If you don't know the story of the Luis Resto-Billy Collins, Jr. fight that took place June 16, 1983, here's the back story:
The two middleweights fought a 10-round fight at Madison Square Garden. Billy Collins was a 21-year old rising star; he was 14-0 (with 11 KOs), featured as an ESPN champion, and looked like a legitimate contender. He was trained by his father, Billy Collins Sr, from a young age to be a boxer. Luis Resto was a 28 year old Puerto Rican often described as a journeyman. His record was 20-8-2. He had a grand total of 8 KOs in his career, and was generally considered a light puncher.
Billy Collins was a big favorite to win the fight. They fought for the full 10 rounds, trading punches.
It has been reported that in between rounds, Billy told his father and the rest of his corner that when Resto hit him "it felt like he was hitting me with a brick". Billy Sr. asked him if they should stop the fight. "No", said Billy Jr., and the fight continued for the entire 10 rounds.
By the end of the 10th, Billy's face was messed up badly. He had huge welts around both eyes, which were blackened by the force of Resto's punches. The decision was obviously unanimous in favor of Resto. As Resto was shaking hands with Billy's corner (as is the standard in boxing), Collins Sr. noticed something was wrong with Resto's gloves. He claimed he felt nothing by knuckles, and that the padding in Resto's gloves was missing. He complained immediately to the ring officials, who grabbed Resto's gloves after the fight and investigate the claim.
The TV footage captured the moment: Collins Sr. starts yelling almost immediately after the hand shake... "Hey! All of the padding is out... it's all out! Commissioner, commissioner...there's no damn padding."
After a brief investigation, the New York State Police Laboratory report's conclusion was that Resto's gloves were tampered with by Panama Lewis, Resto's trainer; he was charged with cutting a 3/4 of an inch hole in them, and removing the padding so that Resto was hitting Collins with his bare knuckles. In other words, the protection that gloves are suppose to give was not there.
"We have scientific proof that the gloves were tampered with", said Jack Prenderville of the NY Athletic Commission, at the time.
Collins Jr. was severely injured by the fight. He had permanent eye damage in his left iris, which was teared. Permanently blurred vision. His promising boxing career was finished, done.
Less than a year after the fight at MSG, Billy Collins Jr. was DUI when his car crashed off the road and landed in a river, killing him. Was it a suicide, or just a plain old DUI? It doesn't matter, really. He was dead at 22. Billy Collins Sr. still holds Resto and Panama responsible.
"You don't think Resto knew he didn't have padding in the gloves. You don't think Panama Lewis took it out? I've had 15 years to think about it, and I know - I know - they did it."
Luis Resto had denied that numerous times over the past quarter century. But, according to this report in today's Daily News:
"Resto added another heinous chapter to that sad story on Thursday when he admitted that Lewis also put plaster on the tape over his knuckles, encasing his fists in a cast inside of the gloves with the pad removed." [emphasis added]
Resto said he made the admission because he wanted to unburden himself. "Yes, I feel better," he said when asked if he was glad he finally told the truth.
It's a sad story in boxing history. Panama Lewis is still allowed to train boxers, though he hasn't trained anyone major since the 80's, with the exception of being an "training advisor" to Mike Tyson before his fight with Lennox Lewis.
Special thanks to commenter Gary, who tipped us off to this story today.
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Modi: That's right, I forgot about that. Those were some crazy days in boxing, back in the 80's, when you would see a coked-up fighter going nuts, getting pounded by punch after punch, and not feel the effects because he was so high. That was a crazy fight...
Pryor-Arguello probably one of top 5 fight in history.
Wanna see crazy fights nowaday... grab a seat anytime Manny Pacquiao fights
This admission by Mr. Resto undermines the arrogant statements by Mr. Arum and Mr. Sulaiman defending Mr. Margarito as innocent of knowing what his trainer was doing. Mr. Arum is also defiant and willing to risk the health and well-being of boxers that are either hungry enough or stupid enough to go in the ring with Margarito. Mr. Arum should not be allowed to promote a fight in the United States for one full year if he goes through with the plans for Margarito to fight in Tijuana. Promoters, boxers and trainers should all be subject to the rulings of the various state commissions and no one should be above these rulings since boxing is already a dangerous sport without the use of hardening agents. Boxer safety should trump all other considerations
luis resto may you rot slowly on earth and in hell oh and your trainer There are special in hell for you!
