By Eric Bottjer
JOE MAFFIA, 66, former controller for Don King Productions, died at his Manhattan house in August. His loss of life was not anticipated, however studies state he handed “peacefully.” Maffia labored for King from 1986-1991 and was a key witness in King’s fraud trial, the place the promoter was charged with insurance coverage fraud and monetary misconduct. A decide declared a mistrial due to a dead-locked jury and King was by no means re-charged. Maffia, a New Yorker, was a lifelong accountant who additionally lectured at Mercer School and Hunter School.
CASIMIRO MARTINEZ, 79, Spanish heavyweight, died in June. Martinez, combating out of Santander, received his nation’s heavyweight title in 1972, only one yr after turning professional. Martinez defended that belt a yr later, avenging a earlier loss. However his in-ring celebration shortly ended when his father, who had entered the ring to have a good time together with his son, collapsed from coronary heart failure. He died that evening, an episode that affected Martinez tremendously. When he misplaced the Spanish belt to rising KO puncher Jose Urtain, Martinez retired. He was simply 30 years previous, nevertheless it was his third straight loss.
NICK MARTINEZ, 50, California middleweight, died in July after falling from a freeway overpass in Baldwin Park. There was no proof if foul play. Martinez was 16-2 (7 KOs) from 1996-2001. Martinez started boxing at age 17 in an try and curtail his personal gang actions.
VANES MARTIROSYAN, 39, Armenian welterweight who fought on the 2004 U.S. Olympic workforce, died in November in a Los Angeles hospital after a two-year battle with melanoma. Martirosyan was 36-4-1 (21 KOs) over a 13-year profession, shedding three title photographs, together with his final match the place he took on middleweight champ Gennady Golovkin on just a few days discover. Martirosyan was born in Armenia, however made his house in Glendale, California (his household moved there when Vanes was 4 years previous). Martirosyan leaves a spouse and two youngsters.
TSUNESHI MARUO, 101, Hawaiian bantamweight, died in July. Mauro was a nationwide newbie champion in 1946, turning professional that yr and going 15-4-2 (6 KOs) in a four-year profession. Marou spent his post-boxing profession as a crane operator, a firefighter and barber.
JOEL MAYO, 53, Chilean welterweight, died in July when he was stabbed to loss of life whereas arguing with a neighbor in Villarrica. Mayo was 41-13 (25 KOs) from 1997-2008, debuting as a featherweight and ending a middleweight. He received his nation’s welterweight title in 2004. Mayo was working as a safety guard on the time of his loss of life.
MIKE McCALLUM, 68, legendary multi-weight champion who was averted by a lot of boxing’s main stars, died in Might in Las Vegas, the place he had resided for many years. McCallum was a grasp boxer-puncher, often known as “The Physique Snatcher” for his deadly inside recreation and touted as Jamaica’s biggest ever boxer. McCallum received titles at light-middleweight (in 1984), middleweight (1988) and light-heavyweight, an period recognized for the dominance of “The 4 Kings:” Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran. Not one of the kings fought McCallum, who established himself as the highest light-middleweight in 1987 together with his one-punch knockout over Donald Curry and later staked his declare as No. 1 middleweight with wins over Sumba Kalambay and Michael Watson. His 1991 draw with James Toney was a basic – the pair rematched in 1992 and Toney received a disputed determination. McCallum was high-risk and low-reward for the period’s prime fighters – the Physique Snatcher was not a ticket vendor or pay-per-view magnet, so his fellow greats had no incentive to struggle him. McCallum didn’t assist his efforts to fulfill one of the best by avoiding signing long-term agreements with prime promoters and managers. McCallum was 49-5-1 (36 KOs) from 1981-1997, with three of his losses coming in his last 4 fights. He skilled professionals in Vegas for a lot of his retirement.
