Eric Bottjer

JAMES COOK, 66, London super middleweight, died in June of bladder cancer. A native of Jamaica, Cook was 25-10 (14 KOs) from 1982 to 1994, winning the English and European championships. Cook scored valuable domestic victories over Mark Kaylor, Errol Christie and Sam Storey, but failed to beat world-class fighters Herol Graham and Graciano Rocchigiani. Cook’s best win on paper was over Michael Watson, who was 7-0 when he met Cook in 1986 and left the ring after losing a half-point decision. In retirement, Cook has been a trainer and most recently worked with lithe heavyweight contender Anthony Yard.

JOHN COONEY (28), Irish super featherweight, died in February as a result of injuries suffered on February 1 during a fight with Nathan Howells in Belfast. Cooney was arrested in the 9th^vol round of the scheduled 10 and was taken to hospital immediately after the match. Just 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital, he underwent surgery to relieve pressure in his brain caused by internal bleeding. Cooney died a week later. Mark Dunlop, Cooney’s manager, when asked what kind of person Cooney was, replied: “When John was at my house, he made his bed in the morning before coming to the gym.”

DANNY CORBETT, 67, a middleweight from Miami, died “peacefully” in North Carolina in November. Corbett was 4-2 (2 KO) from 1977-1980. Corbett was born in Pittsburgh, lived in various places on the East Coast, and made his living as a painter. Sometimes he trained amateur boxing.

RAFAEL CORREA (78), a coach from Recent York, died in August. No cause of death was given, but Correa spent the last years of his life in a nursing home in Alabama. Correa was a longtime assistant to famed Recent York trainer Jimmy Glenn, who managed the Times Square gym for decades. Correa, born in Puerto Rico, was a respectable welterweight, going 15-11-3 (8 KOs) from 1967-1974.

LB CROFFORD, 70, middleweight, of Virginia, died in February at a hospital in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Crofford, who worked in construction, had two fights in 1984, earning victories over boxers with a 1-3 record.

FLOYD “Jumbo” CUMMINGS, 75, heavyweight trials horse, died in August. His death was announced on social media. No cause was given, but Cummings had been in destitute health in recent years due to breathing problems. Cummings, a heavily muscled 6-foot-10 figure, didn’t start boxing until he was 29 and was known for two things: serving multiple prison sentences (a total of 29 years, including 13 years for a murder he committed at age 17) and “holding” the returning Joe Frazier to a draw (listed in parentheses here because Jumbo was robbed (Frazier never fought again). Unfortunately, Jumbo he stole from others and in 2002 was sentenced to life under the “three strikes” law (a third conviction carries a life sentence) for stealing a Subway sandwich shot. He was released on parole in 2016. Cummings retired in 1983 with a record of 15-6-1 (13 KOs) He never won a match after the Frazier fight Frazier, claiming he was entitled to financial compensation from the station. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2009.

MIKE CUNNINGHAM, 76, the Kentucky referee who officiated the Greg Page-Dale Crowe match that resulted in Page’s life-changing injuries, died in November at a Louisville hospital. Cunningham was the chief of police in Lynnview. He officiated professional matches sporadically from 1987 to 2001, when one March night in Louisville he counted out Page in the final round of Crowe’s fight. Page suffered brain damage and was bedridden for the rest of his life. Cunningham was later appointed to the Kentucky Boxing Commission (claiming that if he had headed the commission at the time of Page’s fight, Page would not have been able to fight that night because he had not undergone a brain scan).

LOU DANIELS, 67, lightweight, Trenton, died in April. Daniels turned professional after winning the featherweight Golden Gloves in Recent Jersey in 1976, going 6-1 (1 KO). In 1979, Daniels went 6 rounds against Ray Mancini 1-0.

JEAN DANTAS, 90, French lightweight, died in March. Dantas was 15-18-6 (1 KO) from 1958 to 1966, losing his only chance to win the French lightweight title in 1964 by decision.

STEVE DARNELL, 61, super middleweight from Michigan, died in October in Brighton. “Stevie D” was 26-5-2 (15 KOs) from 1984-1993 and was undefeated in his first 22 fights. Darnell fought numerous fights against world-class opponents, defeating Lindell Holmes, Antoine Byrd and Kevin Watts. As reported, there is no cause of death. His family asked on Darnell’s behalf for donations to be made to CTE research at Boston University.

MARK DiGIOVANNI, 55, welterweight from Recent Jersey, died in March. DiGiovanni, who fought out of Kearny, won the Recent Jersey Golden Gloves in 1989 and turned professional in 1990, going 5-3-1 (2 KOs) over six years. Mark worked as an amateur trainer after ending his own career in the ring.