I just have one question, not to excuse such a cowardly act by Resto and Panama Lewis, but why wasn't anybody from Collins Jr.'s team watching the wrapping of their opponent's hands as is customary. Without Naseem Richardson, Margarito would've never been caught loading his gloves against Mosley. Miguel Cotto also neglected to send a representative to keep vigil on the goings on in Margarito's locker room prior to their fight which resulted in Cotto's face a bloody mess. According to Resto this was not a lone incident and admits to at least three previous times. Shame on the Boxing Commissions for not providing a mandatory supervising of every hand wrapping in a professional bout or at least demanding each opposing corner to do so. In that same vein, shame on these young boxer's handlers for trusting their fighter's well being,career, and life to their rivals.
Panama Lewis is a criminal . He should have been put away for a lot longer than 2 years. The guy is a scumbag and everyone in boxing knows it. He did the job on Arguello when he put the " potion" in Pryor's water. Because of guys like this boxing can never be cleaned up.
Victor,
You are absolutely correct with your comments. Trainers who value the well being of their fighters should ensure that all necessary precautions are met. This includes monitoring of the hand wrapping process.
I watched Assault in the ring tonight and it was a great documentary... The boxing commission should have checked his gloves and the ref shouldve stopped the fight... Panama Lewis is a piece of shit and he shouldnt be allowed to even train anyone anymore...
I also watched the "Assault in the Ring" documentary. Although boxing was the very first "sport" class I took at the age of 7 I have not had any keen interest in boxing at any level since.
Boxing. It is what it is. A career choice for some, a very brutal form of entertainment for others. It should be a surprise to no one that boxing also has a darker side and corruption ranks right up there with the brutality. That said, whether you despise the “sport” or not, if you have ever been in a serious fist fight you couldn’t help but admire the will and skill and courage it takes to stand, toe to toe, with a well trained and determined opponent who has only one object, the same one as you.. To cause so much bodily and mental damage that the opponent can no longer resist. Essentially, to incapacitate, just short of a killing.
I realize that any form of media can be manipulated.. I’m a skeptic by nature. However, after watching Mr. Drath’s documentary I found myself empathizing with Mr. Resto as well as sharing the incredible sorrow I sensed for the Collins family. There are no good guys in this story, just a young man with a destiny unfulfilled and a father who lost his soul for a quarter century.
Who, especially in their youth, has not made a mistake or regret so terrible that they could not free themselves from the mind numbing guilt or ever admit it to others? Living every day with such destructive feelings can be a terrible punishment in and of itself. It can take your life away for many years and sometimes forever. I’ve been there, done that. thirty years gone and the memory still stings.. I felt that some, in both families, have been living with such regret and the wish they could go back in time and make different choices.
I believe Mr Resto has served his time in hell, as well as prison, and that even young Billy Collins Jr would probably tell him to let it go and live the best life he can from here on out. I mean no disrespect to the Collins family. What do I know of their son? Just what I’ve seen and read. I just think their son was a courageous and talented man and boxer but also a person capable of forgiveness even where forgiveness is hard to understand. I’ve never had a child die but I have lost a child. There are too many ways to lose a child you love. It hurts. I get it. I would not even begin to presume to know the pain the Collins family must feel.
Fortunately, the mother of the Resto son’s obviously raised them well. They appear to be articulate, well rounded young men and fathers. Their father, now grandpa Rusto, can find happiness in that and make that the focus of his daily thoughts and actions. If you are tuely sorry and have lived with the pain you have caused others then It's time to let the past pass.
Hopefully, Mr Resto's family will forgive the terrible mistakes of his past, help their dad/grandfather respect the memory of Billy Collins Jr and just plain get on with whatever life has in store for them.
