Boxing Obituaries 2018 PART TWO: (H-W)

In 2018, the “10 count” was tolled for an unusually high number of notable boxing personalities – so many that we here at TSS elected to publish our annual year-end obits story in two parts. Here is PART TWO.

Joergen Hansen – A 1968 Olympian, Hansen was 78-14 in a 13-year career. He was 9-2 in European welterweight title fights but his lone trip to the United States ended in disaster when he was knocked out in the opening round by Pipino Cuevas on the undercard of a big show at the Houston Astrodome. In 2010 he was diagnosed with pugilistic dementia. On March 15 at age 74 in Aalborg, Denmark.

Brendan Ingle – Born in Dublin, one of 15 children, Ingle made little headway as a pro boxer, finishing 19-14, but became one of the most revered trainers of his generation. His grubby little gym in the hardscrabble east end of Sheffield, England, produced five world champions, most notably Naseem Hamed. On May 25 at age 77 in Sheffield from a brain hemorrhage.

Dave Jacobs – Jacobs and his assistant Janks Morton built an amateur boxing dynasty at a rec center in Palmer Park, Maryland. He guided his most prominent student, Sugar Ray Leonard, to an Olympic gold medal and was an assistant to Angelo Dundee during much of Leonard’s pro career. He was also associated with Mike Tyson when Tyson returned from prison. On March 23 at age 84 in Washington, DC, from congestive heart failure.

Alonzo Johnson – Before assuming the role of a trial horse, he split two fights with future light heavyweight champion Willie Pastrano, outpointed a faded Nino Valdes and troubled a young Cassius Clay while losing a 10-round decision in a nationally televised fight. The former New York Golden Gloves champion was 84 when he passed away on Nov. 22 in Braddock, Pennsylvania.

Alvin Blue Lewis – From the meanest streets of Detroit and the meaner confines of Michigan’s Jackson State Prison, Lewis, a heavyweight, was 30-6 in a career that began in 1966. In his most famous fight he was stopped in the 11^th round by former sparring partner Muhammad Ali at Dublin’s Croke Park. He was suffering from dementia when he died on Jan. 21 at age 75 in Flint.

John McCain – A passionate boxing fan, the former POW served six terms in the U.S. Senate and was the 2008 Republican nominee for President. An advocate of federal oversight of professional boxing, he designed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act intended to free boxers from the stranglehold of long-term promotional contracts. On Aug. 25 in Cornville, AZ, at age 81 of brain cancer.

Martin McGarry – An immigrant from County Mayo, Ireland, McGarry founded a boxing club on Chicago’s South Side and became a legend in Chicagoland amateur boxing circles. On Jan. 24 at age 66 in Chicago from a rare hereditary disease that had claimed other members of his family.

Rafael Mendoza – The Merida, Mexico native was involved in boxing for more than 50 years, serving the sport as a journalist, booking agent, matchmaker, and manager. He advised 26 world title-holders and was the original manager of Canelo Alvarez. Fluent in many languages, Mendoza was an authority on the life of Frank Sinatra. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015. On March 8 in Guadalajara at age 80 of lung cancer.

Karl Mildenberger – Germany’s biggest boxing star since Max Schmeling, Mildenberger was the European heavyweight champion and had a 49-2-3 record when he became the first southpaw to challenge for the world heavyweight title, opposing Muhammad Ali before 45,000 in Frankfurt. He had his moments in the early rounds but the 24-year-old Ali, at the height of his powers, gradually assumed control and the fight was stopped in the 12^th. On Oct. 5 at age 80 in his birthplace of Kaiserlautern where in retirement he worked as a lifeguard.

Elisha Obed – The only fighter from the Bahamas to win a world title, Obed, born Everette Ferguson, accomplished the feat in 1975 when he stopped Brazil’s Miguel de Oliveira in the 11^th round in Paris for the WBC 154-pound diadem. Obed, who turned pro at age 14, compiled a 91-22-4 record with 60 knockouts. Most of his losses came very late in his 21-year career. On June 28 at age 66 in Nassau. He had been suffering from dementia.