ALDOLPHOUS “Doc” McCLENDON, 76, New Jersey light-weight, died in August in Wayne after a five-year battle with Parkinsons and dementia. McClendon claimed two New Jersey Golden Gloves titles within the Nineteen Sixties and was 13-22-2 (5 KOs) in a professional profession spanning from 1968-1982. The document is misleading – he misplaced a cut up determination to Roberto Duran in a 10-round non-title struggle in 1973 throughout Duran’s light-weight title reign. McClendon additionally dropped selections to Esteban DeJesus and Saoul Mamby. In retirement, McClendon was a driver for the Diocese of Paterson.
RICHARD McTAGGERT, 89, Scottish Olympic gold medal winner, died in March. McTaggert was one in every of 18 youngsters. He dropped out of faculty at age 14 and started boxing within the army. McTaggert received his gold in 1956, in addition to the Val Barker Trophy for the Melbourne video games for being that Olympic’s most excellent boxer. McTaggert claimed an unbelievable 634 newbie fights. He by no means turned professional, retiring in 1965 after successful a bronze within the 1960 Olympics and arising brief within the Tokyo Video games in 1964. He’s thought-about by many the best newbie fighter ever from the UK. A French opponent described him as a “ballet dancer with dynamite in his fists.” McTaggert coached boxing after his personal rin profession ended and he labored quite a lot of jobs, together with “rodent exterminator,” a pressman at an area newspaper and a Rolls Royce repairman.
BRUCE McTAVISH, 84, longtime referee for WBC Asian title fights, died in July at his house in The Philippines. McTavish, a New Zealander, was a resident of Angeles Metropolis for a few years and have become a Filipino citizen in 2018. McTavish was a referee from 1989-2019, and in addition supervised WBO regional title fights and labored as a decide a nicely. McTavish refereed six early Manny Pacquiao fights, all within the Philippines.
WALBERSON MELENDEZ, 29, Dominican super-featherweight, died in a motorbike accident in June within the Dominican Republic. An 11-year-old boy driving with Melendez survived the crash. Melendez was 15-0 (14 KOs) when he handed (solely one in every of his opponents had a successful document).
BRYAN MEMBREY, 91, Australian light-weight, handed in August “peacefully in his sleep.” Membrey, from Melbourne, went 16-4 (2 KOs) in a 20-month profession that started in February 1953. Membrey misplaced to George Bracken on cuts for the Australian light-weight title in June 1955, and when cuts derailed a comeback struggle seven months later, he known as it a profession. He labored for many years as an area boxing decide and in addition was a high-quality painter.
PACO MENDEZ, 87, Spanish super-welterweight, died in March. Mendez was 17-3-5 (5 KOs) from 1958-1964, retiring after failing to unseat Spanish super-welterweight champion Cesareo Barrera in his last two fights (the primary being a draw; the second a 12-round determination).
MARK MEYER, 77, beloved Nebraska ringside doctor, died in August in a airplane crash. Meyer based and ran his personal clinic for 40 years in Kearney, Nebraska.
ALBERT MILLS, 67, New Jersey light-middleweight, handed in February. “Metal” Mills went 14-2 (10 KO’s) in a 21-month profession that started in January 1981. Albert retired on a 6-fight win streak to work in Plainfield public faculties as a safety officer. In 2001 he started a group group designed the discourage youth from proudly owning handguns after his sone was murdered. He retired from the Plainfield college system in 2013 and moved to Georgia together with his son, Albert Jr.
DON MINER, 87, Nevada welterweight, died in August in Utah. Miner, a Philadelphia native who settled in Nevada throughout his professional profession, was 21-12 (9 KOs) from 1961-1965. Miner seemed on the cusp of shifting into the world rankings in 1965 when he beat unbeaten Ernie Lopez (brother of Danny “Little Purple” Lopez) in Las Vegas over 12 rounds for a regional title. However he was stopped in his subsequent struggle by an “opponent” and he by no means fought once more. Miner labored for Clark County as a truant officer after boxing.
VICTOR MIROSHNICHENKO, 66, Ukrainian Olympian, died in December. Miroshnichenko received the flyweight silver medal on the 1980 Moscow Olympics. A Ukrainian boxing federation introduced the loss of life and famous Miroshnichenko had been present process remedies for an unnamed illness. He had a reported newbie mark of 360-56. He by no means turned professional.