Whatever the agenda Eric Drath had when he began his documentary I believe that he also understood the value and need for redemption in this life. He didn’t let go, despite so many differences. He showed respect for Billy Collins Jr which is so deserved.. He also may just have set a fellow soul free without forgetting the young passionate life lost. He has also delivered a very thoughtful and moving story that gives a lasting history for both fighters, no matter how you may view it..
As for Mr Panama Lewis, well, I suspect your worst nightmare will be the day you die and you find young Mr Collins standing at the gate and putting you back on the elevator, heading South. I don't hold out much hope that you will ever get it. For someone like you the world contains only two types of people, you, and several billion suckers. Still, there is always the truth and redemption. Give it some consideration. Who knows? Even Pigs may fly someday.
Mr Resto keep that head high. Collins or Resto, they are both names to be proud of. You don’t need to drop your gaze to anyone. You have paid for your regrets many many times over. I wish you, your family and the Collins family well.
I got into boxing as a kid, 16 years old. I sparred with Resto, knew him. We talked and trained together in the Bobby Gleason gym in NYC. He trained hard and was dedicated. He would've been great. He was one of the nicest guys I ever saw in boxing, but too easily led by someone with a dominant personality. I knew Panama Lewis, too. I think he was a greedy, sneaky, piece of shit. I believe Panama coerced Resto into doing whatever Panama wanted him to do, and Resto was too nice, too gentle in personality to stand up to Panama Lewis. When he finally stood up to him in the movie nearly 30 years later, Panama showed the same personality that had coerced Resto back in 1983. He hugs Resto, calls him 'like a son', but later, talking with his friend, shows the true contempt in which he holds Resto. Watch the documentary, watch how Panama continues to try to trick Resto. See how Resto cares about what happened and tries so hard to put the ghosts of what happened to rest. Panama Lewis only cares about himself. Always did, always will.
I remember watching the fight itself back in 1983, and was shocked then to see the beating this young man took from a journeyman fighter.
Last night's documentary showed what we already knew: Panama Lewis destroyed two lives and two families that night. He's in denial and has no conscience. For a long time, Resto was in denial, too, but he has a conscience, and with that, the old saying "The truth shall set you free" has meaning.
You could see the obvious powerful influence Lewis still has over Resto. Imagine what it was like in 1983 when Resto just wanted to put food on his table. Although he knew what was happening, Resto wasn't his own man; Lewis was his powerful guru. As angry as Resto must be, when confronting Lewis, he fell for the same junk Lewis was feeding him for 26 years.
The fight and its aftermath are a horrible lesson about boxing. Corruption sets in when those in charge either look the other way or are asleep at the wheel.
It took something like this to make commissioners more accountable, but as we learned from Margarito, it can still happen. And those who perpetrate things like this should be permanently banned and face criminal charges. And take away the licenses from promotors who stage these kinds of mayhem and you'll have really accountability.
Maybe we should have a national boxing commissioner like our other major sports. Now, we have each state with separate licensing boards and different levels of accountability. Until we have national standards and stiff penalties, the Restos and Margaritas will happen again. And some poor, innocent guy just trying to earn a living will end up with his career--and maybe his life--ruined. Very sad.
I watched the documentary last nightand it was powerful. Panama Lewis still has a major influence on Resto. As much as Resto wants to get past it Lewis still talks to him as if he is still training him or brain washing him. I still believe there is more to this story than we know. According to the piece, there was a meeting in a hotel room between Lewis, Resto, Lewis Black, and a drug dealer prior to the fight to discuss how much cash was being wagered. We do not know if Resto feared for his life and those of his family. That may be why he did not talk or confess. Billy Collins Jr and his family were the unfortunate victims in all of this. I still do not believe that not one of the law suits produced a verdict in favor of the Collins family. It is sick and damaging to the sport. Margarito/Cotto was the most recent example of the same thing all over again.
Steve T , Great observations , I have no idea what you do for a living , but writing should definitely be there . Rarely have I read remarks that were so spot on and articulated as you have done here. I sense that you may have a passion for writing and if I am right , I would stop whatever career path you have chosen and take up writing for a major newspaper or magazine, yes , you are that good at it. Good luck.