Graciano Rocchigiani – A world title holder at 168 and 175 pounds, Rocchigiani finished his career with a record of 41-6-1. The four fighters that beat him (he fought Henry Maske and Dariusz Michaelzewski twice) were collectively 183-1-2 when he fought them. Born and raised in Germany, he died on Oct. 2 at age 54 in Belpasso, Italy, when he was hit by a car while taking a walk.

Luis Rosa Jr. – A 26-year-old featherweight with a 23-1 record, Rosa died on Jan. 14 from injuries suffered in a car crash near his New Haven, Connecticut home.

Maria Elena Rosa – Active from 1999 to 2005, Risa compiled a 19-1 record while competing mostly as a flyweight. She retired after losing a split decision to 47-1-1 Regina Halmich in Halmich’s hometown in Germany. On Dec. 18 at age 44 from cancer in her native Madrid.

Farid Salim – The “Rudolph Valentino of the Pampas” was recognized as the middleweight champion of Argentina when he invaded the U.S. where he had six TV fights, defeating Ted Wright and Joey Giambra, but losing to Wilbert McClure, Yama Bahama, Joey Archer, and Hurricane Carter. He finished 46-5-3 and was never stopped. In Salta, Argentina, on July 17 at age 81.

James Scott – A light heavyweight, Scott had 22 pro fights, the first 11 in Miami Beach and the last 11, seven of which were televised, inside the walls of New Jersey’s Rahway  State Prison where he was serving a 30-40 year sentence as a multiple offender. At Rahway, he outpointed future light heavyweight champion Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, then known as Eddie Gregory, and lost a 10-round decision to future cruiserweight champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi, then known as Dwight Braxton. Paroled in 2005, he died on May 8 at age 70 (or thereabouts) in a New Jersey nursing home.

Jay Searcy – He spent most of his 43-year career as a sports journalist with the Philadelphia Inquirer. After a 10-year stint as the paper’s sports editor, he returned to writing, his first love, specializing in boxing and horseracing. In 2000 he received the Nat Fleischer Award from the BWAA for excellence in sports journalism. On Dec. 29 at age 84 in Tellico Village, a suburb of Knoxville, TN, his home for the last 18 years.

Don Smith – A freelance journalist, Smith covered the Arizona boxing scene, amateur and professional, with a fine tooth comb. His “Arizona Boxing News and Notes,” which had various homes over the years, was a must-read for anyone with ties to boxing in Arizona. Smith was 75 when he was killed on May 15 by an apparent drunken driver while walking near his Phoenix home.

Grace Sseruwagi – As an amateur he knocked out Idi Amin and sparred with Cassius Clay and went on to become the most celebrated boxing coach in Uganda. On Feb. 6 at 87 in Kampala from complications of diabetes.

Bunny Sterling – Born in Jamaica, raised in London, Sterling was the first fighter born in the West Indies to win a British title. His signature win was an 8^th round stoppage of future WBC 154-pound champion Maurice Hope. Matched tough throughout his career, he finished with a record of 35-18-4. On Nov. 16 in London at age 70 after a four-year battle with dementia.

Langton Tinago – A legend in Zimbabwe, Tinago was a three-time British Empire lightweight champion who finished his career 86-20-3. On July 17 in Gweru, Zimbabwe after a long illness.

Jerry Turner – A teammate of ill-fated Charlie Mohr at the University of Wisconsin, Turner won the 1960 NCAA tournament in the 156-pound weight class. He was 6-0 as a pro before becoming a probation officer and then, after earning a law degree, a litigator in Milwaukee. In Mequon, Wisconsin at age 78.

Scott Wagner – He promoted dozens of shows at his family’s banquet hall, Michael’s Eighth Avenue in the Baltimore suburb of Glen Burnie. For a time, Wagner’s “Ballroom Boxing” series aired on various cable networks around the country. At age 49 of liver cancer.

Troy Waters – One of three boxing brothers who each won a national title, the Aussie was a three-time world title challenger at 154 pounds and finished his career 28-5. On May 18 at age 53 in Sydney from leukemia.

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