DAVE MOONEY, 93, Scottish light-heavyweight, died in October at house, 5 weeks after he was identified with bowel most cancers. Mooney was 12-4 (8 KOs) from 1956-1958, retiring after failed makes an attempt in his last two fights to win British and European titles. Mooney was his nation’s newbie champion when he turned professional in 1956. Mooney labored as a “door man” in retirement (within the U.S., he would have been a “bouncer”), and in addition skilled amateurs for a few years.
MATTHEW MOORE, 25, Dallas newbie, was killed 4 days earlier than Christmas when he was shot to loss of life within the afternoon at a stairwell close to an condo complicated. Stories indicated no suspect, nor did it state if Moore resided on the complicated the place he was discovered. Members of the family emphasised that Moore was unarmed on the time of his homicide.
STEVE MORMINO, 68, St. Louis heavyweight, died in Might at his Pontoon Seashore, Illinois, house. Mormino was 13-17-2 (7 KOs) from 1979-1990. Mormino started boxing within the Navy, the place he had 4 newbie bouts. He turned professional after leaving the service. Mormino went the space with future world champions Glenn McCrory and Lee Roy Murphy.
STEVE MORROW, 70, California decide, died in November from most cancers. Morrow was a prime WBC decide based mostly out of California. A former Gilroy police officer, Morrow climbed the ranks from the underside up, working in California’s newbie system for years earlier than being tabbed to work professional undercards. In lower than two years after his first professional present in 2001, Morrow was doing a world title struggle. He labored till October of this yr, judging a WBC feminine flyweight title struggle in Texas, simply three weeks earlier than he handed.
JANKS MORTON, 85, Maryland coach, handed away in November after battling dementia. Morton was best-known as an assistant coach for Sugar Ray Leonard and he additionally labored with Larry Donald and Razor Ruddock. Morton was a superior athlete, enjoying soccer at Truman State College (the place he sparred with fellow Bulldog Ken Norton, who additionally performed soccer there). The College inducted Morton into its sports activities corridor of fame in 1989. Morton performed semipro soccer earlier than settling in his hometown of Cincinnati to promote insurance coverage. He moved to Maryland within the Seventies, the place he met Leonard as an newbie and launched him to Mike Coach, who managed Ray as a professional.
MOSES MTHEMBU, 88, South African light-weight, died in October after a prolonged sickness. Mthembu was 34-26-5 (8 KOs) from 1967-1982, going 5-5-3 his first three years. Mthembu then went unbeaten in 13 fights and challenged for his nation’s “non-white” light-weight championships (mixed-raced bouts have been banned in South Africa throughout this time), shedding by eleventh spherical stoppage. He received the title in 1974 on this third try and in 1981, when boxers have been allowed to struggle freely no matter race, received his nation’s light-weight belt. Generally known as “Easter Monday,” after a victory he garnered early in his profession on that day, Mthembu competed throughout a golden period in South African boxing and his passing was famous within the nation’s nationwide information.
JOHN MUNDUGA, 64, Ugandan welterweight, handed in September. Munduga was 25-5 (18 KOs) from 1981-1989, however any considered being a contender was scuttled by losses to Mark Breland and Darrin Van Horn. Munduga and Breland have been unbeaten once they met on nationwide TV in 1986 in Atlantic Metropolis. Breland dominated the match. Munduga got here again after a “tune-up” to fulfill one other unbeaten American on TV, however the then 35-0 Van Horn stopped Munduga and ended his flirtation with a world ranking. Munduga moved to Germany, misplaced three extra occasions inside one yr (all by stoppage) and retired. Munduga fought within the 1980 Moscow Olympics and was turned professional by English boxing legend Micky Duff, who had additionally signed Munduga’s Ugandan Olympic teammate, John Mugabi. Munduga labored as an newbie coach after retirement, which one report described Munduga’s later years as “difficult.”
