By Eric Bottjer
ROCKY RAMON, 74, Texas welterweight and early Sugar Ray Leonard pro opponent, died in November. Ramon was 30-16-3 (19 KOs) from 1972-1981 and fought a who’s who of his generation, including Maurice “Termite” Watkins, Bazooka Limon, Mike Everett, Willie “Fireball” Rodriguez, Leroy Haley and Rolando Navarette. Ramon met Leonard in February 1978 at the Baltimore Civic Center, dropping an 8-round decision. Ramon, at 5-foot-3, was a half-foot shorter than Leonard (Ramon stood on a phone book when he took his wedding vows) and ate constantly before the Leonard fight to make 142 lbs. “I really had no business in the ring with him,” Ramon remembered years later, but the $17,000 payday covered a lot of bills. Ramon worked for 30 years at a local cable TV company after boxing.
DAVE RAMOS, 86, Utah lightweight, died in November in Utah, surrounded by family members. Ramos was 3-2 (3 KOs) from 1962-1967, off of the fights coming in Utah. Ramos was a U.S. Army vet and worked with local youth at the State Street boxing gym in Salt Lake City.
JACOB RAY, 23, West Virginian amateur boxer and Toughman competitor, died in November in a motorcycle accident. Ray was well-known in his area for his bright pink boxing trunks and extrovert personality.
ANDRE REED, 77, Ohio lightweight, died in December. Reed was 5-6-1 (2 KOs) from 1970-1973. Reed was an U.S. Olympic alternate in 1968 as a light-welterweight (he lost in the Trials’ championship to James Wallington) and a 1969 Air Force and Armed Forces national champion. Reed worked for an Akron cable company after his boxing career ended.
JIMMY REILLY, 78, Philadelphia middleweight, died in November at a nursing facility in Dallas. Reilly, of Wilkes-Barre, learned to box in the Army and turned pro in 1970, going 19-6-1 (9 KOs) over six years, most of his bouts in Scranton. Reilly was self-employed as a painter who also did construction work.
HAROLD “Hackie” REITMAN, 74, a Florida doctor who made headlines in South Florida by turning pro at age 39, passed away in March in Weston from heart disease. Reitman was 11-7-4 (9 KOs) in an 11-year career that began in 1989, a precursor to the wave of “celebrity” boxers who have polluted modern-day fistiana. Unlike most who followed him in that genre, Reitman was legit, as evidenced by his record. He took risky fights and authentically wanted to see his boxing ceiling. Reitman boxed as a teenager in New England, but followed his passion for medicine and became a noted orthopedic surgeon, as well as an expert in brain studies, lecturing and writing about autism and Aspergers. He founded Different Brains in 2015, a nonprofit providing resources and support for those with neurological disorders. Boxing never left Reitman’s mind (he turned down a pro contract as a youth from famed New England promoter Sam Silverman, explaining, “My Mom will kill me if I don’t become a doctor,” but Reitman jumped into the pro game shortly before his 40th birthday. In 1991, he built a 7-2-2 record and challenged journeyman Tim “Doc” Anderson, a 25-14 veteran who is best known for beating Mark Gastineau (and later shooting and killing promoter Rick Parker). Reitman scored two knockdowns and earned a draw. Reitman dabbled in boxing after that match, having an average of one fight a year before retiring at age 50.
JOSE RENTA, 68, Puerto Rican super-lightweight, died in Passaic, New Jersey in March. Renta was 4-9 (3 KOs) from 1977-1984, but was much better than his record. He beat Todd Longmuir (10-1), Manuel de la Rosa (17-2) and Luis Pizarro (9-0). He lost to world-class contenders Gary Hinton, John Verderosa and future world champion Frankie Randall. Renta left a wife and three children.
RONNIE RENTZ, 60, New Mexican flyweight, died in January from cancer, his Mom by his side. Rentz was the national Golden Gloves title in 1981 (as a flyweight) and had a brief pro career, going 3-0-1 (3 KOs). I 1979, Rentz stopped Pernel Whitaker in one round at a Jr. Olympic tournament.