RAYMUNDO DIAS, 84, Brazilian lightweight, died in October. Dias was 25-10-8 (15 KOs) from 1964 to 1972, winning the Brazilian lightweight title in October 1970, but lost three weeks later in his only world title shot against WBC champion Bruno Arcari (KO by 3). A year later, Dias stopped future champion Chango Carmona by chop, but lost the rematch seven months later. Dias dropped a decision to Esteban DeJesus in September 1972 (Six weeks later DeJesus would be Roberto Duran) and prevailed in 1973, winning a decision in Colorado.

DANNY DILIBERTO, 85, Buffalo, lightweight, died in February. DiLiberto, who fought under the name Dan Toriani, went 12-0-2 from 1957 to 1959 and retired after a series of hand injuries. DiLiberto spent his boxing career in Miami, training at 5^vol Street gym. DiLiberto became a renowned pool player and was inducted into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.

JOHN DOTA, 94, of Youngstown, Ohio, died in July. Dota, a military veteran, had one professional fight in 1951 in Las Vegas, losing in 4 rounds.

FRANCISCO DURANGO (75), Colombian featherweight, died in October. Durango was 23-7-2 (15 KOs) from 1972-1978, with all but three of his fights coming in Colombia. Before retiring, he won his country’s super featherweight title in one fight.

FRANK ECHEVARRIA, 96, Idaho collegiate boxing champion, died in December. Echevarria was an alternate for the 1952 United States Olympic bantamweight team, losing in the Trials championship match to future world champion Davey Moore. Echevarria won the collegiate title later that year despite losing part of the fingers on his left hand in a farming accident. Echevarria was 32-5 as a college boxer, but he followed Tony Zale’s advice (“don’t go pro – go home, marry your girlfriend and start a family”), working farm and remaining married for 73 years.

DON ELBAUM, 94, a Runyonesque boxing figure whose promotions and matchmaking spanned SEVEN decades, died in Erie, Pennsylvania, in July after a brief illness. Elbaum wore all the professional hats in boxing: promoter, matchmaker, publicist, and even boxer. During his appearances in the 1960s, Elbaum replaced himself four times. He never won, but remained respectable, drawing once and losing to Tommy Shaffer 14-15. In one such fight, when Elbaum was hurt by a punch, he grabbed his opponent and whispered, “Remember who’s paying you.” But it was thanks to the promoter that Elbaum gained fame. He hosted his first show at the age of 18 and became the quintessential club promoter, living out of a suitcase, spending most of his time in two-star motels and producing some of the best club acts on the East Coast. Don was a master of artistic storytelling and lived for tricks. And they often made comical mistakes (one boxer joked that if Don opened a funeral home, people would stop dying). When he announced a main event between two of the “worst fighters in the world,” the loser had to retire as per the agreement. They fought for a draw. When Don promoted a heavyweight fighter to be 7 feet high and a reporter confronted the boxer and told Don he was nowhere near that height, Elbaum replied, “He’s miniature for his height.” Elbaum rose to the top in the 1980s, hosting weekly shows at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City and promoting welterweight champion Simon Brown. But Don lost the Trop series in 1986, and Brown left it in 1990 for Don King. He served four months in a minimum security facility for tax evasion (“I knew a lot of people there,” he said, this time without exaggeration). He was rightly inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. No one ever loved boxing more than Don Elbaum.

EBO ELDER, 46, Georgia lightweight, died in December of brain cancer. The elder made himself known by taking part in the second series of Contender (losing in the first round). An accomplished amateur, Elder turned professional in 2000 and enjoyed mid-level success, winning the NABO title in 2004 and defending it on Shobox for 12^volround break against Courtney Burton in a fight that announcer Steve Farhood called the most exhilarating fight he’s seen this series. A deeply religious Elder suddenly retired in 2006 at the age of 28 and became a preacher. The elder finished the fight with a score of 22-3 (14 KO).

ED ESPOSTI, AKA “Eddie Post,” 78, Recent York boxer, died of cancer in June. “Elegant Ed” was the face of Spartan, a boxing equipment and clothing company. In the 1970s, Post developed a boxing program for Recent York City prisoners. Fasting became well known in the Recent York boxing scene as a prolific fundraiser.

LUIS ESTABA (86), former lithe heavyweight world champion, died in February. Known as “Lumumba,” the Venezuelan was 37 years senior when he won the newly created WBC lithe heavyweight title in 1975 and defended it 11 times before losing it to Freddy Castillo three years later (it was later discovered that the man Lumumba had beaten for the vacant title in 1975 – Rafael Lovera – was making his professional debut. Lovera, who never boxed again, died a few months before the fight with Estaba death). Estaba fought for the WBC belt again five months after losing it (to fighter Thia, who had defeated Castillo) and retired after being knocked out in five rounds. The WBC announced that Estaba had been in destitute health in recent years and had donated money to cover medical and living expenses since 2020.