I am releived that this documentary came out since my son is new to the sport and have dreams of making it big too someday.I don't like the sport as much since my son has chosen to make boxing his careeer path but nonetheless he is my son with a dream and as his mother I need to be his biggest fan and supporter. I could not tell him all that you men have said here so respectfully and with the insight for the fighters, families and the sport and expect him to listen to me. My son is a bright young man but I wanted him to really know ALL that he can about boxing and not just the punching in the ring. My son did not see the documentary like he wanted since he is always training but he plans to watch it when it airs again. I enjoyed all your comments and am making him read them all after he watches the documentary. All of you had great things to say and I know he will take your oppinions seriously since "mom just worries too much!" I thank all of you men for your words of wisdom.
I AM NOT SAYING THIS DID NOT HAPPEN TO RESTO BY HIS CORNERMEN . BUT RESTO IS GETTING PAID BIG BUCKS FOR A STORY . HE DONT HAVE A POT TO PISS IN . WHY WOULD ANYONE BELIEVE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY NOW .
What about Alexis Arguello, who also was never the same after another Lewis trained fighter, Arron Pryer, and the suicide of Mr. Arguello. How many other fighters have been cheated there destiny, by Panama Lewis. Do you think this was the first time he thinned the gloves, or gave drugs to his fighters, bull shit, this basterd should be hung.
for luis resto to say that he had no idea that the gloves were like that is just complete bs,because first of all he knew he was cheating with the antihistamines in the water bottle and the plaster on his hands,and about the gloves. boxers are hard core trainers and theres no way that a boxer could put a pair of gloves with the padding out of them and not know that something is not right, any boxer would know right away that the gloves were messed up.
Unfortunately, just about everything has been corrupted. Money is the root of all evil. It's everyday that people are exploiting foreigners coming to this coountry wanting to just live a better life. I feel for them. However, I thought the gloves are inspected by officials. I wonder why no one noticed.
this is so sad but imglad tha truth was revealed,resto is livin betta now
resto came clean so, I don't know why margarito don't come clean, resto did and what he did was worse.
resto came clean so, I don't know why margarito don't come clean, resto did and what he did was worse.
Ok, Felix Trinidad....you're up next.
This stuff still happens.
I know alot of Trinidad's fans get upset when people accuse him of this very same thing thing, but it was his own father who said "I've always wrapped his hands like this, and for years nobody has ever complained and commissioners have allowed it"
That's who let the cat out of the bag..it was his father, after being caught by the Bernard Hopkins camp.
Panama debe de vender todo lo que tiene , en especial esas joyas en su cuello y dedos para que done todo el dinero a una entidad la cual ayude a los boxeadores ya retirados como pension. Este señor es un abusador de profesion.
Ellos usan a los boxeadores como si fueran marionetas y despues que pasan su prime time los abandonan como bolsa de basura a su suerte, mientras ellos se lucran con las ganacias y la sangre de estos pobres muchachos. Ahorquen a Panama.
i know resto and after listening to him and watching all the other stories you can really see who the bad guy is. Yea resto made a mistake but he just doing what his trainer told him to do. especially at the time all he wanted to do was win and blocked everything else. if you watch resto you can see the sadness in his eyes and you can see all the guilt he has. he was an innocent guy who was manipulated into making a huge mistake. Lewis knew exactly wat he was doing and till this day that man doesnt give a shit.
This simply a very sad story.
I wonder if this kind of thing ever happened in the Philippines.
I do not know if the Philippines has an answer to this kind of criminal act. I am thinking in terms of ESTAFA (because of the criminal cheating involved) or FRUSTRATED HOMECIDE (because of the apparent deliberate intention to hurt another)under the Philippines' Revised Penal Code.
I am thus calling the attention of the GAB and the Philippine Legislature regarding this. Let's act before a things of this nature actually happens in Philippine soil.
Incidentally, whatever happened to that proposed Philippine bill similar to the Muhammad Ali Act after the falling out between Manny Pacquiao and Murad Muhammad. Any update please, anyone?
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SML, thanks for posting this. Panama Lewis is a a straight-up dirty trainer. He is most known for giving Aaron Pryor some of his special water bottle before the famous 14th round vs. Alexis Arguello