JOHNNY RICO, 78, Arizona middleweight, passed in February. Rico was 24-12 (14 KOs) from 1970-1975, losing to Sugar Ray Seales, Elisha Obed and Armando Muniz (split decision). Rico’s career was cut short at age 28 when he underwent emergency heart surgery. At that point, Rico was known to being crowds as large as 8,000 to his Tucson fights. He worked as a sheet metal worker in retirement and was known locally for this cowboy skills.
PEDRO ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ, 37, Mexican featherweight journeyman, died after losing a 6-round decision to an unbeaten prospect in Phoenix in July. Rodriguez, who had a 15-25-3 mark (7 KOs) entering his fight with Phillip Vella, lost every round of his six-round fight, but left the arena after passing a post-fight examination. He video-chatted with his wife after returning to his motel, but security discovered him dead in his bed the next morning.
JEFF “Duke” ROUFUS, 55, Milwaukee famed kick-boxer and MMA coach who had two pro boxing matches in 1995, died in his sleep at his home in October. Roufus wisely exited his boxing ambitions after he barely beat Sylvester “Hobo” Wiler in Milwaukee by majority decision. Wilder was 3-46-1 at the time.
CHUCK ROWE, 59, Canadian middleweight, died in September. Rowe had a long amateur career fighting out of the Black Eye Boxing Club in Brantford (in Ontario). Rowe turned pro at age 20 and had five fights in nine months, going winless.
ALAN RUBENSTEIN, 79, Pennsylvania judge, passed away “peacefully” in August. Rubenstein, a Pennsylvania district attorney and later a courthouse judge, was licensed as a pro boxing judge in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. He worked pro fights from 1996-2020. Rubenstein was known as a “no nonsense” prosecutor and worked a number of high-profile murder cases. Rubenstein left his wife of 53 years, Marilynn (whom he met on a bus), two sons and six grandchildren.
JUANCHO RUIZ, 76, Panamanian lightweight, passed “peacefully” in May in Colon. Ruiz was 14-8 (6 KOs) from 1965-1970. Ruiz settled in North Jersey after retirement and trained amateurs in Newark.
MIKE RYAN, 82, Massachusetts welterweight, died in July. Ryan started a 28-month pro career in June 1964, going 20-3-1 (8 KOs) before retiring to work at a prison outside Lowell. Ryan retired as a deputy superintendent at Billerica House of Corrections after 27 years. Ryan worked as a pro referee for many years, still fit enough at age 77 to tackle a boxer after a match who tried to attack his opponent’s trainer.
SALIM SALIMOV, 43, Bulgarian bantamweight, died in October of cancer. Salimov was 2-8 (2 KOs) from 2009-2011. He had more success as an amateur, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 world amateur championships and representing Bulgaria at that year’s Olympics in Athens.
JAY SALZMAN, 65, New Jersey referee, died in August from injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident while he was driving home from working an amateur show. Salzman worked pro events from 2021 to April 2025.
ERNIE SHARIF, 68, Pennsylvania judge, passed in February. Ernie had one pro fight in 1983 (a loss), before
Finding his true calling as a district attorney (in Pittsburgh, after graduating from Duquesne in 1982) and working as a referee from 1990 to November 2024. Ernie worked IBF world title fights, including Naoya Inoue-Nonito Donaire in 2019.
GARY SHULL, 75, Kansas heavyweight who debuted at age 42 against former NFL lineman Mark Gastineau, died in October. Shull, an all-around athlete who played semipro football and rugby, earned a living running various businesses, including a fitness club, a bar and restaurant. Shull met Gastineau in November 1992 at the Allis Plaza Hotel in Kansas City. Gastineau was 11-1. Some of his fights had been fixed. There’s no evidence Shull played that game, as he was stopped with just 23 seconds left in the fourth and last round. Shull went 1-2 in three more matches before going on to his next venture.
STEVE SILVER, 81, Minnesota middleweight, passed in October in California, where he had lived since the late 1970s. Silver was 5-1-1 (1 KO) during his one year as a pro in 1969. Silver went to college at the University of Minnesota, where he was named its Athlete of the Year in 1965 for his amateur accomplishments.
