problem with injuries to Minsker’s hands, but the critical moment came when Baxter insisted that Minsker leave his long time trainer and move to Las Vegas to work with a new trainer. Minsker refused. His pro career consisted of 15 fights, with twelve wins, two losses, one draw, and three wins coming by knockout. Though Minsker’s pro career may have disappointed him, the rest of his life has been busy and rewarding. He was the star and subject of Bruce Weber’s feature documentary, Broken Noses, which focused on Minsker as trainer of the Mt. Scott amateur boxing team. He also had a small role in Weber’s film, Let’s Get Lost, about jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. Minsker married and got involved in business marketing from athletic wear to a mint chew intended to replace tobacco. When last seen he was honcho of his own custom auto upholstery shop, and he continued training amateur boxers.
Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield still fights occasionally, though he lost his multiple heavyweight championships to Lennox Lewis in November of 1999. As of this writing, Holyfield’s professional record stands at 42 wins, 9 losses, 2 draws, with 27 wins by way of knockout. He is a multi-millionaire and, whenever he decides to retire, he will be honored for his many victories against excellent competition by being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
“Iron Mike” Tyson was suspended for a year following the fight described here. He returned to the ring in January of 1999 with a fifth round KO win over Francois Botha. Tyson fought once or twice a year until 2005, against opposition of dwindling significance. As of this writing Tyson’s professional record stands at 50 wins, 6 losses, with 44 wins coming by knockout. His life before the Bite Fight was disaster heaped on scandal. Since that night he has faced criminal charges, lawsuits, divorce, tax problems, bankruptcy and more. The many millions he earned in boxing have evaporated, but a documentary on his life and a proposed biopic are in the works. He may have many adventures yet. I have no way of judging any of these circumstances. But on that one fight, I have a definite opinion.
In February of 2007, Johnny Tapia turned forty and fought his last fight, announcing his retirement after winning a decision in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Albuquerque. Some three weeks later, on March 12, Tapia was discovered unconscious from a drug overdose in a hotel room, and hospitalized in a coma in Albuquerque. That night his best friend, Teresa’s brother Robert Gutierrez, and their nephew, twenty-three year-old Ben Garcia, were driving through the mountains on their way to visit Tapia in the hospital when their car crashed and both men were killed. The family was devastated by grief. Tapia resumed consciousness and returned home within a week. His career record stands at 58 wins, five losses and two draws, with 28 wins by knockout.