IRENA SINETSKAYA, 46, Russian female boxing pioneer, died in September from a blood clot in her heart. Irena was a world amateur champion as a light-welter in 2010 and eventually grew into a super-heavyweight, where she won multiple national and international tournaments.
HUBERT SKYRZPCZAK, 82, Polish amateur who won a bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics for Poland, died in November.
CARLOS REYES-SOSA, 22, Milwaukee welterweight, was shot to death in May during a robbery. Sosa was 1-0, having turned pro in December 2024.
VINNIE STASIO, 92, New Jersey welterweight, died in April. Stasio, born in Brooklyn, was New England welterweight Golden Gloves champion in 1955 before moving to North Jersey and turning pro. After winning his debut in November 1955, Stasio lost his next two and quit for good. He worked for 20 years for the local school system as a maintenance man.
PAUL TALBOT, 71, Canadian light-heavyweight, died in May at a Halifax hospital. Talbot was 7-2 (1 KO), retiring in 1982 after a two-year career. Talbot was a welder and ran a boxing gym after his ring career ended.
ROBERTO TAMAYO, 47, Mexican super-lightweight, was murdered on New Year’s Day in Ciudad Obregon, his body found with hands and feet bound and multiple gunshot wounds. The ex-boxer had been executed and a note was left with his body. Tamayo was 12-23-1 (7 KOs) from 2001-2019.
CARLOS TERON, 34, former amateur boxing from the Bronx, was shot to death in April. Teron had more than 100 amateur bouts and was the brother of Jorge Teron, a well-known New York pro. Teron had just become a father two months prior to death.
GLENN THOMAS, 62, Kentucky middleweight fringe contender, passed “peacefully” in June. Thomas was 29-8 (16 KOs) from 1984-2002, his losses only coming to top-notchers like Roy Jones Jr., James Toney, Mike McCallum, Virgil Hill, Jeff Lacy and Merqui Sosa. Thomas had struggled with a variety of health issues since boxing retirement.
FRED TICE, 68, Michigan welterweight, passed in August. Tice was 1-3 (1 KO) from 1980-1983. Fred lived in Muskegon all of his life and worked mostly as a handyman. He was remembered fondly in local publications for his helping many of his neighbors over the years.
THOMAS TILLERY, 65, Bakersfield cruiserweight, died in July. Tillery had three pro fights in 1984, going 0-3, including an 8-round decision loss to Bobby Quarry in his pro debut.
MICHAEL TIMM, 62, German amateur star and ace pro trainer, died in September from cancer. Timm won the light-middleweight title in 1985 at the European championships and transitioned to the pros as a coach, working with the promotional powerhouse Universum.
RINO TOMMASI, 90, Italian promoter, passed in January. Tommasi was a major promoter in his home country, promoting WBC super-lightweight champion Bruno Arcari, as well as championship fights involving Nino Benvenutti.
DAN TORIANI, 89, Buffalo lightweight, passed in February. Toriani became a famous billiards player, but before he embarked in that career, he was an unbeaten lightweight fighting out of Miami, trained by Angelo Dundee. A 21-year-old Toriani turned pro in 1957 and he went 12-0-2 (11 KOs) before hand injuries forced his departure from boxing.
DEMETRIO TOVAR, 77, Texas lightweight, passed in October. Tovar was a Golden Gloves boxer out of Corpus Christi. In his one pro fight listed on Boxrec, he lost a 10-round decision to Freddie Harris in 1976.
HIROMASA UROKAWA, 28, Japanese lightweight, died in August from injuries suffered in an eighth-round knockout loss in Tokyo. Urokawa was ahead on points going into the eighth and final round and appeared on his way to a decision win until a single right hand ended the fight with 48 seconds left in the round. Urokawa underwent surgery after his KO loss to relieve pressure on his brain, caused by a brain bleed, but he passed one week after his match. His death occurred one day after the death of a fellow Japanese boxer on the same show, who also underwent surgery for a brain bleed. It was the first time in boxing history two fighters died from injuries suffered on the same card. Urokawa was 10-3 (7 KOs) heading into his match.
KENNY VICE, 64, Louisiana lightweight, died in August at his home in Youngsville. Vice was 32-9 (26 KOs) from 1983-1995, a fringe contender with wins over Brian Baronet (who died from his injures from the Vice fight) and Jim McDonnell. Vice was stopped in three rounds by a prime Julio Cesar Chavez in 1989 and also dropped fights to Livingstone Bramble, Dingaan Thobela and Frankie Mitchell. He built a gym after retiring and trained fighters with Beau Williford, who guided Vice’s pro career. Vice once spent the night in jail to keep one of his boxers company. When Vice bailed him out the next morning, he ran the fighter to exhaustion. The fighter credited the incident to his subsequent lifelong sobriety. A daughter announced Vice died of brain trauma suffered during his boxing career. Vice had worked for a sheet metal company after boxing.
RODNEY VINSON, 57, Indiana heavyweight, died in February. Vinson was 5-2 (2 KOs) from 1997-2000. Vinson worked for the Terre Haute housing authority for 32 years.
KEN VOLOVICK, 71, Massachusetts judge, passed in January. Volvovick worked from 2004 until October 2024 as a judge in Massachusetts shows. Ken worked as a respiratory therapist
JIMMY VOSS, 89, New York middleweight, died in February. Voss was 5-3-2 (3 KOs), from 1953-1955, with a final fight thrown in six years later (a 6-round decision loss). Voss was raised in Utica and traded a fulltime career in boxing for a job at a copper and brass company, where he worked 35 years.
ABDUL-HAKIM WAHEED, 69, New Jersey trainer, passed in November. Waheed was a legendary amateur coach in North Jersey, working out Elizabeth for decades and producing more amateur champions out of that city than any trainer in its history.
ALEX WALLAU, 80, former ABC TV producer and boxing commentator, passed in October from throat cancer. Wallau was diagnosed in 1987 with his cancer. He was then a commentator, after a stint at ABC as an Emmy-winning producer and purchaser of its boxing events. Wallau returned to the airwaves in 1988 and held his commentator’s seat with the network until it ceased boxing broadcasts in 2000. Wallau earned the reputation of a no-nonsense commentator, unafraid to assail his own network for broadcasting the occasional mismatch. Wallau entered the boxing radar when he (as well as New York boxing gonzo journalist Malcolm “Flash” Gordon) revealed that ABC’s 1977 U.S. championships boxing tournament – promoted by Don King and assisted by The Ring magazine – was rife with fake records and unqualified boxers. Wallau became president of ABC TV in 2000 and later worked at Disney, where he helped develop the Disney+ streaming service.
MARK WEINMAN, 62, Queens light-middleweight who made national news in 2012 by winning a fight after a 21-year layoff, died in Arizona in February from a respiratory illness. Weinman battled this malady for a dozen years. Weinman, a Queens native, was runner-up in 1983 in the New York Golden Gloves and turned pro in 1985, rattling off 12 straight wins. Two straight KO losses sent him to his first retirement in 1987 and a third KO loss in 1991 jettisoned him for 21 years. At age 50, Weinman scored a KO win in Tampa, garnering headlines. His final comeback was short-lived as three months later he was stopped by an 0-6 opponent. During his various retirements, Weinman trained amateur boxers.
ABU YUSUPOV, 37, German light-heavyweight, was stabbed to death in June at a train station in Berlin. Yusupov was 9-0-1 (7 KOs) at the time of his death, having turned pro late at age 32. Yusupov was walking near the station with two friends when they had a verbal confrontation with three strangers which turned physical. Yusupov was stabbed from behind in the neck and died that day. No arrests were made. Yusupov left a wife and three children.
JAN ZACHARA, 96, Czechoslovakian Olympian, died in January in his home village of Kubra. Zachara won the featherweight gold medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki (he also fought in the 1956 Games, but did not medal). Like most of his European contemporaries of the mid-20th century, Zachara did not turn pro (boxers from communist nations who wanted to become pro boxers often had to defect to a Western country to do so). Zachara was an amateur coach after he finished his boxing career.
